Healthy quick dinners

[Wishimaywishimight]

DH and I have fallen into bad habits with our eating - too much processed foods and takeaways once or sometimes twice a week. We both need to loose a little weight and lose some inches from our waistlines so looking for some relatively quick, easy dinners. Neither of us are that fond of red meat (apart from the occasional sausage or burger, both of which will be a very occasional treat going forward).

Currently our 'healthy' dinners are largely the following;

Fish (we love most types of fish and seafood) with rice / cous cous and steamed veg.
Pasta with sauce (from a jar - not good I know) and perhaps chicken or prawns.
Pasta bake with chicken and brocolli
Stir fry veg with stir fry noodles and chicken.

We are trying to go for a walk most nights after work now so would like a dinner that doesn't take more than 30/40 minutes to prepare when we get back.

Also, I'm thinking of making an appointment with a nutritionist for some advice / ideas. Has anyone done this? It's not terribly expensive - I have found someone locally (a 'nutritional therapist') who charges €70 for an hour's session and €50 for a follow up appointment.

Hello Op. My partner has been diagnosed with diet controlled diabetes this year so this is very much a priority for me. We love sausages and burgers from the local farm shop as a treat, these appear to be healthier than the supermarket as very little fat comes out of them when cooked. Or check out a good butchers. New potatoes are quick, and frozen veg. I learned to make nice omelettes by watching a Delia Smith demonstration on YouTube. Batch cooking is our friend too.
Re nutrition advice, I’d be wary going to anyone who isn’t a registered dietician.Check out Nic’s Nutrition, online for free! I have found her site helpful. I’m currently trying to find a dietician for my partner as he has lost a lot of weight and while he eats healthily, I worry he is not getting enough calories.

Tuna burgers www.john-west.co.uk/recipes/teriyaki-tuna-burger/
Salmon risotto www.wcrf-uk.org/uk/recipes/cheats-salmon-risotto
Cheat’s paella www.coop.co.uk/recipes/cheats-paella
Prawn curry www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tamarind-prawn-curry
Chicken and broccoli noodles realfood.tesco.com/recipes/crispy-chicken-and-broccoli-noodles.html

Alternatively to ‘quick’ meals, go for a walk while a chicken is cooking, if you spatchcock it it will cook quicker than whole. Pop a couple of jacket potatoes in too and add veg.
Next night use the leftover chicken with a salad or with some noodles/rice/pasta.
Slow cooker meals are great for quick meals, it’s just a bit of preparation the night before or in the morning.
It’s great you both love fish, that’s super healthy - it’s just what you add to the meal!

Many thanks for all of those suggestions.

@IAmSantaOhYesIAm You are so right - the fish is great but we often end up having it with frozen chips/wedges and a tin of peas or sweetcorn which is not so great!

For some reason a slow cooker has never appealed (I am not a fan of stews or casseroles ('squishy; food as my younger self would say) however mention of same has reminded me that we have a George Foreman Grill hidden away which gets no use whatsoever. Presumably fish and chicken cooked on that would be pretty healthy?

@Ricekrispie22 Thank you so much for those recipes - they are exactly what I need - quick yet tasty and healthy. I am printing off right now!

@TheDuchessofDukeStreet We actually have a very nice butchers near us and we never go in because we eat so little red meat. It totally makes sense that their burgers and sausages would be better quality so I am going to pay them a visit. Also, I have just followed 'nicsnutrition' on Instagram, many thanks for that!

Pulled chicken in the slow cooker is lovely. Just a couple chicken breasts thrown in, leave until cooked through. Then two forks and pull them apart, add bbq sauce. You can weigh and measure everything to keep you on track. Obviously there are recipes online for a bbq sauce that doesn't come from a bottle, but I'm happy with a bottle to be honest. You can serve it in bread rolls or on top of a jacket potato or anything you fancy.

I've switched to making bolognaise with Turkey mince because DH doesn't like beef mince. Don't bother with a jar sauce, just use tinned tomato, tomato purée and stock. Some red wine if you like. You can pack it with veg too. Very low calorie.

Oh that’s good, Wish. The nice thing about a good butchers is that you can buy exactly the amount you need, two burgers, four sausages etc. Happy eating!

You could also consider buying an Instant Pot pressure cooker.

You could put your meal on to cook while you walk and it will stay on keep warm mode until you come home to eat your meal.

Burgers, salads and eggs!

Tonight I'm making a big pot of vegetable soup with dumplings. You may wish to leave out the dumplings but I think it's better for meals to be satisfying - saves you diving into the crisps later.

I’ve recently dug out our George Forman and use it quite a lot. Lots of variations of chicken skewers just switch marinades or spice rubs for different flavours. (Skewers not actually the essential but things on a stick get eaten better here! 🙄) Last night we went Nando’s style with piri piri chicken, spicy rice, salad and coleslaw.
Chicken marinated in honey and mustard, lime and coriander, tikka or paprika all popular too.
In also use it to sear tuna steaks to use in a proper nicois, you can do the green beans in it too.
Frittata is great for a quick and healthy meal and really versatile, just chuck in what ever veg you have to hand.

Have a look at the ‘Pinch of Nom’ website. Lots of ideas for quick and healthy low calorie meals on there.