Arriving home from work or school after a long day, everyone is hungry and tired. The thought of making dinner can be a daunting one and it can be tempting to ring for that take-away or reach for unhealthy option. Everyone needs a collection of healthy dinner recipes, dishes they can rustle up in minutes that everyone likes.
Here some ideas for you:
Omelettes
Omelettes are a very quick meal to make and are very healthy, especially if you take care to include lots of vegetables. They can be eaten alone as a snack, or served with bread, rice or potatoes as part of a larger meal.
A basic Omlette recipe can be made more interesting by adding extra vegetables!
Stir-fry
Stir-frying is a traditional Asian way of cooking which involves using very little fat. You can include your favourite fish or meat with lots of vegetables. Put your rice on before you chop your vegetables and meat on separate chopping boards or, if you’re pressed for time use frozen stir fry vegetables. Noodles and rice are great to serve with these dishes as they can be cooked in minutes. Use some garlic and ginger for flavour and add your soy sauce when everything is cooked.
Try our quick and easy Stir-fry recipe
Grilled meat chops or fish
This dish can be ready in 20-25 minutes, the same time you would wait for a take-away to arrive. If you have a tiered steamer put your potatoes on the bottom tier and your vegetable on top and allow to steam while your meat or fish are grilling.
Try our traditional pork chop recipe
Pasta
Pasta is a really versatile food – you can have it on its own with tomato sauce or add different types of vegetables and meats. It can take as little as 10 minutes to prepare. If you are buying pre-prepared tomato sauces choose a variety with the lowest salt content as indicated on the label.
Need a new idea for a quick and easy pasta recipe?
Summer salad
With the warm weather approaching, salads are an ideal quick meal option.
Want to know how to add a little zest to your salad?
Three top tips for quick meals
1. Keep a store cupboard of non-perishable items
Stock up on pasta, rice, cous cous, noodles, crackers, crispbreads, oatcakes, flour, cornflour, canned fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and sweetcorn, kidney beans, baked beans, canned oily fish (e.g. sardines, tuna, mackerel), eggs, tomato puree, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, curry powder, pepper, herbs, spices, garlic and ginger.
2. Keep all types of fruit and vegetables on hand
All types count towards your 5-a-day – fresh, frozen, canned and dried. On days when you feel caught for time you can use canned or frozen vegetables
3. Cook in bulk
Whenever you are cooking one of those longer dishes like a stew, curry or casserole why not double the recipe. You can freeze the extra and take it out of the freezer the night before those really busy days.