Insanely Easy Three Ingredient Meals
At this point, we’re all likely a bit tired of cooking meal after meal. I know I am—and I love cooking. So, I’ve been brainstorming shortcuts. One of the easiest shortcuts I’ve come up with is to cook once and eat multiple times.
This week that meant whipping up a big batch of kale pesto (my garden is currently overrun with kale—if only the asparagus was doing as well!) and getting creative about how to use it. I came up with three, 3-ingredient meals! How’s that for a kitchen rescue?!
Of course, you can use traditional basil pesto, or for the ultimate shortcut, purchase it already prepared! First, let me show you the meals. Hop on over to the recipe page here if you’d like the kale pesto recipe.
All of these meals are well-balanced with greens, a whole grain or complex carb for plenty of fiber, and protein…all of which should keep you full for hours.
Meal 1: Pesto + whole wheat pasta + chickpeas. Serve it with a simple side salad and you’ve got an easy, yummy dinner.
Meal 2: Pesto + canned tuna + whole grain crackers. This is my creative new spin on traditional tuna salad. Just mix the tuna with pesto and eat it with whole grain crackers. Add some raw veggies (cherry tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, or snap peas are all easy) or some fresh fruit on the side, and it makes a perfect, fast lunch.
Meal 3: Pesto + baked potato + shredded chicken (or your protein of choice). I’m a big fan of baked potato bars for dinner because they’re easy and allow me to use up whatever random veggies (leftover or fresh) and protein I have on hand. Also, everyone likes them. I simply roast whole baked potatoes, set out a variety of veggies, some kind of protein (beans, shredded chicken or pork, or chopped turkey bacon), shredded cheese, and usually Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. Everyone can create their own combination and dinner is done. This pesto potato is a simplified spin off of that concept: baked potato with a hearty dollop of pesto, topped with shredded chicken or beans. Again, add a side salad or extra veggies to top the potato and dinner is served.
Plus, here are a few more meal planning/prepping ideas to make your week in the kitchen just a little bit smoother...
Not only can meal planning help you save time and money, while reducing stress in the kitchen, but I just came across this study that shows regular meal planning is associated with an overall higher diet quality and lower odds of being overweight or obese. Again, meal planning for the win!
Here’s a few ways you can get your meal plan/prep on this week:
Decide what you’ll make for the next 5 dinners, look up recipes (or think of your usual standbys), write down the ingredients you need to buy. Consider how you’ll use any leftovers.
Meal prep veggies to have on hand: roast or grill a big batch of whatever combo sounds good to you, make a big salad (leave off the dressing) to pull out for lunches or dinners, and/or wash and cut up some raw veggies to snack on (peppers, carrots, radishes, snap peas, cucumbers, celery, etc.)
Make something you can eat multiple ways. The pesto is a great option but think also about things like a whole chicken (perfect for quesadillas, soup, wraps, salads), rice (stir-fry, a side dish, filling for burritos, rice and bean entrée) or whole wheat pasta (great with marinara and parmesan, as a pasta salad, or in a baked pasta dish).
Choose a few healthful snacks you’ll have this week (see last week’s blog post here for some ideas) and get them ready and easily accessible so you can grab them without too much deliberation.
Follow the “Twice as Nice” strategy: pick something, double it, and freeze one. Ideas include soup, lasagna, enchiladas, taco meat, chili, or stuffed cabbage.
That’s all for today. Hope these shortcuts make your week in the kitchen a bit more enjoyable!