Life is busy. With such a busy lifestyle, it is often a struggle to find time and the energy to come up with healthy meals. However, the food that we consume influences our emotions, energy, as well as a possibility of developing an illness. It is also important to note that incorporating nutrition doesn’t have to be extremely difficult, time consuming, or boring. Really, there are many fast, simple, and, in the most crucial, tasty meals, which can be prepared even with a large number of other things to do. This post provides ideas on how you can optimize your time when preparing meals, and 20+ easy healthy meals anyone can prepare.
Meal Planning Tips for Busy Schedules
The first process of quick and healthy eating is planning. Here are some meal planning strategies to make weeknight cooking less stressful:Here are some meal planning strategies to make weeknight cooking less stressful:
- Cook more than required portions on the nights when there is less business to have meals to serve in the busier days or to pack and freeze for another day. For instance, roast an extra chicken or prepare more soup than you usually would.
- Some preparation like cutting vegetables or a portion of something you want to cook during the week can be done on a weekend so that it is easier to just toss it together during a busy week.
- Ensure you have healthy convenience foods for snacking and quick meals at home including canned beans or fish, whole grain pasta, frozen vegetables or fruits, precooked grains such as quinoa, and healthy ready to eat sauces or dressing.
- Cook using sheet pan, one pot or slow cooker meals that are easy to prepare and do not take a lot of washing.
- Choose thin cuts of protein such as boneless skinless chicken breasts, extra lean ground meats, eggs, canned tuna/salmon and other proteins that do not take time to cook.
With some advance planning and the right ingredients on hand, you can put together fast, tasty meals using one of these 20+ healthy recipes:
Youth Health Nutrition Recipes: Quick and Healthy Meals for Busy and Active People
- Sheet Pan Fajitas – This involves preparing chicken and bell peppers, as well as seasoning them before putting them to roast. It is best served in tortillas with toppings of your choice.
- Tuna and Avocado Salad – mix canned tuna with greens, avocado and a lemon vinaigrette.
- Loaded Oatmeal – Quick oats cooked with almond, berries, yogurt, and cinnamon.
- Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes – Sweet potatoes filled with taco seasoned ground beef, beans, salsa, cheese, and more.
- Veggie Frittata – containing sautéed spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese.
- Greek Yogurt Bowls – Delicious Greek yogurt garnished with nuts and fruits and honey.
- Burrito Bowls – This meal comprises of brown rice, black beans, fajita vegetables, avocado, and salsa in a single bowl.
- Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps – this recipe is a chicken salad made with Greek yogurt and some celery wrapped in lettuce leaves.
- Paninis – whole grain bread with spread and fillings that includes hummus, fresh vegetables, and lean meat. Grill or toast.
- Protein Smoothies – mix milk/yogurt, peanut butter, frozen fruit, protein powder, oats and chia seeds.
- Caprese Sandwich: Layered bread or toast with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and pesto made from fresh basil leaves.
- Egg & Spinach – Eggs and spinach scrambled with feta cheese and tomatoes on toast.
- Overnight oats – a type of oatmeal made the night before; the oats and toppings are mixed together and left to soak.
- Sheet Pan Salmon & Veggies – baked salmon fillet served with potatoes, green beans and lemon.
- Tuna & EggPOWER Bowls – rice or quinoa, steamed or sautéed vegetables, egg and tuna covered with avocado.
- Harvest Salad – for the salad part, I brought mixed greens, chickpeas, roasted sweet potatoes, feta cheese, nuts, and balsamic dressing.
- crustless mini eggplant pizzas – mini eggplants topped with sauce and cheese then baked.
- Butternut Squash & Black Bean Soup – a combination of sautéed onions, garlic, butternut squash and black beans with seasonings makes it a fiber packed soup.
- Chicken Fajita Pasta – This is a combination of chicken breast, bell peppers which are cooked in a pan with spices then added to whole grain pasta.
- Slow Cooker Turkey chili – ground turkey, canned beans, corn, zesty tomatoes and chili powder cooked in slow cooker for all day.
- Shrimp Power Bowls – seared shrimp on bed of brown rice, topped with roasted broccoli, avocado and lemon tahini dressing.
