3 Healthy Meals – fast

Getting a healthy dinner on the table in under 30 minutes is possible and you don’t have to be “faster than a speeding bullet” to pull it off…

veggie fried rice

What you need:

Large wok or skillet 

1, 12 ounce bag of frozen cauliflower. 

1, 12 or 16 ounce bag of mixed veggies.

1, can or two cups of cooked chickpeas.

4-6 tablespoons of or olive oil. 

1/4 cup Coconut Aminos or Liquid Aminos 

Optional* 1 cup of rice (of choice) to conceal veggies. Yields 2-3 cups once cooked.

Directions:

Break up bag of frozen cauliflower, so it’s not all stuck together. 

With skillet over medium heat, add a few tablespoons of oil and frozen cauliflower (do not thaw first), simmer for a few minutes. Add bag of mixed veggies and another tablespoon or so of oil. We prefer peas and carrots, but sometimes get the one with corn, green beans etc. as well. 

Sauté together 5 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup, Liquid Aminos or Coconut Aminos . If you are using soy sauce, I’d reduce the amount slightly. *Liquid aminos is a less processed gluten free, soy sauce alternative. Add rinsed chickpeas. Simmer until veggies are tender another 5-10 min, putting lid on helps but isn’t necessary. If you’re worried about the cauliflower texture vs rice, just add 1-3 cups of cooked white or brown rice depending on how you want your rice to veggie ratio. Cook rice in advance if you need to keep this a 15 minute meal. I like to season rice with 1 tsp of salt and cumin during boil. You will need to increase the amount of liquid aminos by 2-3 tablespoons when adding the rice, but the cauliflower will disappear into the mix and you still get all those VEGGIES! The pre-made frozen rice is also a quick option.

Great for a quick and satisfying dinner or as lunch prep for the week.  Serves a 4-6 depending on how much rice you add..

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Suasge Pepper stir fry

Ingredients: 1 lb package of sausage of choice (keep it clean by reading labels). 4 bell peppers (mix colors of choice). 1 vidalia or red onion. Olive oil. Tortillas, quinoa or rice.

Slice sausage into medallions. Sauté sausage until browned or cooked through. Remove and place on plate. While sausage is cooking slice the peppers and the onion long and thin. Separate some of the bell pepper and do not cook it. Sauté remaining veggies in olive oil, salt & pepper until tender and onion is caramelized. Put sausage back in pan, and mix together. Serve over bed of quinoa, rice or in tortillas. Serve raw bell pepper slices alongside the meal, this gives picky eaters an option in texture. Serves 2 adults and 2 littles.

Rotisserie with lima beans & roasted potatoes

Rotisserie Chicken
Not all rotisserie chickens are created equal. Read the label to make sure you are getting just the ingredients you want. EarthFare, WholeFoods, Fresh Market to name a few. I have not read the ingredient list from Publix, Walmart or others so do share if you have!

Oven Roasted Potatoes:
The trick is to cut 3-4 medium sized potatoes into small cubes the night before or morning of and soak in a bag of water with about a teaspoon of salt. This helps them get super crispy in the oven. When ready to cook pre-heat oven to 425 degrees, pat dry (important to remove access water), add 1/4 cup avocado oil (better oil for cooking at high temps), 1 tsp of pink or sea salt and 1 tsp of your favorite seasoning mix. Roast 15 minutes, toss and roast another 10-15 minutes.

Butterless Lima Beans:
1 16 oz bag of frozen lima beans (or butter beans), 2 strips of bacon, 1 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of minced garlic (or 1tsp of garlic powder).

After you pull out the potatoes to drain and turn on the oven to pre-heat, start the lima beans. Cover the beans with water, about an inch over the top. Add bacon, salt and garlic and set on high to bring to a boil. Go back to potatoes, season and get them in the oven. Then reduce the lima beans to a simmer for 20 minutes.

While waiting on the beans and potatoes pull out chicken and prep for serving. Another option is shredded crockpot chicken. Bonus you can use any leftover chicken to top off your veggie friend rice. Serves 4.

I hope this makes your meal times less fussy and more fun!

Live well friends,
Christy