Do you find yourself hitting the drive-thru or heating up a microwave dinner because there’s simply no time to cook? I hear this time and again from my clients as they are explaining (justifying) why they had a bad ‘eating’ week.

Really? No time to cook?

Consider this: a drive-thru usually involves waiting in line to place your order and pay, and then waiting again for your food to come out; this could easily take longer than 15 minutes. Likewise, heating up a frozen dinner in the microwave could take 15 minutes or more. In about the same amount of time, you could easily prepare your own meal. More importantly, cooking at home gives you the opportunity to use fresh healthy ingredients packed with the nutrition needed to support weight loss.

Cooking doesn’t have to be time consuming. In a survey done by Food and Health Communications (foodandhealth.com), over a hundred food and nutrition professionals were asked about their favorite quick meals. Over and over, these were listed as the most popular:

• baked potato stuffed with fat-free sour cream and broccoli, side salad
• pasta and salad
• burrito with beans, rice, lettuce and tomato
• soft vegetarian taco
• low fat veggie omelet made with egg white or egg substitute
• broiled fish with veggies and rice
• broiled or baked chicken with veggies and potato
• chicken or turkey stew (made ahead and re-heated)
• skillet dinner with ground turkey or lean beef
• salad – one of the most popular items on the survey
• stir fry dish with frozen stir fry veggies, rice and lean protein

So, the next time you’re thinking there’s not enough time to cook, think again, and try one these quick and easy meal ideas. You will actually save time – and calories – by eating at home.

To get you started, try this quick and easy recipe. It’s delicious and likely to become a family favorite.

Baked Tostada Salad

Serves 4.
Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium corn tortillas
  • 1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped and washed
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 15 oz. can beans, drained and heated
  • 4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup salsa
  • 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Directions:

Heat beans in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish. Toast the corn tortillas in the oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Place the toasted tortillas on a plate and top with warmed beans, lettuce, tomatoes, vinegar, salsa and sour cream. Serve immediately.

Each serving: 160 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 423 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 7.5 g protein.

Serving suggestions: serve with a side of brown rice, grilled chicken or fish. Spruce it up with sliced mango and a squeeze of fresh lime. For fun and more flavor, you can add diced mango and fresh lime. For a lower sodium option, use no salt added canned beans.

Recipe used with permission from Food and Health Communications.

Now, I’d love to hear from you.

What quick and easy weight-conscious meals do you make at home?

Please share in the comment section below.  Your ideas could be very helpful to other readers.

Meanwhile, if you want to lose weight, improve your energy and feel better, I can help you get started. Take my free Self-Assessment at https://njnutritionist.com/freeassessment.

Image courtesy of marin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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