Easy, quick, healthy, tasty meals!

French lentil soup This recipe came from my mom.  This is a simple, tasty, and hearty soup.  You can pair it with a side of roasted salmon (I like to keep frozen salmon filets on-hand in my freezer) or a slice of high-fiber bread and some rotisserie chicken. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 cups chopped white onions 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped carrots 6 or so garlic cloves, chopped 2 boxes (32 ounces each) organic vegetable broth, no MSG (I used cans of Swanson's veggie broth) 1-1/4 cups green lentils, picked over for stones, rinsed, and drained 1 can (14-l/2 ounce) diced tomatoes (fire-roasted are great) in juice Preparation: Chop vegetables finely.  Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped vegetables and saute (stirring frequently) until they have softened quite a bit (around 10 minutes).  Add lentils, vegetable broth, and tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cov...

Edamame Salad This edamame salad recipe comes from my Beachbody coach.  This meal is packed with veggies and is SO simple and quick to throw together.  I like to add pre-cooked and packaged grilled, poached or rotisserie chicken to the salad (if I'm short on time), or (if I have more time), I like to roast salmon, or another protein, and add that on top.  Sometimes, I also eat a slice of high fiber bread with the salad to round out the meal. Recipe: 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips 1 bag of shredded carrots 1 bag of shredded green cabbage 1 bag of pre-cooked, refrigerated edamame with the shells already removed 1 lb cooked grilled or poached chicken, cubed (or protein of choice) Fresh cilantro 1 or 2 avocados (use 1/4 of the avocado per serving) Toasted sesame seeds Any Asian sesame salad dressing Directions: 1.  Slice the red bell pepper. 2.  In a large bowl, toss together the sliced red bell pepper, bag of...

California Fish Tacos We make this recipe often!  We actually ate it for four different nights in one week, because it's easy and tasty.  It's not completely homemade, but it is still healthy, and when you have a super busy or stressful week, this recipe is a lifesaver.  The recipe comes from the book called Cooking with all Things Trader Joe's . Recipe: Ingredients (all ingredients come from Trader Joe's): Dark blue box of frozen fish nuggets Package of corn and wheat tortillas Jar of Cilantro lime dressing (in the refrigerated section by the fruits and veggies) 1 bag of shredded green cabbage Fresh cilantro 2 fresh limes (Serves 2) Directions: 1.  Bake 8 fish nuggets 2.  In a medium bowl, mix together 1/3 jar of cilantro lime dressing and 1/2 a bag of green cabbage 3.  Toast 4 tortillas on a pancake griddle (no oil necessary) 4.  Prepare cilantro and slice limes 5.  Lay tortillas on plates, top...

Open-faced frozen burgers with a side of veggies One of the keys to being able to whip up a meal at home when life is busy is to have foods that have a long shelf-life already stocked and on-hand.  One food I have found that is really helpful to keep stocked in my freezer is a variety of frozen burger patties that I can quickly cook up on a grill pan or pancake griddle. There are a large variety of frozen patties to choose from, such as, *turkey burgers *chicken burgers *beef burgers *salmon burgers *tuna burgers *high-protein vegan burgers And, they come pre-seasoned in all sorts of flavor combos, so you can switch it up with a new burger each night! When I make these patties into a burger, I like to eat them open-faced where I only put a bun on the bottom half, and I leave the top half off.  As Ilana Muhlstein says "An open face is a happy face."  I've found that having both halves of the bun vs. one-half of the bun don't make me feel ...

Ham or turkey and cheese sandwiches w/ roasted veggies These sandwiches are so quick to whip up!  And, I love roasted veggies!  There are so many types of veggies out there to roast, and I like to roast several trays at a time so that I have leftovers for dinner the next day or to eat along with my breakfast the next day as "extra credit" to start the day off ahead with one serving of veggies already checked off for the day.  :) Ham/turkey and cheese sandwich Ingredients: *1-2 slices sandwich bread (I like Dave's Killer bread or Nature's Harvest whole wheat bread.) *Deli meat (I like to use meat that does not have nitrates or nitrites) *Cheese of your choice (I like to use shredded cheese, and I love Trader Joe's LITE Shredded 3  Cheese Blend because it is lower-calorie so you can either put your normal  amount and save calories or make your sandwich feel a little more decadent  by adding more than you usually would without consumin...

 Cauliflower Rice "Spaghetti" w/ Marinara Sauce and Meatless Meatballs This is one of my husband's and my favorite meals!  We were both shocked at how cauliflower rice keeps us both fuller than wheat spaghetti, and for such fewer calories.  Calorie-wise, you can eat 10 cups of cauliflower rice for 1 cup of regular rice! Ingredients: 1 bag of fresh or frozen cauliflower rice A small amount of olive oil (I like to measure my oil using the cap of the bottle) or use an oil spray like avocado or coconut oil 1 jar garlic marinara sauce 1 bag of Trader Joe's meatless meatballs (in the frozen section above the pancakes and waffles) Grated Parmesan cheese (I prefer the container of fresh refrigerated Parmesan cheese) Directions: 1.  Sauté cauliflower rice in a small amount of olive oil until desired tenderness (be mindful of how much oil you use, as a little goes a long way). 2.  Heat marinara sauce and meatless meatballs together in a pan. 3.  Portio...

For many of us, life is an endless replay of busy days filled with work and running from one activity to the next.  We may desire to eat healthy, but the pace of our lives leaves little time to cook healthy food.  My goal in creating this blog is to compile a collection of easy, quick, healthy, and satisfying meals that you can make with just a little planning and preparation.  These meals will be delicious, help you eat lots of veggies, will fuel your body, and will make you feel full and satisfied while not being packed with lots of calories so that you can lose weight happily and be at your healthiest.