5 Easy and Healthy Weeknight Meals
When you’re starting out on your nutrition journey, one of the more overwhelming aspects of it can be the sheer amount of cooking that seems to be required. All the chopping and slicing and dicing and browning can be too much. With many of us managing kids back in school now- whatever that looks like for you this year- time saving weeknight meals are a must. Slicing and dicing and browning? No thanks.
But what if I told you that healthy eating does NOT- repeat, DOES NOT- need to be time consuming? What if I told you that there are in fact easy healthy recipes out there? When working with clients, we work together to identify the types of meal prep ideas that will work best for them and their schedule and energy, so that they have an arsenal of quick dinner ideas, quick snack ideas, and easy recipes that don’t require a ton of work. Here are a few favorite easy healthy recipes and meal prep ideas for when you want to eat in a nutrient- supportive way but lack the time for tons of cooking and lengthy recipes.
Lemon & Artichoke Chicken
This recipe is bursting with flavor, and is also a great way to get some artichoke into your diet, which are high in Vitamin C, fiber, are liver supportive and may help with cholesterol. My favorite is the Lemon & Artichoke Chicken recipe from the cookbook Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo, but this adapted version is similar.
Chicken Wings
Yes, chicken wings are allowed as part of a healthy diet! But not necessarily the deep fried, tossed in strange sauce ones we are used to. Baked, homemade wings are one of the easiest weeknight meals to make, with the added bonus of being kid friendly (and a budget friendly cut of meat). Even better if you are able to find wings that have been pasture raised or organic (try your local butcher or farmer’s market, or a butcher that ships nationwide like Butcher Box, Belcampo, or US Wellness Meats). Then, you can try any seasoning you like (like Balanced Bites spices or simple salt & pepper); simply toss with olive oil and seasoning and bake on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper for a quick dinner. You can also cut up sweet potato wedges and serve with a big salad for an easy healthy meal. This chicken wing recipe uses pretty basic ingredients to get you started. Prep time is about 5-10 minutes, cook time around 45 minutes.
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Sheet pan dinners in general are a huge time saver for easy dinner recipes. Simply go into Pinterest and search for “paleo sheet pan dinners” or “Whole 30 sheet pan dinners” (using these terms helps you get results that don’t have processed oils, are low sugar, lower carb, and high in veggies). These sheet pan fajitas are a super easy healthy weeknight meal to make. To make these low -FODMAP, omit the onion, garlic, garlic powder, and onion powder. You can also add quartered tomato to the pan for more flavor and juices. Total prep and cook time is about 20 minutes.
Easy Weeknight Tacos
Weeknight tacos are one of the easiest meals out there. Using this recipe from Real Simple, you can have a weeknight meal in 20 minutes, start to finish. This recipe is SO easy, and you can make it even easier by just browning ground beef (grass fed if possible) and throwing in a whole jar of salsa and some salt- that’s it. You can also “hide” veggies in the ground beef (a great way to sneak in extra veggies, for yourself and your kids!)- just finely chop up greens like spinach or chard, mushrooms, and a chopped onion and mix it in with the taco meat. (The key is to not overdo it). Serving in Siete shells is a great option because they are made with avocado oil, not processed oils like most taco shells, or eating as a lettuce cup for extra crunch, fiber, and greens.
Sheet Pan Steak & Veggies
Noticing a theme here? Sheet pans are a lifesaver! Since steak cooks quickly this recipe is insanely fast. To make it even quicker, just cut the potatoes smaller and roast for a few minutes on their own in the sheetpan before adding the steak and other ingredients. Grass fed steak is high in Omega-3’s and is a great way to get iron into your diet, and broccoli is a star member of the cruciferous vegetable family- veggies that are known to help support our liver’s detoxification processes.
More Time Saving Tricks
Eating more nutrient-supportive foods does not need to be all consuming. Finding a handful of recipes that you can rely on can be a gamechanger. Here are a few more tips to save even more time cooking:
Use pre-cut veggies from your grocer. Trader Joe’s has a ton of options, and most grocers seem to be following suit: pre-cut broccoli, frozen cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, bagged greens like kale and spinach, etc. For example, recipe #5 above (sheet pan steak & veggies) can be even quicker by using a pre-cut bag of broccoli & a pint of grape tomatoes. Just rinse and add to the sheet pan.
Don’t be afraid of jars and cans and bags! While yes, in a perfect world we would all be eating organic veggies that were probably picked yesterday from a local farmer, in reality there are a million reasons why this isn’t possible. From accessibility to food to budget reasons to time, my general take is to get as many veggies into your diet as possible, in whatever form that looks like for you. Sometimes this means frozen, cans, or jars (as in recipe # 1 above).
When in doubt for dinner, don’t reinvent the wheel- just think “protein, veggies, greens.” Try to keep some meats stocked in your freezer and some vegetables available. You don’t necessarily need a ‘recipe’ per se, just the basics above that you can season however you want and presto, you’ve got dinner. For example, if you didn’t get a chance to meal plan one week, grab some frozen chicken thighs out of the freezer and roast them on a sheet pan with whatever vegetable you have, add a salad or a side of quick wilted greens like spinach or kale, and add in brown rice or quinoa if needed. Dinner. Done!
Don’t have time to meal plan? Did you know we can do that for you and save you a TON of time and energy each week? At Source + Sprout Nutrition, we offer Personalized Grocery Lists and Recipes as just one of our many services. We do the meal planning work for you! Here’s how it works: Simply purchase the meal planning and grocery list service, let us know your dietary preferences, and we’ll choose 5 recipes (any combo of breakfast, lunch, and dinner) along with the full list of groceries you’ll need. Click here to find out more.
Got any other tricks to make healthy snacking, meal prepping and meal planning a breeze? Share below!
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This information is for educational and informational purposes only and solely as a self-help tool for your own use. I am not providing medical, psychological, or nutrition therapy advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your own medical practitioner. Always seek the advice of your own medical practitioner and/or mental health provider about your specific health situation. For my full Disclaimer, please go to https://www.sourceandsproutnutrition.com/disclaimer