The trick to quick and healthy is basically pre-made basics. It's been a super cold winter, and I know you aren't supposed to use your oven to heat your house, but I think it's okay if you're actively cooking. Roasted vegetables are great to have around and super easy to make. Simply cut a bunch of your favorite veggies into bite size pieces (so they cook quicker). Add olive oil, salt, pepper and any fresh herb you may have lying around. You can always do a combination of dry spices like herbs De Provence, sage or Italian seasoning if you don't have anything fresh. Sweet potatoes, beets and Brussels sprouts have been my go to for the winter, but any and all veggies work.
Now that you have your first basics, you have three choices:
quinoa, salad, or pasta.
ROASTED VEGGIES AND QUINOA
Quinoa is a great source of protein and it tastes just as filling as most starches without the gluten. Just know, quinoa has little to no taste by itself. It's always best to cook it in a broth or with a bouillon cube as it takes on the flavor of anything you cook it with. Read the ingredients carefully on your bouillon cube. These tend to have a lot of sodium, sometimes whey or soy proteins, and a lot of sugar. Some cubes are better than others, just read your ingredients to be sure they are actually healthy.
Once you finish cooking the quinoa, mix in your already roasted veggies. Add some soft. goat cheese for a little calcium and that's your quick and easy meal. Pack this for lunch at work and eat it either hot or cold.
ROASTED VEGGIES W/ SALAD
This is a nice combination of hot and cold, although it can be served all cold. Basically, gather anything and everything you want/need to eat. Fresh vegetables and roasted vegetables compliment each other nicely. The combination tends to be easier to digest as well.
Start with a bed of lettuce. Then add any other vegetables or fruit you desire. Today mine was romaine lettuce, red grapes, avocado, cucumber for the fresh veggies. I then added the roasted veggies, which were roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli and onions. Top this with a little fresh lemon juice and some chopped nuts. I used walnuts. You can add goat cheese, fresh bean sprouts, croutons... the sky's the limit! I took this to work and ate it all at one temperature. It was delicious. I also make this at home and heat up the roasted vegetables. I add a hard boiled egg and some turkey bacon to make it boyfriend friendly.
PASTA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES
Cook your pasta according to the directions on your package. I usually use a gluten free quinoa or brown rice pasta. Drain pasta. If you are using harder vegetables, like Brussels or squash, mix the roasted vegetables with the pasta. Place on low heat. Add 1 tablespoon Earth Garden butter or another healthier option butter substitute. Add a milk substitute, either hemp milk, almond milk, oat milk or sunflower milk. You can always use skim milk if you're not allergic. Then add 2-4 tablespoons of soft goat cheese. Mix everything together. I've done this with a little butternut squash puree, and it was incredible. Just be careful not to add too much since the butternut squash can be really powerful.
The picture above is true mac and cheese at it's finest with an after-thought of Kale. Normally I follow the recipe above and top with fresh ground black pepper. However, this recipe was made on the fly, with the sole purpose of satisfying my mac and cheese craving. After the pasta was done, I added the Earth Garden butter substitute (about 1-3 TBS). Then I added Hemp Milk. I mixed these together with a little bit of goat cheese (in this case, I'd run out). Because I didn't have the goat cheese to make this super creamy, I added a little coconut flour. According to an amazing YouTube chef, you never add straight flour to anything or it will clump. Instead, I spooned some of the creamy mixture into a measuring cup. I then added about 1-2 Tablespoons of coconut flour to the hot milky mixture. Mix this until all the clumps are gone. Then combine with the rest of the sauce. At this point, add in the drained pasta noodles. Allow the pasta to absorb some of the sauce. I did have another type of hard goat cheese, so I added that into the mix too. This is when I realized there is still far to much creamy goodness and not enough pasta. Quickly, I washed some of the fresh Kale I had in the fridge. I ripped it quickly as my milky cheese mixture was simmering down quickly. Be sure to discard that super hard Kale stem, then add the fresh Kale to the mixture. Wait until the Kale starts to wilt a little (no more than 5 minutes) and enjoy!
Hopefully these healthy tips will help you to eat healthy on the go.
