Cheap, quick, healthy and EASY meal ideas
So it's been another long day and you just don't feel like cooking. So you order some take away food, or heat up some cup a soup and toast. Right?
Not tonight! The following ideas give you some recipes for quick and healthy meals, to get you out of trouble after a long day. We mean quick.
Note: Meals here do not have specific ingredients or amounts, because it really doesn't matter. Use ingredients to taste, what you have available, or what you feel like eating.
10 Minute Pizza Foccacia
- 1 large foccacia base (plain)
- 1/2 - 1 container of Pesto Paste (basil or sundried tomato are great)
- Grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese
Spread your the pesto across the top of the foccacia base, sprinkle on grated cheese and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Easy.
Chicken and Risoni Soup - 3 + Meals
- 2 large leeks (onions can also be used if leeks are unavailable)
- 1 - 3 cloves of garlic (to taste)
- 2 - 3 chicken breasts, cubed or diced
- 1 capsicum
- 2 cups risoni pasta, or similar small, absorbent pasta
- 1 - 2L Campbells Real Stock (liquid vegetable stock)
- Chilli (optional) or pepper, to taste
- Cumin, be generous with the cumin, as it is the main flavour of the dish (to taste)
- Add extra water, depending on how strong the stock is and how liquid your soup is
- Chopped baby spinach (optional)
Put a generous splash of olive oil and crushed garlic in the bottom of a large cooking pot and set to low heat. In the mean time, finely cut your leeks and capsicum. Add chopped leeks to pot and turn heat up to medium. Allow this to simmer in garlic and oil until soft. Then add capsicum, cumin, (optional) chilli and pepper and set to simmer.
Dice chicken breast, removing visible fat. Sear chicken in a separate frying pan until golden for 1 - 3 minutes. We will cook it thoroughly shortly. Add chicken to vegetable mix, which should now be soft. Add stock, water and risoni pasta (note; risoni pasta is more absorbent than it looks), cover and bring to boil.
Once boiled, take back to simmer and serve.
Tip: This meal is great to re-heat and eat for a second or third meal in the week. Cook up extra on the weekend, for a pre cooked meal for during the week.
Tuna Alfredo
- Bow tie pasta
- Frozen mixed vegatables
- Canned tuna
- Provolone cheese
- Alfredo sauce
Cook bow tie pasta with frozen mixed vegetables and drain well. Mix with canned, drained tuna, shredded provolone cheese, and refrigerated Alfredo sauce and heat. Top with grated Romano cheese.
Tip: Cook up more pasta than you need and leave some ready in the fridge.
Since we're talking nutrition, you have to try this recipe for protein pancakes I got from T Muscle:
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup egg whites (6 in total)
1 scoop Vanilla Metabolic Drive
Cinnamon (to taste)
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend till you have a consistent texture. Pour into frying pan, and go to town. Scumptious!