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More Than 5 Simple Meal Ideas, Quick & Delish

Photo of the results of meal prep. Four complete balanced meals, roasted root veggies and mushrooms and roasted beet soup ready to freeze in glass containers.  

More Than 5 Simple Meal Ideas, Quick & Delish

Hacks and shortcuts are helpful for making things happen quickly, examples of a hack is ordering take-out for a meal or some may skip a meal. These hacks may not be the healthiest choices, all the time. 

Make it easy to eat healthy more often. Healthy hacks can be “shortcuts, tips, ideas, habits, and systems” to help you eat healthy, exercise, simplify your day, and ultimately save time so you can focus on living life.

3 Hacks for Healthy Meals

Photo of the results of meal prep. Four complete balanced meals, roasted root veggies and mushrooms and roasted beet soup ready to freeze in glass containers.  
  • Create a list of frequently purchased ingredients and keep these items on hand. Your grocery list can be a start to your kitchen inventory. 
  • Save time on salad preparation. Prep your own salad bar by cutting up extra vegetables ahead of time, making it a lot faster to make salads. Take it a step further by creating your personalized entree salad idea list that you enjoy, including protein (plant-based or animal-based or a combination), carbohydrates with fiber and energy, 3 different colored vegetables and salad dressing of choice.
  • Create your own “Quick & Delish” 4-6 ingredient meals. To give you some ideas for simple meals, think about the  meals that take about 15-20 minutes to make that are filling and satisfying.      Do you like tacos, breakfast for dinner, entree salads, quick soups like lentil soup, instant pot meals like chili, or sheet pan meals? For example: chicken with chickpeas and roasted sweet peppers, cauliflower and broccoli with garlic, oregano, and lemon juice. Yum!

Here’s Some Inspiration for Simple Meal Ideas

  • Thai style meatballs with roasted sweet potatoes and asparagus. Ingredients: ground turkey, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, fresh lime, sweet potatoes and asparagus.                                           Link to video https://youtu.be/BNJjCzmDS0k
  • Chicken salsa verde Ingredients: Chicken, black beans, jarred salsa verde, sweet red bell peppers. Link to recipe https://youtu.be/RfXor0_9C4E
  • Veggie egg frittata. Ingredients: eggs, onion, garlic, 3 veggies (examples roasted bell pepper, kale, and mushrooms), add roasted potato, corn, while beans, & dried oregano. Yum! Link to video https://youtu.be/RxoseDjkv5Q
  • Black bean & Quinoa Tabbouleh Ingredients: black beans or chickpeas, quinoa or bulgar, tomatoes or sweet peppers, cucumber or roasted zucchini (use up leftover veggies), balsamic vinegar, lime or lemon juice, olive oil. Serve with salmon, chicken, or above Thai style meatballs. Yum! Link to video https://youtu.be/TlYAyaHIdpI 
  • Quick Protein Salads: Egg salad, tuna salad, salmon salad, chickpea salad, chicken salad, tofu no egg salad. All of these salads are hearty and take minutes to make if you have the ingredients on hand. Add these protein salads to your entree salad, or serve on whole grain toast or a Norwegian crispbread with a side of cooked veggies or a seasonal veggie salad. 

Note: Recipes can be found in the description box of each Youtube video.  

Basic Hacks to Stay On Top of Your Health 

Hydration is essential for a strong immune system.Make it easy to hydrate!

  • Keep a personalized, easy to drink out of water bottle. 
  • Try having a pitcher of water near you, to make it easy to enjoy sky juice (water). 
  • Flavor water with fruit, citrus, or fresh herbs like mint. One of my favorite spa water combinations is lime, fresh mint, and cucumber. 

Release the Steam of the Day with Exercise

Make it easy to exercise! Schedule exercise in your day or week. If exercise is not scheduled, it will likely not happen.

  • Schedule a walk with a friend, a trip to a museum, or a walk to a vista point. 
  • Assess equipment needs. To walk we need comfortable walking shoes and for other activities we may need equipment or comfortable clothes. Move in a way that flows with your day, if you’re standing or sitting change positions and take a few minutes between tasks to stretch and move. 
  • Think about what you enjoy doing and that it works with your schedule. Make exercise social and fun! 

To learn about creating your own simple, healthy meal planning system and getting support to meet your health goals, schedule a free one-on-one Nutrition for Wellness Strategy Session with me! 

To receive meal planning tips, recipe ideas, and to learn about meal planning events, join my email list.

Cheers to your health,

By Alicia Connor, MA Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Chef

Author Bio:

Alicia Connor a pretty brunette with short-cropped hair wearing a denim jacket with a white tee.
Alicia Connor

Alicia Connor is a registered dietitian nutritionist and chef who lives in San Francisco. She is passionate about healthy cooking, with a focus on simplifying meal planning and making healthy eating easier. Alicia built a successful career as a chef, working at one of the top restaurants in San Francisco. But as her vision declined due to a hereditary condition, she decided to focus on a career with longevity and returned to school to become a dietitian.

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  • Header and image within the post is a photo of the results of meal prep. Four complete balanced meals, roasted root veggies and mushrooms and roasted beet soup ready to freeze in glass containers.  
  • Author photo: Alicia Connor a pretty brunette with short-cropped hair wearing a denim jacket with a white tee.
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