When you come home at the end of a long day, tired from work, the idea of cooking a healthy meal can seem draining.
While making a healthy dinner from scratch can be both time intensive and challenging, it doesn’t always have to be. Once you have a repertoire of handful of nutritious, easy recipes, perfect a few simple cooking techniques, and incorporate a meal prep plan into your schedule weekly, you’ll have the tools in place to get dinner on the table quickly every night of the week.
Here’s a lazy guide any time-pressed person can follow to get a healthy dinner done in minutes.
1. Broil your proteins.
As part of any balanced nutrition plan, protein should be the main focus. Whether you’re short on time or just feeling lazy, the broiler is your best friend.
Unsure of where the broiler is? If you have an older oven, it’s the pullout drawer underneath your oven door. If you have a newer oven, it’s typically just a setting on your control panel.
Broilers usually cook around 500 to 550°F. It cooks the food from above with high heat. In a newer oven, change the rack you’ll place your food on so that it’s 6 to 7 inches from the heat source.
Here are some really easy broiling recipes. As part of a meal prep, we recommend making about 3 to 4 servings in one sitting and refrigerating the leftovers in Tupperware.
2. Lay a sheet of foil over your broiler pan or baking pan.
3. Cover your raw chicken breasts completely in olive oil (this keeps them from drying out).
4. Lay the breasts on the foil so they aren’t touching and lightly sprinkle the tops of the breasts with your favorite seasoning.
5. Place the tray under the broiler and cook for 10 minutes.
6. Remove the tray from the broiler, flip the chicken breasts and cook for another 10 minutes. If you want, add more seasoning to the other side of the breasts.
Broiled Salmon Recipe
Makes enough protein for four meals.
Prep time = 5 minutes
Cook time = 10 to 12 minutes
Ingredients
1. 4 6-oz salmon fillets
2. 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
3. Sea salt
4. 1 large lemon
Directions
1. Turn on your broiler.
2. Lay a sheet of foil over your broiler pan or baking pan.
3. Place your salmon skin down on broiler pan or baking pan.
4. Pour or brush small coat of olive oil over fillets.
5. Sprinkle an even layer of salt over fillets.
6. Slice lemon and cover the fillets with lemon slices .
7. Place in broiler and cook for 10-12 minutes or until fillets flake easily with a fork.
This article is courtesy of our friends at PrettyFit. Check out their site for more recipes, nutrition tips, and to learn about their products.
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2. Steam Your Veggies
Want to eat some healthy vegetables but don’t feel like salad? Steam your veggies!
You can steam practically any type of vegetable. Our favorites for steaming are:
Carrots
Broccoli
Zucchini
Squash
Green beans
Cauliflower
Steaming veggies can be done over a pot of boiling water with a steamer basket or in the microwave with a microwave-safe dish.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 2-3 minutes
Steaming vegetables in a steamer basket
1. Wash and cut your veggies. Remember that the smaller the cuts are, the less time it takes to steam.
2. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
3. Place vegetables in a steamer basket and place over the boiling water. Be careful not to touch the steamer basket to the boiling water.
4. Steam vegetables for 1 to 3 minutes until they are soft.
Steaming vegetables in the microwave
1. Wash and cut your vegetables.
2. Place vegetables in a microwave-safe bowl with 1 tablespoon of water.
3. Cover the bowl with microwave-safe clear wrap or with a microwave safe plate.
4. Cook in microwave for 2 minutes or until veggies are soft.
3. Cook carbs fast
There are a few ways to cook your carbs fast. If you are short on time and only need one serving of carbs, we recommend microwaving a sweet potato. Wash your sweet potato and poke a few holes in the skin with a knife or toothpick. Then wrap it up in a damp paper towel and microwave for 5 to 7 minutes. Voila! You’ll have a perfectly-cooked sweet potato.
If you’re doing meal prep for a few days’ worth of meals, we recommend making brown or white rice, or roasting potatoes in the oven at 400°F for an hour. Portion out the leftovers in plastic containers (single-serving ones might make it easier to grab and go), then simply microwave when you’re ready to eat!
