3 Nutritious Meals That are Easy To Make
When you’ve got a busy work and home life, it can be hard to find balance. This is especially true when it comes to your food. Sure, you want to eat nutritious, healthy meals, but find yourself reaching for your phone to order take out more than you’d like. Or, you’re so busy that you’ve gotten used to living off snacks from the office breakroom. But it’s time to break the cycle. We’ve got some nutritious, easy meals to make at home to get you out of your mealtime rut and into enjoying some good food for you!
A Simple Spinach Salad
Ordering in for lunch can be fun every once and a while at the office, but if you do it all the time, you might find that heavy takeout meals leave you feeling sluggish and ready for a nap right as you’re supposed to head into a series of back-to-back afternoon meetings. One quick, healthy lunch you can pack at home is what we like to call a “simple spinach salad.” All you need is tupperware to toss your ingredients in to store in the office fridge.
Pack two cups of spinach into your Tupperware as a base in the morning or night before work. Note: if you’re not a fan of spinach, you can easily substitute any leafy green of your choice to make this meal. Then, add tomatoes, carrot shreds, and cucumber slices for added veggie variety. From there, you’ll want to include a protein, like hard-boiled eggs, grilled chicken, or chickpeas (if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet)t. Finally, refrigerate your salad until you’re ready to eat, and top with a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing. After lunch, you’ll feel like a healthy, green machine prepared to take on the rest of your busy day.
Chicken Stir-Fry
For a quick and nutritious dinner option, there’s no way you can go wrong with chicken stir fry. First, get a pot of rice to act as the base of your meal. While the rice is cooking, you’ll want to saute some chicken in a skillet. You can choose to season your chicken simply with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, or if you’re a fan of spice, you can prep a light pepper-infused marinade to put your chicken in before you cook it. To get some veggies in, you’ll want to add some mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper, and carrots to your skillet to cook with the chicken. Once your chicken, veggies, and rice are done, put them in a bowl and serve with a side of soy sauce. You’ll likely have leftovers, so save them for lunch or dinner the following day for another nutritious meal.
Zucchini Noodles and Marinara
If you’re looking to cut down on gluten, you can make a nutritious pasta dish by substituting spaghetti with zucchini noodles! Zucchini noodles can be made at home by grinding squash into thin strips with a spiralizer or purchased at the grocery store fresh or frozen. Put the spirals in a skillet with water or oil to heat them. Be mindful of them, as you don’t want them to get too browned and burn. If you’re in a crunch for time, you can warm some fresh zucchini noodles up in the microwave. Zucchini noodles are great because of their serving of veggies and the time-saving aspect of not having to boil water or strain them like normal pasta. It’s the ideal meal for those who only have a little time to make healthy meals.
While heating your zucchini noodles, warm up your marinara sauce and let it simmer. We chose marinara for this recipe because it’s a classic, but know that you’re welcome to use whatever pasta sauce you like the most. Zucchini noodle alfredo sounds pretty good to us too!
If you want to add protein to your dish, you can mix in some ground beef or turkey meat to cook with your sauce. Getting a good amount of protein in your diet ensures that your body will stay fuller longer and that you’re getting the essential nutrients you need for your body to function.
After the meat is cooked and your sauce is ready, add it to the zucchini noodles and serve. Top with a bit of parmesan cheese, and you’ve got a healthy twist on a classic Italian dish within minutes!
Finding the time to make delicious, nutritious meals may seem impossible, but with quick, healthy recipes like the ones above, it doesn’t have to be. Consider the kinds of vegetables and proteins you most enjoy eating and devise fun, straightforward ways to combine them in different meals throughout the week. So what’s your favorite nutritious meal to make?
