Easy Quick Healthy Meals: What I've Been Eating Lately

Easy Quick Healthy Meals: What I've Been Eating Lately

Here are some of the meals i've made over the past few days.  Im all about balance, I like to aim for healthy but if something doesnt taste right without adding a little cheese or cream here and there then ill go ahead and add it in there.  When I cook i usually try to add in lots of veggies, one starch, and a protein.  

Swedish Meatballs, Brown Rice Pasta and a side of Grilled Zucchini:  These swedish meatballs are from traders and they're super easy to grill up (you can store a bunch in the freezer for lazy nights when you don't feel like cooking from scratch).  I always try to use brown rice pasta to make pasta nights a little more healthy, and then grilled up some onion and garlic in olive oil to add some flavor to Trader Joes spicy Arrabiata sauce (this sauce is great with seafood pasta as well). It has the perfect amount of spice from sweet red peppers and tasted great with the swedish meatballs. 

For grilling the zucchini as well as what the brown rice pasta looks like click here to see my previous quick meals post where i posted pics and talked more in depth about it: Easy Quick Healthy Meals

Chicken Serenada Tacos:

This was another easy meal that tasted so delicious.  I grilled up Traders "Chicken Serenada", its fresh  chicken breast with grilled bell peppers and grilled onion all pre-marinated and precooked, you just need to reheat on the stove. I am not a fan of precooked meals but traders doesnt add any preservatives and you have to eat their food within a few days or it goes bad. Its just as though you made it yourself.  I threw it on an ezekiel sprouted grain tortilla (super healthy and so yum!), with some shredded cabbage, avocado, a little mexican cheese blend, and lettuce.  You can add on tapatio or salsa if youd like but i thought the chicken gave it plenty of flavor. 

Shrimp Tacos with Lime chipotle sauce:

Shrimp tacos are my hubbys favorite and i haven't made them in so long! I decided to give them a twist by topping them with a delicious homemade lemon chipotle sour cream sauce.  I uses fresh shrimp (it cooks fast so be careful), I cooked the shrimp in olive oil with a sprinkle of chipotle, chili powder, garlic, salt, and 2 tablespoons of salsa and a half of a lime.  I piled it onto the same Ezekiel sprouted grain tortillas as above with shredded cabbage, a sprinkle of a mexican cheese blend, and avocado. I squeezed fresh lime on top and then added my homemade sauce.

For the sauce:  you'll need 1/4 cup light sour cream or greek yogurt. Half of a lemon or a whole lime. A 1/4 teaspoon of the following spices: chili powder, chipotle, garlic, cumin,  fresh or dried cilantro salt and pepper to taste. Add in minced jalepeno (i used 4 little slivers from a jar)  You will love this sauce and can use it on fish tacos as well! It makes the tacos!

Filet Mignon with Grilled Zucchini and Onion with a Side Kale Salad:

I am not a huge red meat kinda gal but once in a while I enjoy a nice steak. I grilled up some filets, added a side of zucchini and grilled onion (off the grill instead of grilling it on stove top), and a side of my kale salad that is also one of my husbands favorites!  For the Kale salad recipe go here (at the bottom of the post): Healthy Recipes and Ideas: What I've Been Eating Lately

Eat up & Enjoy Ladies! 

What are some of your favorite easy quick and healthy recipes/ideas?!

Healthy Kale Broccoli Slaw Recipe

Healthy Kale Broccoli Slaw Recipe:

This recipe is absolutely delicious and its healthy! Its a fresh summer salad that would be perfect for a labor day get together!

Its really easy and quick!  

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 12 oz Classic Coleslaw  store bought package (broccoli slaw you can purchase from any grocery store)

2 cups Rainbow Slaw (another purchase from any grocery store)

1/4 cup Sliced Almonds

1/2 cup Dried Cranberries

3 cups Chopped fresh kale (i chopped it finer than it comes in the bag, i also took all of the bones out)

Dressing:

4 tbspn Apple Cider Vinegar or white rice vinegar

1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard Dijon mustard

3 Tbspn Honey or agave nector

1/4 tsp Kosher Salt

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 tbspn Greek Yogurt or light sour cream

1/4 tsp fresh black pepper

I usually dont measure things and just eye ball it, so this is me guessing what i used.. you can add things in like chicken or chopped broccoli, etc if youd like. Have fun with it!

Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the dressing in a separate bowl until it is smooth and emulsified. Then combine them and toss until the salad is covered thoroughly.

Let it sit for 30 mins and enjoy! My hubby and I ate it 5 minutes later, so you dont necessarily have to wait. This is delicious and a must try!

Quick Healthy Recipes for Pregnant Women Or Those of us that Need Something Easy

Quick Healthy Recipes 

Dinner: MELT IN YOUR MOUTH CHICKEN- you can make this with chicken breasts or tenders.  Ingredients you'll need for the chicken: 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, 1 cup plain greek yogurt (I used Oikos), 1/2 cup parmesan cheese - grated, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper. Preheat oven to 375.  Combine in a bowl the greek yogurt, parmesan, and all other ingredients.  Line baking sheet with foil. Coat each breast or tender thickly with the mixture (i used clean fingers and a spoon).  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.  If they are tenders depending on how big they are, you'll have to cook them for less time, keep an eye on them and cut into one and make sure the chicken is completely cooked through.  Artichoke is easy to make in a big pot with a little water or you can steam them (they are a little time consuming but i was craving them). Delish! A must try recipe.  Make the chicken early in the morning and then just preheat the oven and cook it when you get home from work! Simple!

Dinner: Lemon Rosemary Salmon. I bought fresh salmon from Ralphs, through it on a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a whole lemon juiced on top, a couple shakes of dried rosemary, 1/2 tablespoon of fresh minced garlic, and salt to taste. I used Tj's 3 minute microwavable frozen brown rice and added on olive oil butter spray (ralphs) and fat free parmesean with salt and pepper to taste.  A side spinach salad with fresh feta cheese, fresh peaches (because they are delicious, hubbys favorite fruit, and are in season).  You can use any dressing you'd like but I used a homemade recipe: 

Dressing recipe: 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (you can always add 1 tablespoon of honey as well if you like a sweeter taste).  Shake in a jar until all ingredients are mixed well and keep refridgerated  

Dinner: Tader Joes does it again! I bought their frozen "Linguine with Pesto and Tomatoes". It comes in a red bag in the frozen section.  All you do is heat and serve! It takes 7 minutes max on the stove with a little added olive oil.  I decided to add in some chicken (shredded off the bone from a rotisserie chicken i bought that week for easy healthy meals) and fresh sun dried tomatos. I cooked them in a separate pot on the stove top (i try not to use the microwave if possible) with Fresh pesto sauce (Trader Joes also sells this over where they keep hummus). The one i buy is called "Trader Giotto's Genova Pesto".  I also added in a little fresh minced garlic and stirred it around until everything was heated.  I then added it into the pesto linguine mix. I purchased this Tomato Olive bread from TJ's as well and heated it for a couple seconds to just keep it warm. I made a simple side salad with fresh green apples, mediterranean feta (from TJ's) with baby spinach and a homemade dressing. 

Dressing recipe: 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (you can always add 1 tablespoon of honey as well if you like a sweeter taste).  Shake in a jar until all ingredients are mixed well and keep refridgerated  

Dinner or Lunch: I made this for dinner after coming across the recipe one evening while shopping at Traders.  I purchased their roasted frozen corn, organic canned black beans, three cheese mexican blend, fresh tomatos, romaine lettuce, green bell pepper, i added spinach to make it even healtheir, and instead of their cilantro creamy dressing that they sell i used lemon juice and tapatio hot sauce for a kick.  Trader's sells THEE BEST marinated carne asada so all you do is throw it on the grill. Its ready fairely quickly.  This left us with a ton of left overs. You can eat it as a salad or a taco or mix it into a burrito later in the week.  We ate it with a side of corn/wheat mixed small tortillas from Ralphs (They're a corn and whole wheat combination.. theyre really soft and yummy!). Id usually use brown rice tortillas or whole wheat but we wanted to try these out.  Serve with a side of light sour cream or greek yogurt.