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Simple Recipes: Healthy and Fast Recipes
Cooking doesn't have to be a time-consuming hassle. These days, there are plenty of healthy recipes that you can prepare in a matter of minutes. To make your life even easier, many grocery stores now offer a number of items to make cooking as simple as possible. From rotisserie chickens to packaged stocks and broths to pre-chopped fresh fruits and vegetables, there are a number of ingredients available to make meal time a breeze!
Fast Recipes: The Well-Stocked Kitchen
In order to prepare fast and easy recipes, there are a few items that you should always keep on hand in your kitchen. By regularly stocking the following, you'll be able to cook up a fast and healthy meal in no time!
Freezer
- frozen fruit (any of your favorites)
- frozen vegetables, including spinach and corn.
Pantry
- balsamic vinegar
- canned or boxed chicken broth
- canned beans
- canned tomatoes
- couscous
- extra-virgin olive oil
- flour
- garlic bulbs
- honey
- hot sauce
- jams and jellies
- nuts
- onions
- pasta (a variety of dried pastas)
- peanut butter
- potatoes
- rice
- sugar
- vegetable oil
- Worcestershire sauce.
Refrigerator
- bacon
- butter
- cheeses
- eggs
- ketchup
- lemons
- milk
- mustard
- soy sauce.
Spices
- bay leaves
- cayenne pepper
- chili powder
- ground cinnamon
- ground nutmeg
- salt
- paprika
- pepper
- vanilla extract or vanilla beans.
With the above ingredients on hand, you'll be able to create a number of delicious and healthy meals without making a trip to the grocery store.
Simple Recipes: Dinner in Minutes!
Once you've stocked you're kitchen, you're ready to get cooking. Here are a few healthy recipes that you can create with minimal effort and very little time. To make things easier for you, in all of the recipes we've included ready-made ingredients that you can pick up from your local grocery store.
Brenda's Low-Fat Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 rotisserie chickens, breast meat diced, dark meat reserved for another use
- 1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
- 1/4 cup no-fat mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sliced red grapes
- 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers
- 1 tsp. pre-chopped garlic (You can typically find this in the produce section of your grocery store.)
- salt and pepper to taste
- whole-wheat bread and/or crackers for serving
Directions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
- Serve on toasted whole wheat bread or on whole-wheat crackers.
Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken, breast meat diced, dark meat reserved for another use
- 1 lb. pre-cooked, shelled shrimp
- 3 cups shredded cabbage, preferably Napa cabbage
- 1 cup pre-shredded carrots
- 1 cup sliced red peppers
- 1/2 cup sliced onion, preferable red onion
- 1 English cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced on a bias
- 1 bottle low-fat sesame dressing (You can typically find this in the salad dressing section of your grocery store.)
- 8 ounces thin rice noodles, prepared according to the package's directions
- 1/3 cup pre-chopped roasted peanuts, for garnish
- sliced green onions, for garnish
Directions
- Combine first seven ingredients in a large bowl.
- Combine the salad dressing with the ingredients in the bowl until everything is well coated or coated to your taste.
- Divide the noodles between four bowls.
- Top the noodles with the salad.
- Top with chopped peanuts and sliced green onions.
Chocolate Banana Egg Rolls
Ingredients
- 4 pre-made egg roll wrappers (These are usually found in the dairy section of your grocery store.)
- 1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp. water
- 1 bottle chocolate syrup
- 2 bananas (ripe, but not overly ripe), cut in half
- 1 cup canola oil
- powdered sugar, for garnish
- vanilla bean ice cream, for serving
Directions
- Unfold the egg roll wrappers and place on a cutting board.
- Lightly brush the edges of the wrappers with the egg wash.
- Squirt a line of chocolate syrup down the center of the wrappers, leaving a small border along the edges.
- Place a banana half in each wrapper.
- Wrap the rolls as you would a burrito, folding in the short ends before rolling one long end toward the other.
- Heat the oil in a skillet. Do not allow the oil to start smoking.
- Gently fry the rolls, turning frequently, until golden and crispy.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with additional chocolate syrup.
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Serve with vanilla ice cream.