Quick dinner ideas—a microwaveable frozen meal, takeout, or a bowl of cereal—are often high in sodium, fat, or added sugar. Processed meats are high in preservatives, and many sandwiches are unhealthy, too. So what healthy meals can you whip up when you’re desperate for something quick?
Quick dinner ideas—a microwaveable frozen meal, takeout, or a bowl of cereal—are often high in sodium, fat, or added sugar. Processed meats are high in preservatives, and many sandwiches are unhealthy, too. So what healthy meals can you whip up when you’re desperate for something quick?
Nutrition researchers say it’s possible to throw together a quick, nutritious meal, and so do they. Their strategies: Lean on canned foods, use frozen ingredients, try nuts or eggs for a quick protein boost, and turn breakfasts into easy dinners.
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Nutrition researchers say it’s possible to throw together a quick, nutritious meal, and so do they. Their strategies: Lean on canned foods, use frozen ingredients, try nuts or eggs for a quick protein boost, and turn breakfasts into easy dinners.
Here are the quick and healthy dinners that nutrition researchers whip up on their own. Everything can be put together in 10 minutes or less, they said.
The ingredients for Alice H. Lichtenstein’s quick and healthy dinner are all in her freezer: store-bought frozen precooked shrimp and an assortment of frozen vegetables, which come out of the bag already washed and chopped. She puts the prawns in the water and defrost the vegetables in the microwave for a few minutes. Then he sautés some garlic and onion with olive oil in a pan on the stove, adds the shrimp and vegetables (typically broccoli, carrots, peas, peppers) and amps up the flavor with curry powder, a mix of spices Cajun or a splash of low-sodium soy sauce.
You can pan-fry in 10 minutes,” says Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University.
Shrimp is high in protein but low in calories and contains important nutrients like vitamin B12. Studies have found that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of heart disease and some cancers.
Lichtenstein is also a fan of canned tuna and salmon, which contain beneficial fatty acids like omega 3 and omega 6 and important nutrients like B vitamins and vitamins A and D. Peel, add olive oil and vinegar or mix the tuna or salmon with a little mayonnaise, curry powder and raisins and serve the fish on pre-washed salad, cherry tomatoes and cucumber pieces.
For a vegetarian version of the salad, Lichtenstein will replace the fish with canned beans. To complete the meal and add some whole grains, serve the dish with some rye crackers.
It takes five minutes tops and you can adjust the quantities depending on how many people,” he says.
Some people are concerned about the mercury in fish. Choose canned “light” tuna, including skipjack tuna, which are low in mercury. This type is considered among the best choices” by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency in its fish consumption recommendations for pregnant and nursing women and young children, who face increased health risks from exposure Yellowfin or albacore tuna generally have higher mercury levels than canned light, but are still listed as a good choice by agencies.”
Some typical breakfast foods can easily be modified for a satisfying dinner, says Christina A. Roberto, an associate professor of health policy at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, who has two children, ages 5 and nearly 2. . time and at the end of the day we don’t have much energy,” she says of herself and her husband.
Roberto and his family have oatmeal for dinner at least once a week. He mixes traditional oats with milk and microwaves them for eight minutes. It gets very fluffy and creamy and delicious,” he says. Eating whole grains like oatmeal instead of refined grains may improve cholesterol and prevent blood sugar spikes, according to studies.
Roberto complements the oatmeal with fruit such as bananas, strawberries or peaches and a handful of nuts, usually almonds or pecans. Nuts help keep you full, provide protein and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats that are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, he notes. The shell also sometimes adds a dollop of peanut butter, for an extra protein boost.
Eggs, the quick-cooking protein
On nights when Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, professor of nutrition and medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, gets home late from work, crack some scrambled eggs and cook them with spinach, crushed red pepper and some cheese. Shell has whole grain toast on the side. That’s five minutes,” she says. Eggs are a good source of protein and contain important nutrients like vitamin D and choline.
There has been some debate about consuming eggs due to their cholesterol content. But more recent research has found that eating eggs isn’t linked to an increased risk of heart disease, including a study published in 2018 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found that among people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, those who ate at least 12 eggs a week for three months had no greater metabolic or cardiovascular risk factors than people who ate fewer than two eggs a week.
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