I needed some inspiration. And these are all so much healthier . . .
7 Quick Meals that Are Faster than Pizza Delivery
Photo: Glen Maclarty
Trying to bridge the gap from dining out to eating in? Looking for quick meals that are reasonably healthy? Here are seven simple ideas to start reducing delivery and takeout costs. Think quick meals have to be boring? Read on for inspiration.
Quick Meals:
Salmon Steaks
Put two in the toaster oven to broil, along with some chunked up potatoes. Depending on the thickness of each, you should be done in twenty minutes. This is ten minutes faster than basic pizza delivery services usually promise. Line the tray with tin foil to ease cleanup, and put some asparagus spears on to steam for the last 2-3 minutes. If potatoes and asparagus don't float your boat, here are some additional ideas for simple side dishes.
Angel Hair Pasta and Pesto
Angel hair takes two minutes to boil, and if you are starting from room temperature the pesto takes no extra prep at all. Serve with white wine and a side salad of organic mixed greens from the warehouse store. This is about as easy as it gets when it comes to quick meals that are also elegant.
Gourmet Sandwiches
BLT’s, bruschetta, shrimp toast and wraps are some of our favorite ways to go. Gourmet tuna melts or English muffin pizzas would also be fun options. Don’t forget breakfast-for-dinner sandwiches, as well oven baked veggie burgers. Here's an article with even more sandwich ideas.
Cranberry-Walnut Dinner Salad
Mixed organic spring greens, chopped tomatoes and diced onions form a simple and affordable base. Add dried cranberries, walnut pieces and crumbled feta cheese with the salad dressing of your choice. This salad is loaded with flavor and hunger-satisfying protein, making it perfect for lunch as well as a light dinner. Toss some foil-wrapped garlic bread from the store in the oven and serve with your favorite dinner beverage. Here are some other great salad ideas.
Pork Chops
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Toss some boneless ones on the grill and throw some basmati in the rice cooker. Microwave some organic frozen broccoli and jazz up the whole meal with an easy and affordable peanut sauce in the blender. Cook extra pork chops to use for other quick meals throughout the week, such as this affordable pancit recipe or pork fried rice.
Polynesian Chicken
It doesn’t get much easier than this, people. My version of Polynesian chicken calls for three ingredients and some leftover rice in the microwave. If you want a little more than soy sauce over the top and don’t feel like a “from scratch” sauce, try a bottom of the jar recipe for sweet and sour sauce made from jam or marmalade.
Shrimp and Snow Peas
This another one you can serve with rice, which is one of my favorite simple side dishes you can make on the cheap. Pre-cooked shrimp with the shells removed and rinse-and-dump snow peas take three minutes maximum to stir fry. If you have leftover basmati to microwave, you’ve got yourself a meal in less than five minutes.
Related Readings:
- Ten Simple Meals in Ten Minutes or Less
- Simple Freezer Treats
- Ten Easy Meals to Make with Tortillas
- 13 Value-Oriented Convenience Foods
- Three-Ingredient Curry
What are your favorite ideas for quick meals? Do you have any that are particularly stylish or frugal? Remember to sound off in the comment section below.
Best of Wise Bread
I needed a little inspiration myself, which is why I sat down and whipped up this piece. Even though I already knew about these ideas, I was just not feeling motivated.
The thing is though, some of the healthy quick meals become more affordable when compared to take out or delivery costs. So I've stopped avoiding those purchases in the grocery store. If I know we'll eat them happily and it will save us a run to the Chinese food buffet, then I figure we're ahead of the game.
You can also follow me on Twitter and Trek Hound.
Guest, the link is highlighted in blue with the words "peanut sauce". It's under the pork chop dinner plan.
Tammy, it's great to be back in touch with you too. You know I was thinking the other day about that Ramadan meal in Kuwait we had at Audrey's that time. What a blast. Hope you enjoy the rest of Wise Bread.
You can also follow me on Twitter and Trek Hound.
Nice list! For those who may not happen to have pesto sauce, you can heat some olive oil and add some items. I keep garlic cloves in the freezer and have spices and walnuts (easily toastable) on hand. The walnuts (or pecans, almonds, or whatever nut you happen to store) are great to have on hand for salads, as you mentioned. I try to buy mine in bulk as they keep for a while and can be frozen.
Quick question -- do you have ideas on going to a seafood market for salmon? Or do you buy a certain brand?
Hi, we do a version of your salmon and sliced potatoes but the potatoes take over an hour to bake up nicely so they are cooked inside and crunchy on the outside. Are you starting with a cooked potato? This is a great list, our favourite quick meal is frying up 2 pounds of diced chicken and adding a curry sauce and serving it over rice with sliced cucumber on the side. The rice is cooked in 25 minutes with the chicken in curry sauce 30 minutes. We find the cucumber takes the heat off the curry.
Thanks for keeping the conversation going, folks.
Julie, you know I had someone offer to do a fish market shopping tips interview a while back. Maybe I'll take them up on it now that you've asked. Since I don't have access to a pierside fish market that's close by, I just go for whatever's fresh at the warehouse store or grocery store. They have to get rid of the fresh stuff pretty quickly. For smoked salmon I get Duck Trap River and buy the trim.
#7 - I cut them up quite small so they are done in time. But you could start with a precooked potato and microwave it, or try some polenta.
You can also follow me on Twitter and Trek Hound.
Hi there,
We like to cook up some whole wheat spaghetti, pan fry garlic in olive oil, add grated lemon peel, chopped kale and a handful of pine nuts, and toss with the noodles. A sprinkle of dried hot peppers gives it some zing, plus some grated parmesan cheese.
Dinner in no time!
