Minimalist Meal Ideas

Every weekend for the past month has been spent packing or doing some type of task related to moving. I spent all of last week eating and cooking from 2 glass containers, a fork, a spoon, an air fryer, and the microwave. Even if you aren’t planning to move, these meal ideas might come in handy!

Here are some healthy minimalistic meal ideas from what I ate for the past week:

• Overnight oats

• Rotisserie chicken over a bagged salad kit

• Frozen parmesan encrusted tilapia with green beans

• Frozen turkey burger with red potatoes

These are great ideas if you don't want to spend hours in the kitchen meal prepping this week or just want some quick dinner ideas for your air fryer.

I also hear cooking for only 1 or 2 people can be difficult and I suppose it can be if you don't like leftovers. I heated only the portion of frozen fish or turkey burger I was going to eat at that meal. My green beans and red potatoes were both frozen bags of veggies I could heat in the microwave.

This week I will share my Minimalistic Overnight Oats recipe with you.

TIP: If you don't like cold oatmeal, you can always make it the night before and warm it in the microwave for a 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Minimalistic Overnight Oats
Prep time: 5 minutes and Cook time: 2 hours
Makes 1 serving
Nutrition info: 35 g P, 12 g F, 47 g C, 14 g Fiber

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Quick Oats

• 1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I use Muscle Feast.)

• 1 tbsp Ground Flax Seeds

• 1 tbsp Chia Seeds

• 1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

• 1/2 cup Frozen Berries

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a glass jar or container.

2. Stir to make sure all ingredients are combined well.

3. Store in refrigerator overnight or at least 2 hours.

4. Enjoy in the morning and stay full for hours!

You can even keep most of these ingredients on hand as back up meal options. Pantry and frozen food items don’t usually go bad for months!

Once you try some of these meal ideas or the recipe, leave a comment below or share it to your Pinterest!

Crockpot Pepper Chili Recipe

Crockpot recipes are great for when you have lots to do and don't want to spend lots of time cooking. They can even be used for lazy meal prep for the week.

I find many crockpot recipes on Pinterest that are loaded with sodium and fats, which can make a dish slightly less healthy depending on the ingredients. If you check out my Pinterest page you can rest assured all the recipes are dietitian approved for the general healthy person! If you have a specific health condition and want me to make a board for you, let me know.

Chili is definitely one of those recipes that can get unhealthy really quickly depending on your ingredients. Here are some of my healthy recommendations for your Chili ingredients:

• Make your own seasoning blend! (I used this one with my own spices.)

• Choose low sodium or no salt added canned tomatoes, beans, etc.

• Dry beans are also a good option!

• Raw vegetables - peppers, onion, tomatoes are great ways to add vitamins and minerals.

• Swap sour cream for plain Greek yogurt as a topping.

• Choose low fat dairy products for toppings.

• Use small amounts of quality olive or avocado oil when cooking.

• Swap beef for a lean beef or ground poultry.

Scroll down for my Crockpot Chili Recipe!

Crockpot Pepper Chili
Prep Time: 15 minutes and Cook Time: 3 hours
Makes 6 servings
Nutrition info for 1 serving: 330 calories, 26 g P, 6 g F, 42 g C, 12 g Fiber

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Ground Chicken

• 1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano

• 1 can chili beans

• 1 can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 orange bell pepper, diced

• 1 green bell pepper, diced

• 2 jalapeños, diced

• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth

• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped

• Chili seasonings (Pinterest chili seasoning recipe above)

Directions:

1. Place a large skillet on your stove top and turn on the heat to medium. Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil or avocado oil in the skillet.

2. Add 1 pound of raw ground chicken to the skillet. You can use a different lean protein source of your choice. Break apart the meat with rubber or wooden spatula until meat is fully cooked.

3. Turn on crockpot to high heat. I like to use plastic crockpot liners to save time cleaning. Add all the above ingredients and seasonings. Add cooked ground chicken. Stir to combine all ingredients together.

4. Put the crockpot lid on top. Leave the crockpot on high heat for 3 hours.

5. Stir and turn heat on low after 3 hours. Or remove chili contents from crockpot and refrigerate leftovers for up to one week. Can be stored in the freezer for 1-2 months.

Every week on Monday evenings at 7:30 EST I go live in my Healthy & Beyond Facebook Group to share healthy tips about movement, nutrition, habits, weight loss, mindset, and more!

Indian Style Dish for Winter Meal

This is a combination of a few Indian recipes I found on Pinterest all rolled into one and I must say it turned out pretty tasty!!

If you don’t follow me yet on Pinterest, you can head there now for more healthy recipes like this one.

These winter days have been keeping us on our toes! My heart goes out to all the people in Texas who have been without water, heat, and access to everyday needs/activities this past week💔I can’t imagine the surprise and fear that may have overwhelmed them.

If you like curry…this is for you.

If you like your food saucy…this is for you.

If you like Tikki Masala…this is for you.

If you like Naan…this is for you.

If you like to eat healthy dishes with quality ingredients…this if for you.

Don’t shy away from all the steps and ingredients in these two recipes below. They are worth it, but plan to enjoy your time in the kitchen with a good podcast, your dance moves or a sous chef to help!

Tikki Masala
Prep:15 minutes and Cook: 30 minutes
Recipe makes 5 servings
Nutrition info for 1 serving: 310 Calories, 33 g P, 23 g F, 22 g C, 6 g Fiber

Ingredients:

• For the Roasted Chickpeas

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

  • 2-3 garlic cloves finely minced

  • 1/2" ginger finely minced

  • 3/4 tsp garam masala

  • 1/2 tsp chili powder

  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

  • 1/2 tbsp oil

• 1 small onion cut in 8 pieces

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained

• 2 red bell peppers, washed and thinly sliced

• 1 can full fat coconut milk

• 2-3 garlic cloves finely minced

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1/4 cup raw cashews, chopped

• 1 tsp cumin powder

• 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder

• 2 tsp oil

• 1/2 tsp chili powder

• 1 tsp garam masala

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1/2 tsp paprika

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a medium-sized bowl add all ingredients listed under “Roasted Chickpeas” above. Spread it evenly on a nonstick baking tray.

3. Bake the chickpeas in preheated oven for 10 min. Using a spatula stir them and again continue baking for 10 more min.

4. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a large frying pan or skillet. Add whole garlic cloves, ginger, and onion. Cook the onion until translucent for 2-3 min.

5. Add chicken to the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes, making sure all sides of the chicken are being cooked.

6. Then add tomatoes, red bell peppers, coconut milk, and cashews. Cook them until tomato softens and gives sauce like consistency for about 4-5 min.

7. Add the remaining spices and fully roasted chickpeas to the pan. Turn heat down and let simmer for 5 minutes.

The best part of the meal to help you soak up all the sauce🤤

Garlic Naan
Prep: 10 minutes and Cook: 20 minutes
Recipe makes 4 servings
Nutrition info for 1 Naan: 300 Calories, 9 g P, 8 g F, 48 g C, 2 g Fiber

Ingredients:

• 300 grams Self rising flour

• 225 grams Plain nonfat yogurt

• 1 Tbsp Herb de provence

• 1 Tbsp Butter infused olive oil (look for this at your local oil / vinegar store!)

• 1 Tbsp minced garlic

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, measure out equal parts (225 grams) yogurt and flour. Mix until well combined.

2. Add in herb de provence to the flour mixture. Roll into one large dough ball. You may need to add a little flour until it is not sticky.

3. Divide the large dough ball into 4 smaller equal dough balls. I used a food scale for this step. I set the large dough ball on it and divided the number by 4 until each ball was equal.

4. Use an cast iron skillet on medium-low heat. Add oil to the pan.

5. Take one of the small dough balls and flatten it into the pan. Cook first side for 3 minutes. Add small amount of the minced garlic to the pan and flip the naan dough onto the garlic to cook the other side of the naan.

6. Remove naan from heat when fully cooked and set aside. Repeat step 5 for the remaining three small dough balls to cook them into garlic naan bread.

Enjoy this Indian dish on a cold day! The leftovers make great meal prep for a few more meals throughout the week. This is a well balanced meal full of protein, fiber, and variety of healthy fats.

A New Kind of Waffle for Breakfast!

Here is a new kind of waffle for you to add to your breakfast options. It's a quick meal to throw together and is sure to keep you satisfied until lunch!

Even try it as a breakfast for dinner recipe tonight if you want😉

I am definitely keeping this recipe in mind for those days when the groceries are slim because I almost always have these ingredients stocked. Do you have recipes or meals like that?

If not, I highly recommend coming up with 2-3 meal ideas that require few ingredients that are either all shelf stable or don't go bad quickly in the fridge.

You probably shifted your thinking towards this when we first shutdown for COVID last year, but even with unexpected storms or changes these days; it's good to be prepared.

Basic Chaffle 🧇 + Berry Chia 🍓 Jam
Prep time: 5 minutes and Cook time: 5-10 minutes
Nutrition info for 2 waffles and 1/4 cup jam: 33 g P, 30 g F, 30 g C, 7 g Fiber

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup low fat Italian blend shredded cheese

• 2 Tbsp almond flour (or another flour)

• 1 cup frozen berry blend

• 2 Tbsp chia seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat waffle iron.

2. Use small saucepan on stove for the berry jam. Place on low heat. Add frozen berries to the saucepan. Let cook for 3-5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 eggs. Stir in shredded cheese and almond flour until well combined.

4. Spray/ grease heated waffle iron. Pour egg mixture into the waffle iron. This recipe makes 2 waffles, so depending on if your waffle iron is small you may need to only pour half the mixture and cook 2 waffles separately. Waffles should only take about 5 minutes to cook.

5. Once the berries start getting soft. Use spatula to smash most of the berries. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes.

6. Stir chia seeds into the cooked berries. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Then remove from heat and let cool. Stirring occasionally.

7. When the waffles are fully cooked. Put them on a plate and top with the berry chia jam. I used about 1/4 cup and noted that in the nutritional info. Enjoy while everything is still warm!

Store leftover berry chia jam in a jar for more waffles later in the week. Or if you love PB&J sandwiches like I do, then this will be a great addition without any added sugars!

PB&J sandwiches are not just for kids! They aren't something you have to restrict from your diet if you are trying to eat healthier either.

🥪Bread isn't bad.

🥪Carbs aren't bad.

🥪You can eat a sandwich.

I am including a PB&J sandwich as my afternoon snack this week! I'm all about using up the ingredients I buy in multiple recipes. I hate wasting food, but I also like variety.

Meal planning is a skill and I find it is one that I continue to perfect with each week!

My PB&J sandwich is about 350 calories total. Providing enjoyment and satisfaction to control my hunger mid day😋

What meals/snacks did you plan for the week? Let me know in the comments!