Life gets crazy sometimes, and our intention to eat more healthy meals goes by the wayside.
And so it becomes easy to just grab fast food, takeout Chinese, or something processed and already made from the grocery store.
But then maybe we feel guilty. Our need for quick and easy has overpowered our need for healthy and good-for-us. And we’re out of ideas.
Maybe we need some resources.
Searching for Healthy, Easy Meals
Remember using cookbooks? When I married more than 20 years ago, we turned to cookbooks for our hints, unless we called our mothers or grandmothers for the family favorites.
But our family eats differently now, based on our desire to eat healthier and on our different goals for our health and well-being. Sometimes I use to those family recipes on Thanksgiving or other special occasions. But most often, I search for recipes on the internet.
Last week, I decided I wanted something with artichokes and garlic, and I knew we had chicken on hand that needed to be used. So I searched online for “recipes with chicken, artichokes, garlic” and found Artichoke Chicken, a recipe that was easy and quick to prepare. In it, I replaced the mayonnaise with grass-fed plain yogurt. Next time, I will replace that yogurt with a plain coconut milk yogurt, since I’m trying to reduce my dairy intake.
I like the allrecipes.com site overall, because options abound, and I can factor in any dietary preferences such as gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free.
Other searches for “healthy easy recipes” turned up many options: From the Food Network, from Damn Delicious, and, again All Recipes.
And Pinterest is another site that many cooks use to research and save ideas.
Great Tools for Healthy, Easy Meals
I love using my slow cooker, and the new programmable pressure cookers such as Instant Pot sound intriguing to me.
One suggestion I saw online included cooking chicken in the slow cooker. Buy a family pack, include 3-4 breasts, sprinkle on some poultry seasoning, cover with water, and cook on low about 5 hours. Shred chicken, and freeze in air-tight containers. The chicken can go into recipes for quesadillas, BBQ, tacos and anything else. Chicken tenderloins can be grilled and frozen for quick, easy meals.
Chili, soup, roasts, and more can be cooked in slow cookers, and the scent of dinner greeting you when you come home after work can’t be beat.
Keep it Simple for Easy and Healthy
Sometimes my favorite options are the simplest ones:
- Grass-fed beef formed into patties and seasoned with garlic salt and lemon pepper, then cooked on the stove. Served bun-less, along with a salad or steamed green vegetable.
- Frittatas, like this roasted vegetable frittata from Ina Garten.
- Tacos, turning at least one day of the week into Taco Tuesday or Thursday. I make my own taco seasoning.
How about for you? What are some of your go-to sites for healthy and easy recipes? Share below.
I’m Amy Hoogervorst, an integrative health coach, offering grace and space for a healthier you. Thanks for joining me for Step 20 in the “31 Steps to a Healthier You” series, part of #Write31Days 2017. You can read what the series is all about here and catch up on past posts. If you don’t want to miss a thing, subscribe to get each one in your inbox.
