Staying healthy can be a challenge as an adult, especially when you’re faced with the reality that you have to make all your meals yourself. When faced with the idea of cooking from scratch at the end of a long day, the home delivery menus suddenly start to look way too appealing. But the good news is that it's not necessary to slave away over a hot stove for hours in order to whip up a nutritious (and delicious) dinner.
The bottom line of most diets is increasing your protein intake. Protein is an essential part of staying healthy, but it’s not always easy to pack in a lot of protein into a regular diet. Making a conscious effort to add to your daily protein intake can help you feel full and provide you with extra energy. It helps to repair tissue, keep your bones strong, and help increase fat burning.
But even though it's so amazing most of us fall short on our daily protein count because they just tend to be a little harder to cook every day. To fix this, we’ve brought together 3 super-fast recipes that will have you feeling like a master chef and eating like royalty this week.
Lemon-Garlic Chicken with Green Beans
Simple and elegant, this meal looks just as healthy as it is.
Ingredients
- 500 gm chicken breast cutlets
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp ground pepper, divided
- 2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 500 gms green beans trimmed
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, plus leaves for garnish
- 30 ml unsalted chicken broth
- 30 ml dry white wine
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 30 gms toasted nuts
Method:
- Sprinkle chicken with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and green beans to the pan.
- Sprinkle with the remaining ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, lemon zest and thyme; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add broth, wine and lemon juice and return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until the liquid is reduced by half, about 1 minute more.
- Serve topped with pine nuts, more thyme and lemon wedges, if desired.
Garlic Shrimp Quinoa Bowl
Low fat, low cal, high on protein. This dinner does it all.
Ingredients
- 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 pound raw tail-on shrimp 26–30 count, peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp kosher salt divided
- ½ tsp chilli powder divided
- ⅓ cup finely chopped yellow onion about half of 1 small onion
- 100 gms cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 cloves garlic minced (about 1 tbsp)
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 large lemon
- 3 tbsps fresh parsley plus additional for serving
Method:
- In a large nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat 2 tsp of the olive oil over medium-high.
- Add the shrimp, then sprinkle with ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp chilli powder.
- Sauté just until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes.
- Heat the remaining 2 tsp olive oil in the same skillet, then add the onion.
- Let it cook until the onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant. At this point, toss in the tomatoes and allow them to soften.
- Add the quinoa, cayenne, and remaining ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp chilli powder. Stir to coat the quinoa with the oil and let brown for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock, then increase the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil.
- Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let simmer until the quinoa is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork.
- Zest the lemon directly into the pan, then juice the lemon and add the lemon juice and parsley to the skillet as well.
- Toss to combine, then top with the reserved shrimp. Sprinkle with additional fresh parsley. Serve warm.
Spinach Feta Pancakes
Craving breakfast for dinner? These savoury pancakes come together with minimal effort while packing in a ton of nutrition and flavour.
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 250 ml milk
- 125 gm whole grain flour
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 500 gm spinach
- 120 gm feta cheese
- Salt to taste
Method:
For the spinach filling -
- Get a pan add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the spinach with a pinch of salt until wilted.
For the pancakes -
- In a bowl mix the flour, eggs and milk together until all the lumps are dissolved.
- Add some olive oil to a pan and then pour in the pancake mix.
- Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side.
Assembling -
- Lay the ready pancake on a plate.
- Once the spinach is properly heated pour it on one half of a pancake.
- Crumble some feta on top and fold the pancake. Enjoy!
