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5 Minute Easy Recipes
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A Month of Breakfast, Lunch or Light Dinner Ideas
Here are 30 easy recipes that take less than 5 minutes to prepare and contain all the components necessary for a nutritionally balanced meal.
(More about planning nutritionally balanced meals).
They're easy if you're cooking for one, but you can multiply and cook for the whole family too!
Hula Wrap:
Spread lowfat ricotta cheese down the center of a whole wheat tortilla. Add crushed pineapple, and a dash of nutmeg. Roll up and eat on the run!
Stuffed Melon:
Cut a cantaloupe or honeydew melon in half. Serve nonfat/lowfat cottage cheese in the hollowed out center. Sprinkle with ground flaxseeds and cinnamon.
Pita Chili Melt:
Stuff whole wheat pita pocket bread with drained and rinsed canned pinto beans, diced green chili and grated lowfat cheddar cheese. Microwave until cheese melts.
Cottage Cheese and Fruit Plate:
Buy an assortment of pre-cut fruits at the supermarket and serve with lowfat cottage cheese and whole grain crackers (Ak Mak and Healthy Valley are good brands).
Cottage Cheese Sandwich:
Lowfat cottage cheese, chopped dates or dried figs, sliced banana, crushed pineapple on toasted raisin bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Cottage Cheese Pita:
Mix lowfat cottage cheese with drained fruit cocktail. Stir in lowfat shredded cheddar cheese. Serve in whole wheat pita pocket or wrap.
Cottage Cheese and Veggie Salad:
Mix lowfat cottage cheese with chopped green onions, grated zucchini, grated carrot and sliced tomato. Sprinkle with ground flaxseeds or slivered almonds.
Greek Stuffed Pita:
Stuff a whole wheat pita pocket bread with hummus, baby spinach, reduced fat feta cheese, and rinsed and drained garbanzo beans.
Sloppy Joe:
Heat canned bean chili and serve over an open faced whole wheat bun. Sprinkle with ground flaxseeds and a small amount of shredded cheese.
Hummus Wrap:
Mix hummus with prepared lentils. Serve in a whole wheat tortilla with baby spinach and (jarred) roasted red bell pepper.
Black Bean Wrap:
Mix rinsed and drained canned black beans with lime juice and cumin. Serve wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with baby spinach, sliced mango, sliced red onion, and diced avocado.
Turkey Salad:
Chop leftover turkey breast (or low sodium turkey deli meat such as Boar's Head) with cranberry sauce and chopped celery. Serve on a bed of lettuce or wrap in a lettuce wrap or whole wheat tortilla.
Chicken Salad:
Mix diced chicken (use rotisserie chicken to speed things up) with chopped dried apricots, curry powder, and chopped celery. Stir in a tropical flavored nonfat yogurt. Serve on a bed of lettuce or wrap in a lettuce wrap or whole wheat tortilla.
Salmon Salad:
Combine canned salmon (rinsed and drained) with diced cucumber and chopped scallions Stir in plain nonfat yogurt and season with dill. Serve on a bed of lettuce or wrap in a lettuce wrap or whole wheat tortilla.
Tuna Salad:
Mix rinsed and drained water packed tuna with plain nonfat yogurt, crushed pineapple and shredded carrots. Serve on a bed of lettuce or wrap in a lettuce wrap or whole wheat tortilla.
Rice Salad
Add dried cranberries and chopped walnuts to leftover brown rice. Serve stuffed inside 1/2 baked (microwaved) acorn squash or wrap in lettuce wrap to eat as a sandwich.
(C)BLT:
That's a Canadian bacon (lower fat than regular bacon), lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Use reduced fat canola oil mayonnaise or mustard and serve on toasted whole wheat bread. Use a whole sliced tomato!
Grilled Cheese #1:
Cook in nonstick spray: reduced fat gouda cheese and thinly sliced pear on whole wheat bread.
Grilled Cheese #2:
Cook in nonstick spray: reduced fat cheddar cheese and thinly sliced apple on rye bread.
Goat Cheese Sandwich:
Spread light layer of soft goat cheese on toasted pumpernickel bread. Top with raspberry preserves and kiwi slices.
Grilled Ham Sandwich:
Cook in nonstick spray: lowfat ham and orange marmalade on cinnamon raisin bread.
Coleslaw Wrap:
Mix preshredded cabbage coleslaw mix with plain nonfat yogurt. Add mandarin oranges, rinsed and drained garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds and raisins and serve in whole wheat tortilla.
| recipe! | |||
| Ginger Peanut Chicken Salad Wraps | |||
 | courtesy of Free Chicken Recipes | ||
| Loads of free chicken recipes | |||
Breakfast for Dinner:
Canadian bacon, poached egg, sliced tomato and mustard on a toasted whole wheat English muffin.
Parfait:
Mix plain nonfat yogurt with orange segments, chopped dates or dried figs and chopped pecans. Layer in a parfait glass with lowfat granola.
Peanut Butter Sandwich:
A peanut butter sandwich is an easy meal for lunch or dinner and is always a good choice to fall back on when you can't think of anything else to make! If you don't get heavy handed with the peanut butter it's a healthy choice that gets this nutritionist's stamp of approval.
Let's go in depth about peanut butter!
Be sure to use natural peanut butter, which doesn't have added sugar or any partially hydrogenated oil (trans fat). You can also substitute other nut butters such as almond butter, sesame seed butter ("tahini"), cashew butter, or soy nut butter.
Vary the type of bread you use to keep it fun and interesting: whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortilla "wraps," cinnamon raisin bread, whole wheat pita pocket bread.
Here are some of my favorite ways to vary a pb&j. The dietitian in me always finds a way to add a fruit! It's a great way to make an easy recipe an easy healthy recipe.
- Peanut butter, applesauce, chopped dates or raisins, cinnamon
- Peanut butter, sliced banana, drizzle of honey or pure maple syrup
- Peanut butter, mango chutney mixed with plain nonfat Greek yogurt, sliced banana
- Peanut butter, raisins, sunflower seeds, drizzle of honey
- Peanut butter, shredded carrots, raisins
- Peanut butter, sliced apples, apple pie spice
See...easy recipes and healthy meals can fit together...
...like peanut butter and banana. :-)
See more easy recipes.
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