A Savory Feast

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How to Cook Healthy Meals

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How to cook healthy mealsSome week nights can be so crazy! You finally get off work after a long day and you have places to go and things to get done that night. It’s so easy to just grab some fast food or heat up a frozen pizza.

The key to eating healthy even on busy nights is to be prepared! It starts by planning ahead when you go to the store and keeping a few things in the house so you are ready for nights like that.

Andrew and I have been on a mission to eat better, so this is so important to me! I’ve complied a quick list of some of the healthy items I keep in the house so that I can always cook something that’s good for us, even on the crazy days!

Shopping List: 

  • Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: I buy a couple packs of frozen chicken each time I go shopping. When I’m just cooking for Andrew and me, 1 bag lasts us two meals.
  • Frozen Tilapia: I also pick up a couple packs of frozen tilapia. You can do whatever type of fish you like.
  • Frozen Vegetables: Grab a couple bags of your favorite veggies. My favorites are broccoli and spinach.
  • Box/Bag Rice/Rice Pilaf/Quinoa: You can buy a box or bag for around $2 and it cooks up quick!

3 Step Healthy Meal:

Step 1 – Meat: Pick chicken or tilapia. Season according to taste. There are several ways to cook both meats that are quick and easy. My favorites are baking in the oven (350 for 15-20 minutes) and frying in a skillet with olive oil or coconut oil (2 minutes on each side at high, lower medium until done). You could also grill!

Step 2 – Rice/Rice Pilaf/Quinoa: Cook according to the directions on the package.

Step 3 – Vegetables: You can cook your vegetables in the microwave if it’s easier for you. I try to avoid using the microwave when I can, and I have found a super quick and easy way to heat up the veggies without it! Place the veggies in a sauce pan with a couple tablespoons of water. I like to season them with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until done.

And there you have it! Next time you go to the store, make sure you grab these ingredients. When you have a long day and need a meal that doesn’t take a lot of time and effort, you can still eat healthy by following the 3 steps.

What are some of your favorite items to have in the house for a quick and healthy meal?

Meet one of my sponsors! 

The Adventures of Bug and BooToday I want to introduce you to one of my fabulous sponsors! Meet Rebecca from The Adventures of Bug and Boo!  She posts about live with her husband and daughter and shares lots of fun stories. She recently announced that she is moving from London to the US. I’ve been enjoying following her journey!

Let’s get to know Rebecca with a few fun questions!

 What is your favorite thing about blogging? There are two things that top my list – one, blogging is a huge outlet to me. I write about what’s going on with me, with my daughter, with life in general – and if something is frustrating me, I write about that. It’s very cathartic – once it’s written, it just stops weighing on my mind quite so much. And someone else has always gone through that same particular frustration and has great advice and/or words of encouragement. Along those lines is reason two – that blogging has introduced me to so many lovely people that I never would have gotten to know otherwise! The world gets that much smaller when you start talking to bloggers in other geographic locations, and I’m making so many wonderful (albeit virtual!) friends! 🙂

Where do you hope to go on your next vacation? A week ago I would have said either Istanbul, which is top of my list for Europe at the moment, or Berlin, which is somewhere my husband lived when he was younger and we wanted to go back as a family. But as it turns out, we’ll be moving back to the US sooner than we thought (5 weeks…!!!), so that means we’ll be in America the next time we’ll have a chance to take a vacation. So…I’m going to say California! I’ve never been that far west, I have friends in San Fran and LA, and I’d love to do a road trip up the coast between the two, visiting people along the way!

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? My absolute favorite ice cream is chocolate with swirls of smooth peanut butter….yum! No pb cups, no extra bits – just the peanut butter and choco ice cream. Gorgeous! I’ve only ever found it at a local handmade ice cream shop near my hometown in upstate NY so it’s been a while since I’ve indulged. But I am always trying anything similar I find, to compare. Maybe I ought to try my hand at making it myself…! 🙂

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. I’ve never cooked tilapia! We eat a lot of salmon though. I had to learn how to cook it since I didn’t grow up eating a lot of fish (we were landlocked in upstate NY) but since M is Irish it’s a staple. I should probably try cooking other types now!! 🙂

    Reply

  7. How do you usually cook your tilapia- just grilled on it’s own or with something else? I’ve never tried it but reading your comment below that it’s not super fishy is totally appealing to me!

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    • Depending on my mood I either bake it, grill it or cook it in a skillet. I love making it with veggies such as onions or asparagus if I have them. It give the tilapia more flavor!

      Reply

  9. This is something I still struggle with. I’m not much of a planner so we either end up eating out or making something easy which usually means it’s unhealthy

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  10. I love this post! I pretty much have the same exact shopping list haha. I also make double the food for dinner and take the extra with me for lunch the next day to keep the healthy eating going 🙂 thanks for sharing Jenna!

    Reply

  11. I will have to try making my frozen veggies like that. Thanks! Frozen veggies are best slightly thawed and then sauteed on the stove in olive oil and soy sauce, but that’s not really the healthiest way to eat them and it also takes more time than your suggestion.
    In a pinch for a fast dinner, I will thaw frozen chicken in my microwave, cut it into bite size pieces, salt it, cook it in oil for about 7 minutes, and then add a sauce.
    Sometimes I will use my light orange chicken sauce (and skip the marinating step. Sometimes you have to skip things).
    http://somebodysdinner.blogspot.com/2014/05/orange-chicken.html
    But planning ahead is always better.

    Reply

  12. these are great tips! we like getting fresh veggies from farm stands at this time of year and freezing them ourselves…we have a second freezer in our garage that is totally full by the end of summer!

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  15. Totally similar to my nightly plan: meat, frozen veggies, a starch. I’m a very routine person so I do this every day. Never even realized I had a system! 🙂

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  16. Excellent! Sometimes, I just push myself to cook but the meal doesn’t turn out – you really need to be 100% into it for it to turn out right and 90% of it is the ingredients! Great post (and inspiration)! <3

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  17. Great tips. We need to get a plan together for when I go back to work in a month, it’s been easy while I’ve been home but it won’t always be!

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  18. I love your shopping list. If you switch up the combinations it won’t feel like it’s getting old…. & I am ALL about simplicity! Loved your feature on Rebecca. I recently came across her blog and love it 🙂

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  21. Great tips – this is pretty much our go-to workday meal plan. One of the things I do to keep things healthy is completely avoid buying boxed processed foods – then it isn’t there to tempt anyone.

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  23. Love this idea! I would say pasta and a side of roasted vegetables is one of my go-to healthy meals. Pasta can be unhealthy, of course, but you could do whole wheat pasta to help that out! I also make my own spaghetti sauce, which cuts down on a lot of preservatives but is very fast! I just simmer it while the pasta cooks.

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  24. These are great tips!! It is always good to have healthy food handy vs. just having junk food. What you have is what you usually cook. I need to start cooking more fish so I may have to buy some frozen tilapia to force myself to cook it 🙂

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  25. Hi Jenna! I love this post – I’m a new Mom and I’ve been trying to eat healthier, too, as I work on some weight loss goals and recover from pregnancy. This simple formula for healthy meals was a HUGE help to me this week. It made meal planning and grocery shopping so much easier and I LOVE the ability to mix and match the veggies I use and the seasonings on them and the quinoa. I made chicken in the skillet last night with some vinaigrette and roasted zucchini and sweet potatoes – I was thrilled to see my husband LOVED it and wanted more. I even got to use the leftover veggies i had chopped up with some quinoa as a healthy dinner tonight while my daughter was napping. Sorry for such a long post – this was just so encouraging for me! haha. Also – love that you featured Rebecca! She is so sweet.

    Reply

  29. We actually eat a lot of chicken in my house so we still get protein, but it’s better than red meat. But, with a family of six, we have to buy the super duper bags from Sam’s Club.

    Reply

  36. This is a great step-by-step list for how to build a #healthymeal Thanks for sharing with us in the #bloggersbragspinterestparty

    Reply

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