Quick meals

Vegetarian Thai red curry

Nifer — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:00:16 +0000

Thai food is so flavorful and so full of healthful fresh vegetables—why don’t I cook it at home more? Naomi Duguid’s story “Thai Tonight” in the May/June 2013 issue of EatingWell Magazine helped me realize what I’m missing: a few easy-to-find Thai ingredients.

Don't Miss: 10 Essential Ingredients of Thai Cooking

30-minute chicken Caesar salad wrap on the grill

Nifer — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:07:23 +0000

Does it ever occur to you to make Caesar salad at home? I never think of it until I’m at a restaurant and it suddenly looks like the best thing on the menu—especially with some grilled chicken on top (even if I have to pay extra for that).

With this recipe dreamed up by the EatingWell Test Kitchen, it’s not just the chicken that’s grilled—the romaine lettuce is too! (Another thing I’d never think of.) That lightly charred lettuce adds more delicious smokiness to the Caesar salad filling for this easy meal rolled up in a warmed spinach wrap.

Easy DIY healthy chicken taco bowls

Nifer — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:53:50 +0000

How many meals can you make with a corn tortilla? The outside-the-box cooks in the EatingWell Test Kitchen gave themselves the challenge of creating a few new dinners based on corn tortillas for the May/June 2013 issue of EatingWell Magazine. But they really outdid themselves with this new Chicken Taco Bowls recipe and guess where they found their inspiration? At the bottom of a muffin tin.

Health benefits of juicing vs. smoothies

Nifer — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:17:47 +0000

Juicing and smoothies are all the rage right now. While both can boost your fruit and vegetable intake (something most Americans need to do) and are great for getting a variety of produce into your diet, one is the better choice.

Quick microwaved stuffed baked potatoes for a cheap dinner

Nifer — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:02:31 +0000

The scene: My kitchen. The time: Tonight, about 30 minutes before everyone melts down from starvation. The options: Join in the meltdown; scrounge around for enough money to order pizza; or do something special with those innocent-looking potatoes in the pantry. I bought them recently, thinking it would be a good idea to have potatoes in the house, just in case. And in this case, I can turn them into Asparagus & Ham Stuffed Potatoes in 30 minutes and turn dinner drama into a satisfying family meal. (At less than $3 per serving, it’s cheaper than pizza too.)

Quick, budget-friendly stovetop ziti (no chopping required!)

Nifer — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:02:45 +0000

I used to do my own taxes, but in the last few years, with the complications of kids in and out of college and so on, I (gratefully) handed everything over to a professional. I’ve just dropped off everything with her for last year’s taxes—and immediately resolved to get our spending under control. Starting with grocery shopping. My idea of shopping within a budget is typically to ask the budget to look the other way.

How to make a healthy fried fish sandwich, without deep-frying

Nifer — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:01:18 +0000

Maybe you are like me: the very rare times you settle for fast food for dinner, you think you can at least make a healthier choice by ordering the fish sandwich. But it turns out that may not necessarily be better for you after all. Sure, fish on its own is healthy: low in fat and often high in omega-3 fats, which are good for your heart and your brain. The problem is, once fish gets deep-fried, slathered with tartar sauce, covered in cheese and piled onto a white bun, it becomes a calorie bomb.

6-ingredient fast & skinny one-pot jambalaya

Nifer — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:32:38 +0000

If you do a search for jambalaya recipes, you’re going to find more to choose from than you know what to do with. There are lots of great Cajun cooks out there—and lots of jambalaya recipes full of personal expression and ingredient lists as long as your arm. (What Makes Cajun Food So Great? Top Chefs Share Their Secrets.)

4-ingredient maple mustard salmon in 15 minutes

Nifer — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:42:39 +0000

With just 5 minutes of prep time and 4 ingredients, you can produce baked Maple-Mustard Salmon for dinner that’s ready to eat in 15 minutes. This super-easy, healthy dinner recipe features the earthiness of mustard, the smoky sweetness of pure maple syrup and smoky spiciness of a little smoked paprika, plus heart-healthy salmon, all baked fuss-free in the oven.

Must-Try: 20-Minute 5-Ingredient Dinner Recipes

Budget-friendly and healthy quick pasta bolognese

Nifer — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:08:01 +0000

So here we are in January—it’s cold outside and yet we’re trying not to crank the thermostat too high inside because the holiday bills are coming due and suddenly we’re not feeling all that flush. (Guess we’ll have to keep wearing those Christmas sweaters to stay warm.)

Fast, produce-packed lemon chicken stir-fry

Nifer — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 20:09:24 +0000

With my new year’s resolution to eat healthy fresh in my mind, I’m focusing this week on getting more vegetables into my diet. A light, bright, tasty meal that helps me pack in more produce is a fast chicken and vegetable stir-fry.

Don’t Miss: Skinny Produce-Packed Dinner Recipes

4 quick, healthy 400-calorie recipes for dinner

Nifer — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:50:03 +0000

Trying to eat healthier and maybe even lose a little weight? That’s one of my goals for the new year and I’m going to really focus on having a healthy, low-calorie dinner to help me meet my goals. Science shows that when it comes to losing weight, what’s most important is how much you’re eating. (See what a 1,200-calorie day of food looks like.)

30-minute skinny pork chop suey

Nifer — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:27:42 +0000

We’re so busy at this time of year, between work and parties and shopping, that it’s awfully tempting to pick up takeout on the way home and call dinner done. But for me, that just adds to the feeling that I’m not doing all I could to eat healthfully and joyfully, reducing stress and overprocessed food. Trying to keep the household budget under control is important right now too. (Can you tell I’m working up to renewing my New Year’s resolutions?)

30-minute steak dinner with blue cheese sauce for $3.50

Nifer — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 16:31:43 +0000

Just in the last few months, two or three new artisanal steak restaurants have opened in town. I’m usually the last to know that something is trendy, catching on just as it goes from cool to cliché—but even I can notice that locally sourced steak is a hot food trend right now. A hot and expensive trend.

30-minute stovetop chicken parmesan

Nifer — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:00:47 +0000

In its classic form, chicken parm (short for Parmesan, but of course you knew that) is a dish you order at a family-style Italian restaurant when you want a big piece of chicken breast fried, coated in buttery, cheesy breadcrumbs, topped with melted mozzarella and served with a pile of pasta and tomato sauce and a solid dusting of Parmesan cheese.