Hi Mamas! I am looking for healthy recipes for meals that I can stretch out for a while. I made myself a shopping list/menu and then realized that I was going to be cooking EVERY day! I am a working mom so I want to spend as little prep time as possible but I can't seem to get that to correlate with a healthy meal. I am all for making extra and freezing but was wondering if anyone had favorite recipes out there...I'm going to revamp my shopping list and go tonight! Thanks!
My easy go to meal is Turkey Meatloaf
1package ground turkey
3 egg whites,
1/2 onion chopped
1 cup salsa
1 cup whole oats
1 package of dry vegetable soup mix (like knorr)
bake at 350 for about 1hour 15 minutes
Really tasty not your typical meatloaf and is quite low in calories!!
I love a crock pot. For recipes, I like the books 'Fix it and Forget It' (series) and Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea. I can find these and tons of other recipe books from my library. (reserves are your friend) so I don't buy a book until it's been tried and tested.
If you don't have a crockpot, I've owned about a half dozen and like the West Bend slow cooker best, hands down. The pot can be used on the stove so you can brown and cook in 1 pan and the taste is unbeatable compared to my other ones. It cost me $21, so not expensive.
I haven't gotten up the nerve to try this myself, but if you have a friend or family member who is willing to go "halfers" with you, I love the idea of "Once a Month Cooking." Just google "once a month mom, cooking" and it pulls up this website. The lady puts it all together so that you can cook enough meals (breakfast, lunch, & dinner) to last a month! She picks grocery items that are in season, writes up a shopping list, recipes, directions ("person A does this, while person B does this"), and even provides a printer file for freezer labels! And, it's FREE!
Of course, you can just pick the recipes you like and make them day-to-day, or make ahead and freeze. She provides some recipes that are diet-specific (gluten-free, low-fat, etc) and I haven't seen a single recipe on there that didn't sound delicious!
My dear friend helped me make a cinco de mayo meal this week. Here is a double time recipe - CHEAP and healthy and OMG good!
Black beans
Soak 24 hours changing the water once or twice.
Rinse and fill with fresh water, pressed/chopped garlic (5 or so for 1/2 bag), salt bring to a boil and simmer. Adding water to keep well covered by 2 inches or so.
2-3 hrs check beans, you want them to be like a well cooked potato. Taste the water - should be yummy.
Make rice and some vegetables
This day eat soup. beans soup over rice/veg - super good - my kids loved it.
Next day blend the beans cook in oil and now you have refried beans. you can freeze these in portions and use later.
We made tostadas.- also cheap and easy!
Also I totally recommend Martha Stewart 'Great Food Fast' cook book.
Delicious recipes and she gives prep and total times. Not a lot of freezing for later recipes, but a few.
Really, of the 70-90 recipes I've made from this cookbook I have LOVED all but 2! And I really like good food!
enjoy!
Here is a link to some nice healthy video R. that might help you out.
We use a great meal-planning site that helps me stay organized and share recipes with friends. You can easily import recipes from websites or cut and paste from emails, etc. too.
It's free for 30 days and then $40/year (which, if it saves us from eating out, then it's worth it for my family!)
http://www.plantoeat.com/ge7o8gH6Tw
:)
M.
This is one of my favorite recipes. It's really easy. You can do the meat on an indoor grill, outdoor grill, or in the oven on broil.
Ingredients
• 1 beef top round steak, cut 3/4 inch thick (about 1 lb.)
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced carrots
• 3 cups fresh pea pods, strings removed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and black pepper
• 3 cups hot cooked jasmine rice, prepared without butter or salt
• chopped fresh cilantro
Marinade
• 1/2 cup prepared plum sauce
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
Instructions
Combine marinade ingredients in small bowl. Place beef steak and 1/2 cup marinade in food-safe plastic bag; turn steak to coat. Close bag securely and marinate in refrigerator 6 hours or as long as overnight, turning occasionally. Cover and reserve remaining marinade in refrigerator.
Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Place steak on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 8 to 9 minutes for medium rare doneness, turning occasionally and basting with some of the reserved marinade during last 2 to 3 minutes of grilling. Remove; keep warm.
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add carrots; stir-fry 5 minutes. Add pea pods and garlic; stir-fry 2 minutes.
Carve steak into thin slices. Season with salt and black pepper, as desired. Place remaining marinade in small saucepan; heat until warm. Serve with steak, vegetables and rice. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.
Suggestions
To broil, place steak on rack in broiler pan so surface of beef is 2 to 3 inches from heat. Broil 12 to 13 minutes for medium rare doneness, turning once. To easily remove pea pod strings, slightly cut corner of pod with pairing knife and peel back string.
Nutritional Information
Nutrition information per serving: 496 calories; 9 g fat (2 g saturated fat; 4 g monounsaturated fat); 61mg cholesterol; 531 mg sodium; 66 g carbohydrate; 6.2 g fiber; 36 g protein; 8.4 mg niacin; 0.8 mg vitamin B6; 1.5 mcg vitamin B12; 6.9 mg iron; 43.0 mcg selenium; 6.1 mg zinc
J G,
My family loves my chicken pot pie recipe, and you can easily stretch it into 2 meals for a family of 4 to 6. It's packed full of healthy veggies too. (If you are pressed for time, chop the veggies on the weekend and store them in the fridge until you are ready to make the recipe.) You can find the recipe on my blog at www.artfulveggie.com.
