The hectic pace of everyday life makes preparing healthy meals difficult. Relieve the stress by planning weekday meals in advance. When you find recipes that you enjoy, alter the ingredients to mix things up for the coming weeks. Learn to prepare nutritious weekday meals that also taste great.
Breakfast
Get a great start to your morning by making a healthy breakfast. Wow your family members with a wonderful frittata. Cook vegetables like zucchini, red bell peppers, jalapenos, onions and leaks in a cast iron pan. Throw in a couple of minced garlic cloves for some spice. Add 12 egg whites and stir for one minute. Cook on the stove top without stirring, and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top and bake the frittata for 20 minutes. You family will get a big helping of vegetables and protein without the fat. Other wonderful breakfast options include a fried egg sandwich on an English muffin, buckwheat pancakes, pumpkin bread, oatmeal brimming with fruit and a yogurt parfait. Fruit parfaits taste like dessert; you can make them the night before by slicing up fruit and layering it with non-fat yogurt, granola and honey. It's a healthy breakfast that tastes like a treat.
Lunch
Lunchtime poses a threat for any diet. Work schedules usually dictate how much time we have for the midday meal. Unfortunately, the temptation of vending machines lures many to fall off the health wagon. Avoid unhealthy options by making your own lunch. Get your daily fiber with a whole wheat pizza. Prepare your own whole wheat pizza dough (see Resources). Top the pizza with vegetables, diced chicken and goat cheese. Bake the pizza the night before and bring it to work to eat cold, or warm in a microwave. Put a delightful spin on a boring salad. Use different kinds of lettuce like endive, Bibb, romaine or butter lettuce. Top with interesting toppings like dried cranberries, raisins, walnuts, avocado or chopped egg. Make your own low-fat dressing by mixing 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. fresh tarragon and a splash of Tabasco. Additional lunch options include a Mediterranean wrap with sprouts and hummus, brown rice sushi, a turkey and herb goat cheese sandwich on whole grain or a burrito with brown rice and beans.
Dinner
People are often exhausted after work, and want to prepare quick and easy meals. Fortunately, there are a lot of healthy recipes that can be made in no time. Chicken noodle soup is filling and wonderful comfort food. Pour 6 cups of chicken broth into a pot. Bring to a boil and add whole wheat noodles. When the noodles are done, drain them, but keep the broth in a separate bowl. Allow the noodles to fully cool so they won't get mushy. In the meantime, bring the broth to a boil and add diced carrots, onions, uncooked chicken (chopped) and celery. Cook until everything is done and mix in the noodles. Other quick meals consist of tacos with black beans and chicken, turkey burgers, pasta with rice flour noodles and baked salmon on a bed of steamed spinach. Experiment with food combinations and make your own personal cookbook to break out when you feel stumped. You'll find that eating healthy is not so much of a hassle, as much as a way to be creative.
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