5 Simple Meals with 8 Ingredients or Less
Listen, you know I like extravagant meals but that's not something that is realistic for me or many others during the week. My meals during the week are as simple as it gets. They usually consist of a few ingredients, takes 30-45 minutes TOPS to make, and easy clean up. To be honest, I try not to spend hours in the kitchen because I want to invest my time in other places. Keeping it SIMPLE helps me stay consistent with my nutrition and ensures my family is getting a healthful meal.
Let's get into it. Below I have gathered 5 simple meals with 8 ingredients or less for YOU to make during the week to help keep life simple.
Option 1: Chicken Harvest Bowl
Servings: 1
Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
handful of arugula
1/4 cup of rice
1 small sweet potato
1 cup mushrooms
1 skin on chicken thigh (seasoned how you like)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F
Cook rice according to packaged
Peel and wash sweet potato
Dice potato , place on a baking sheet and season with some olive oil and salt
Bake sweet potato at 400F for 20 minutes
In a pan, drizzle some olive oil and place on medium heat
Once hot add mushrooms
Cook mushrooms for 5 minutes
After mushrooms are cooked, transfer to a bowl
Add more oil to the pan , place chicken skin down.
Cook chicken until 165 F internal temp
To plate: rice as base, arugula, mushrooms, sweet potato, and then chicken
Option 2: Spicy Rice and Eggs
Servings: 1
Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of rice
1 egg
1/3 of avocado
2 tbsp of diced scallions
1/4 tsp of sesame seeds
For the sauce:
2 tsp of honey
1 tbsp sriracha
2 tbsp of cold water
Directions:
Cook rice according to the directions
In a small frying pan add oil spray or butter over medium-high heat
Once hot, add egg
Cook the egg to your preference (I did sunny side up)
Once the rice is done, add it to a bowl
Next, add in the sauce and stir it into the rice
Add the egg, sliced avocado, scallions, sesame seeds, and sriracha drizzle
Option 3: Veggie Flatbread
Servings: 2-4
Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 store bought flatbread
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 cup of baby tomatoes, halved
1 cup mozzarella
1 cup arugula
3 tbsp of olive oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
In a medium sized pan, add olive oil over medium-high heat
Once hot, add in onion and stir
Once the onions are translucent, set aside in a bowl
In the same pan add tomatoes
Turn heat to high, to blister the skin of the tomatoes
Once the tomatoes are blistered; Set aside
Place flatbread on a baking sheet
Next, add sauteed onions,mozzarella, and blistered tomatoes
Place in the oven on the middle rack for 5 minutes
Turn on the broil mode and broil for 1 minute or until the cheese gets bubbly
Take the pizza out and let it cool for 5 minutes
Before serving, add arugula
Option 4: Dairy Free Pasta Salad
Servings: 8
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 box of elbow pasta
1 bunch or chopped asparagus
1 half of red onion
2 plum tomatoes
1 cup of cooked corn
For the dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
¼ cup champagne white vinegar
pinch of salt and pepper
Directions
Cook the pasta according to the box directions (make sure to salt the water)
While the pasta is cooking, steam the chopped asparagus for 10 minutes just to get it tender
Finely dice the red onion and tomatoes Cook or heat up your corn
When the pasta is done cooking drain and run cold water over it for about 30 seconds
Add the pasta into a large bowl (preferably one that has a lid so that you can store it easily)
Into the bowl, add in steamed asparagus and other vegetables, mix
In a small mixing bowl add olive oil and vinegar, mix thoroughly
Drizzle the dressing over the pasta salad
Add a pinch of salt and pepper
Stir the pasta salad until it is all coated with the dressing
Option 5: White Bean Pesto Pasta
Servings: 4-5
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 cup of baby tomatoes, halved
1/2 pound of dry Fusilli pasta
1, 15 oz can Great Northern beans
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Pesto (either store bought or homemade)
salt and pepper
Directions:
Start boiling the water for the pasta
In a large skillet, add 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat
Once hot, add onion and garlic
Sauté until onion turns translucent
Next add in tomatoes and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until they burst
Once the pasta water starts boiling, add pasta and cook according to the directions
When pasta is done cooking add it into the large skillet with the onions, garlic, and tomatoes Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water
Add the pasta water to the large skillet
Next add the pesto to the skillet
Stir in the pesto until all the pasta is fully coated
Add salt and pepper to taste
Let the pasta simmer for about 5 minutes while stirring
Serve immediately
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