Quick, healthy dinner ideas

[genmed]

In a quest to try to decrease my eating out this month, I am looking for ideas for quick and healthy dinners. I am trying not to use many prepared foods, as I am trying to limit salt and fat intake, especially the salt. DH won't eat plain chicken and veggies, so I usually end up making a sauce or meals requiring a lot of work or end up resorting to prepared sauces/meals with a lot of sodium. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[tinapbeana]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

broil fish: takes minutes!

spaghetti, chili, soup: all easy to control ingredient-wise and you can make them in a crock pot if you want.

grill: my DH eats whatever i grill pretty much no matter how i season it, even though he salts anything that comes off the stove or out of the microwave. go figure!

[crazyBMB]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

You could try simple things like sandwiches, you can use things like pitas, flat bread, wraps for the bread. You can then spice things up using different things. There are a lot of new low salt / no salt options to season and flavor things up.

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

Lentils and rice. Add a bit of yogurt on the side with chopped cucumber and a dash of mint. Also carmelize(darn near burn to a crisp) onion and sprinkle over the top of lentils and rice! Yummy! A quick search should bring up the recipe! I posted it here at one time!

[jodi]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

My most recent favorite - throw a few chicken breasts (boneless) in the crockpot - add a can of drained black beans and salsa. Let it cook all day, then add some cream cheese or salsa on top a little while before serving (just long enough for it to melt in). We make our own salsa, so we control what goes in it. We use reduced fat cream cheese or salsa.

[rickatheslicka]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

To decrease salt intake, you might try sauces at the other end of the taste spectrum - sweet!

I love to make a sauce with a little butter (just a pat or two), orange juice, and honey. Brown up some chicken and then simmer it in the sauce, so tasty and all the liquid from the OJ keeps the chicken from drying out.

Apples, brown sugar, and a little butter are great companions to chicken and pork. Just throw them in the skillet or baking dish with the meat and then cook it all together.

I add a little flavored applesauce to rice instead of salt and butter (pear is quite tasty!).

Lemon spritzed over steamed veggies is quite refreshing.

Mango and other tropical fruit (chopped fresh or out of a can) is great with fish.

Be creative with jams and jellies, they can be used to make delicious sauces, too. Enjoy!

[lynclarke]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

Sprinkle that broiled (or baked at 450degree) fish with sesame oil- it takes very little to impart a great flavor. Have you tried the salt free versions of Greek seasoning or creole seasoning? Both are great. We do not salt anything except popcorn, in baked items, and to soak wild fish. We do use some soy sauce in Japanese and Chinese meals.

[2boys2girls]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

Bean burritos with onion, salsa and cheese. Cheap and just like Taco Bell. I get the fat free kind and use whole wheat tortillas. One fills me up!

Frozen ravioli, use jarred spagetti sauce or pesto. Yummy and filling. A whole bag cost 2.00 and it feeds my family of 5.

Homemade pizza. You can buy bags of pizza crust mix for .33 cents a piece. Add 1/2 cup water and make into dough. I have a pizza stone, but you can use a cookie sheet to press in into. Top with as much or as little as you like. My kids prefer just cheese so it makes it cheaper for me. I can feed our family for less than 5.00 on pizza night.

[nanamom]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

Our quick meals consist of things like eggs scrambled with rice or veggies and DH adds salsa on top. You can make omelets cheap and quick. Salsa makes anything "special" My Dad used to not eat casseroles unless forced so we made burgers (chicken ) which you can top with all kinds fo stuff. Sometimes for a treat I make pancakes for dinner and top them with fried eggs. Find a can of low sodium mushroom soup or make a large container of sauce you like an dfreeze individual portions to thaw at the last minute.

[crazyBMB]

Re: Quick, healthy dinner ideas

The scrambled eggs thing is great. My DH puts salsa in our scrambled eggs.....mmmmmmm good! I hate ot admit it but there are a lot quick easy things to make w/ Bisquick and left overs are pretty good too.

[markjason]

Eat a big cheese bread with mild and then a heavy dessert.

[Harlem]

Wow! Great new ideas. I just loved them. Thanks.

[hamchan]

You can do so much with salads, and they are pretty quick and easy. Usually we just grill up some chicken breast on the Foreman grill, slice it up, and then add other ingredients and dressing. I've done Thai style with cilantro, cucumber, and peanut dressing. Apple, walnut and blue cheese with balsamic vinaigrette. Black beans, salsa, sour cream, a little low fat cheese and a handful of tortilla chips. Shredded cabbage with slivered almonds, mandarin oranges, and ginger sesame dressing.

I make a lot of the dressings from scratch too since it just involves measuring ingredients into a bowl and then whisking them together. This makes it easier to control sodium too as dressings are normally the only ingredient that can be higher in sodium. And the taste of fresh salad dressings is so much better than the bottled stuff.

[97guns]

i always have flour tortillas in the freezer and make burrito's whenever i need something quick and easy, left over chicken from the salad would make a good one

[freebiefan1]

So many great dinner ideas. Thanks to all for sharing.