Easy go-to recipes that are fast and healthy?
Marissa writes,
I’m the prototypical single white female. Twenty-five years old and just out of graduate school, I’m living a glamorous life in the big city of Chicago, Illinois. I’d love to tell you that with all my free time I go to gallery openings and get cocktails with my fabulous girlfriends, but the truth is much less exciting. Really, I’m working more than full-time and trying to exercise, be healthy, and basically figure out how to be a functioning member of society. Turns out that this adulthood thing is HARD. My issue isn’t with exercise so much as eating well and making good choices. Left to my own devices I tend to eat Cheerios or something pre-packed and from a box for every meal. Forget lean meats and fresh veggies, I pick something fast and easy that I don’t have to think about. I know if I put more effort into cooking that I’d eat much healthier (and probably save a lot of money on takeout) but even beginning something like that seems daunting. I need a collection of relatively easy go-to recipes that I could learn how to make and then expand on. Any suggestions?
It can definitely be a challenge to get into the routine of preparing fresh, healthy meals, especially if you’re cramped for time and you’ve only got your own mouth to worry about. My favorite just-for-me meal is cheese and crackers, and I could probably live on that forever with no complaints. Until the scurvy set in, of course.
I have a similar problem to you in that I get home late and don’t have the luxury of doing a lot of simmering or baking every night. A couple suggestions:
• Try making some big meals—soups, casseroles, whatever—over the weekend, when you’ve got time for prep work and cooking, then reheat throughout the week
• Crockpot!
• Make good use of long-storage items like frozen veggies, noodles, spaghetti sauce, frozen chicken breasts, etc, so things don’t rot/wilt and bum you out
There are so many resources out there for fast, easy, healthy meals, it shouldn’t be a problem to find some things that work with your own tastes and time constraints. Once you have a few staples that you enjoy and don’t mind preparing, you’ll know what kitchen items to keep on hand, and it will be easier to come up with some home-cooked meals instead of resorting to the Cheerio box each night. : )
Readers, what do you recommend for Marissa? Favorite recipe sites, books, or other? What are your go-to meals when you’re cooking for yourself?
October 21st, 2009 at 7:03 pm
I’m 23 and living on my own, facing the same dilemma. Pasta is a great way for me to get in lots of veggies – just saute them, simmer with a little marinara, and I’ve got a meal I can feel good about. Quesadillas are quick and easy and you can add both protein and veggies to those. I know a lot of people like to buy pre-packaged frozen stir-fry and add in veggies, chicken, shrimp, or tofu.
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:53 am
Stir-fry is always an easy and healthy alternative. Sautee chicken, throw in your veggies of choice and toss in some rice (or not, as you choose). also, using your leftover rice for a salad the next day is beyond delicious. Cold rice, chopped carrots, green peppers, broccoli, whatever veggies you want an some fat-free ranch dressing mixed together. Seriously, you’ll wonder how you ever did without.
Good luck! It’s HARD cooking for only one person!
October 22nd, 2009 at 5:49 am
I make a million versions of a light chunky chicken salad. Instead of mayo for the sauce, I use a tablespoon or two of fat free greek yogurt and a tablespoon of lite sour cream. Throw in a baked chicken breast, almonds or a few walnuts, dried fruit, edamame, apples (tossed in lemon juice to keep from browning), celery, well-drained pineapple or mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, capers, spices, etc, etc. Whatever sounds good as a combo. Make a bunch and it’s good for lunch or dinner, and keeps for several days. High protein, lots of flavor.
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:29 am
I’m single too, but 34, so I’ve had some time to work on this same issue. Stir-fry is a huge win for me – I make a huge batch of it on Sunday night, then package it for lunch everyday. I also take a ton of snacks to eat while I’m at work: apples, walnuts, and low-sodium lunch meat with half of a whole wheat wrap. I know a lot of people are terrified of frozen fish, but I’m not, and you’d be surprised how easy and quick it is to cook. It takes 5 minutes to thaw under hot water, then I season and sear it on both sides in a skillet, then slap it in the oven for 15 minutes at 375. Pretty easy. Lately my trainer has been telling me to consume most of my protein early in the day, then just have veggies at night. So now my nighttime meal is a baked sweet potato, and some of those Green Giant steamable veggies. I don’t really vary my food much during the week, because it’s just easier to have a routine, but I get more creative on the weekends. So unless you just have to have variety, I recommend having a set menu that works for you and that you can make with your eyes closed.
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:43 am
I have a half hour, tops, in the evenings for food prep/cleanup. I love the frozen veggies too so my challenge is a quick-cooking protein (meat, in my case). I try to bake lots of chicken on the weekends to have for lunch and quick dinners throughout the week. I love the frozen tilapia filets, microwaved for two minutes, as a filling for fish tacos. Ham steaks take literally three minutes on each side to fry up in a dry non-stick pan. I cook hamburger on the weekends and freeze it, then thaw as needed to add it to chili or spaghetti sauce. The bag of frozen shrimp says not to thaw it in the microwave, but I do, all the time (on the defrost setting) and it tastes fine. Canned black beans are a staple too — I cook big batches of brown rice in the rice cooker on the weekends, then have rice and beans, or stir fry.
I’ve said it before, but I had to let go of the idea that a meal wasn’t healthy or worth cooking unless there was a recipe printed off from Cooking Light, with at least six ingredients, that would last me all week, that both me and my kid could eat, etc. It’s not that deep — just throw it together and enjoy.
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:54 am
Most recipes can be made healthier by the addition of more veggies. I add spinach to almost everything. Or beans. Or make sure that the grains are whole wheat.
I’d start with a Rachael Ray cookbook and then look for ways to healthy-fy it. She has great recipes for pumpkin polenta that takes 10 minutes to make & you can tweak it to meet your needs.
I make a recipe for cold sesame noodles from epicurious.com with only 2 oz of whole wheat pasta, and use some sauteed broccoli slaw for the rest.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:04 am
When cooking for just myself, I am a big fan of one whole egg + 2 whites, scrambled with some chopped meat, beans or cheese, plus whatever vegetables I have around. I wouldn’t make it for company, but when you want to eat dinner ten minutes after walking in the door, you can’t beat eggs. No pun intended.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:12 am
I’m in a similar situation, only also with the addition of an eentsy weentsy budget. I also vote for big meals that can be refrigerated/frozen and stir fry: easy, quick, and healthy and it can have countless variations so you don’t get stuck in a rut. I’m also a big fan of quesadillas, either tradition Mexican-style ones with beans, lots of sauteed veggies, homemade guacamole, spinach, etc, made with multigrain tortillas. Or ones that are more like flatbread sandwiches–with turkey, sliced apple and brie or cheddar. What’s great about these is that the ingredients are super versatile. The tortillas can be used for wraps at lunch, the veggies for everything, beans for other dishes, apples for snacks.
I like to buy Near East Whole Grain Blends rice/couscous. You can get about 2 and a half meals out of each box, and they’re very straightforward to make. And again, add black beans or sauteed chicken and some kind of veggies to them and there you go. I just try to have some kind of whole grain around always, either regular brown rice or those, you make it once and you have your next few meals.
I love to cook more ambitiously with my friends, but since I’ve been living in a new city/apartment and cooking pretty much on my one, it just needs to be simple, cheap and easy. So the grain/veggies/protein combo just works. Last night I dry roasted slivered almonds (a GREAT thing to have around–any nut is. Add them to stir fries, veggie sautees, big salads, a great protein boost)and sauteed some orange pepper and tomatoes, tossed in some dill and curry powder, added chickpeas and mixed it all up with some sliced raw red onion and had it over brown rice couscous I’d made a couple nights ago–fast, and delish. Once you try a few things, you’ll end up with a short list of staples that are easy to have around, and you can throw things together in a heartbeat.
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
One of my super quick meals when it is just me for dinner is baked eggs. I stick some lunch meat (usually turkey or ham, an egg, a splash of milk, salt and pepper, a little spinkle of cheese on top in a heat-proof ramekin. I usually make two for dinner… Stick it in my toaster oven at 375 for about ten minutes depending on how you like your egg. Pair with a quick salad and you have a healthy easy dinner fast!
I also like to make soup or chili on Sunday and eat it for dinner for days…
Another fast dinner option for me is the bag of frozen chicken breasts in my freezer. I can defrost in warm water or defrost setting on microwave and add to stir fry or pasta sauce or marinate and grill, taco filling, quesdilla filling… So many options. Also if you are going to add to something like chicken salad where you want a moist meat you can always boil those chicken breasts. Easy as pie.
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Pookahs — baked eggs sounds like a really tasty and easy dinner, and it’s probably Atkins-friendly, but a cardiologist would cringe at all that cholesterol and sodium from the processed meat, cheese, salt, and eggs.
The baked eggs recipe sounds great for weight management, efficiency, and taste, but it wouldn’t be termed “healthy” per current conventional medical dogma. (Personally , I actually think the Atkins diet is perfectly healthy, that it works and lowers serum cholesterol — or at least, it lowered mine –but most cardiologists think it’s suicidal.)
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:16 am
My go to easy meal is frozen veggies steamed in the microwave with poached frozen fish, both served with a touch of butter or olive oil and lots of lemon. I love it, my kids love it, and it takes all of 10 minutes to prepare.
I always keep soup portions in the freezer because not only is it easy to reheat, but it is incredibly healthy. Either make soup or buy fresh soup and throw it in the freezer.
November 8th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
As an alternative to the good suggestions above, I have a can-be-vegan recipe that’s easy and quick and really satisfying. It’s also adaptable and made from stuff you probably have (mostly) on hand.
2 cups broth (any kind),
1.5 cups water
.75 cups lentils
.25 cups brown rice
1 cup each of chopped carrots, celery, and tomatoes
1 small can of mushrooms (or fresh)
Onion soup mix (Lipton’s is vegan, but most have beef bouillon)
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1-2 tablespoons dried basil or 0.25 cups fresh
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the water and broth to a boil, toss in everything else, let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Eat it.
Serving size is 2 cups, and there are about 4 servings in this. It’s filling, high in protein, extremely low in fat, fast to put together from stuff you probably have in your fridge or can keep in a cabinet, and low maintenance once you’ve got it going. I love this recipe and usually pair it with a salad.
May 3rd, 2013 at 2:11 am
Easy Recipes