Quick & Healthy Meal Ideas for Busy Parents

(Wheat & Dairy Free)

1.\tEgg frittata (fancy scrambled eggs): scrambled eggs with handfuls of spinach/arugula/mixed greens thrown in when scrambling. You can also add chopped sundried tomato, mushrooms, garlic, or green onion if you have the time.

2.\tBrown rice, beans & guacamole
Brown rice – it takes about 35-40 minutes to steam but at least while its steaming you can go do other things. I always do the brown rice first and while it is steaming, I heat up a couple of cans of black beans and make the guacamole.
Simple Guacamole:
½ to 1 avocado per person,
lemon juice - ½ lemon for every 2 avocados
sea salt to taste
Get your kids to mash it up for you if they are old enough. My 2 year old loves to mash the guacamole.
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3.\tPesto salmon with broccoli and salad:
Spoon your favorite prepared pesto from a jar (we like Italianissimo) on your salmon filets and bake or pan fry (we use Saladmaster cookware, which is easy to cook with on your stovetop without having to heat oil). In the meantime, steam some broccoli – add sea salt to taste and open a bag or mixed bagged salads.

4.\tBoiled eggs and quick and easy coleslaw
While the eggs are boiling, I open a bag of prepared coleslaw in a bag and quickly make my coleslaw dressing:
Mayonnaise 3Tablespoons
Lemon juice 2 Tablespoons
Agave syrup or other natural sweetener 1 tsp

5.\tBrown rice, seaweed, steamed tofu
Make that brown rice first and while its steaming, use kitchen scissors and cut packaged seasoned seaweed available at Asian markets (read the label to make sure there is no MSG). Steam some tofu for 5 minutes and make a quick sauce:
Soy sauce – 2 Tbsp
sesame oil – 2 tsp
agave 1 tsp
Spoon over the tofu. If you still have some time waiting for that rice to finish cooking, I like to cook some of your favorite frozen vegetables, whatever they may be.

6.\tcoconut milk chicken – I buy a bag of (preferably non-medicated) chicken thighs and sprinkle salt and pepper. I brown lightly in a large pot or sauté pan, then turn down the heat and add:
can coconut milk, garlic, bag of mixed frozen veggies, sea salt to taste and serve over brown rice (if you have some mild curry paste that your children will tolerate, throw it in)

7.\thomemade soup in 40 minutes:
a.\tsauté 2 small onions, 2 chopped carrots, and 2 stalks chopped celery for 10 minutes. Add 1 cup barley and 1 box chicken or vegetable broth or frozen. Cook on a light rolling boil until barley is cooked, about 20 minutes. Add 1 to 2 cans of cannelloni beans or great northern beans, or any other of your favorite beans. Salt and pepper to tatse.

8.\tSausages, sweet potatoes, collard greens
I buy prepared sausages at Whole Foods or Capers with organic meat. While that’s cooking (I usually grill or sometimes just fry them), I bake some sweet potatoes and boil collard greens. I usually place the leaves of the collards in boiling water for 5 minutes until they are super soft. Drain and drizzle some olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. If you don’t have enough time to bake yams, then any other frozen vegetable or salad will add a little variety to the menu.

9.\tEdamame beans with sesame oil and sea salt – not a meal but just a favorite snack for my kids