Several nights of the week, I am alone, needing to make something healthy for dinner. Back when I was much younger, a bowl of cereal would be all I needed for dinner, but nowadays, with a myriad of health issues and concerns that have cropped up in my older years, I need healthy options for dinner. At first, (when my husband went back to work and his shifts went beyond dinnertime) trying to figure out what to make myself was overwhelming, but then it became a challenge and I have really enjoyed it! I thought putting some ideas here might help those of you that find yourself in the same position.
One of the health concerns I have had over the past several years has involved a gluten sensitivity and so I don’t indulge in pasta that often. I also try to avoid processed and enriched breads, and make my own sourdough so I can enjoy bread again. Recently, I have heard about the powerful benefits of the Tuber…(ladies you really need to look into the research on that!) so I am embracing all the potatoes, especially sweet potatoes!
So my “girl dinner” options usually end up in bowl form, which makes everything easier. Some of the pantry staples I always make sure I have on hand, so that I can make a quick meal for myself include:
- Bacon, skin-on, bone-in Chicken thighs, ground hamburger, pork & lamb, Italian sausage
- Eggs
- Frozen broccoli, riced cauliflower, edamame, corn
- Fresh items like mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, avocado and green beans
- Potatoes (baby red & yellow, russets, sweets)
- Farro & other grain blends
- Jasmine, brown Basmati and other rice options
- Squashes like butternut, acorn, delicata & spaghetti
- Canned beans…garbanzo, white beans are my favorites
- Nuts like pistachios & pine nuts
- Cheeses…parmesan, blue, aged white cheddar, gruyere, cottage cheese
- Premade items like hummus & avocado cups are nice too
As with most of the world these days, I am also always trying to increase my protein intake as well, so you’ll see the obvious meat options in my meals, but I do try to add eggs and things like cottage cheese whenever I can. I also like to “meal prep” easy meat options, like meatballs so that I can just grab a couple out in the morning to thaw in time for dinner. The above meal I roasted a delicata squash with some mini yellow potatoes and cooked up a hamburger that I ate with bacon and blue cheese and a half of an avocado on the side.
And some of my leftovers from that night, made their way into my brunch the next morning! I probably eat more Bacon and eggs than I should, but they are some of my favorite things!
The ONLY thing I was successful in growing last year in my garden was spaghetti squash and that is one of my favorite pasta replacements to make! They are so easy to cook, cut in half, rub the cut side with olive oil and roast cut side down in the oven. Then you take a fork and pull out the squash. I love it carbonara style as well!
One of my favorite grains to make is Farro. I buy it from Trader Joe’s and it’s super easy to cook, basically the same as making rice. The internet defines it as: “Farro is a nutritious, high-fiber, and protein-rich ancient wheat grain popular in Mediterranean cuisine, featuring a chewy texture and nutty, caramel-like flavor” which is spot on! This bowl has a base of sweet potatoes, Farro, green beans and leftover Ham.
Although my favorite way to make sweet potatoes is by roasting them as you’ll see below, I do still like a cubed & roasted potato once in awhile as well. The above bowl was super simple, ground beef sauteed with mushrooms & onion, roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli with bell peppers.
Sometimes I like to use cauliflower rice in place of regular and when you do it as a ‘fried rice” dish, it really is delicious! This bowl was just that…sauteed riced cauliflower, bacon, edamame, and I topped it with a couple of soy-soaked, soft-boiled eggs for the win!
Those premade hummus cups come in handy when you want to make a mediterranean bowl like the one shown above. I buy my ground Lamb from Aldi and saute it in olive oil with garlic & oregano. Toss in some garbanzo beans at the end and top with pine nuts. Oh and a pita, toasted over the stove flame on the side. So good and really SO easy!
The picture on the left has been repeated in my kitchen over and over for the past couple of months. Slice the sweet potato in half, parchment paper lined sheet pan, drizzled with olive oil and a little salt. Place the sweet potato, sliced side down and roast for like an hour at around 350 degrees. Use a fork or a pair of kitchen tongs to check if it’s done and what results is a caramelized surface that you’ll want to eat, standing at the oven door! To make the end result bowl, I scooped out the sweet potato and just mashed it a little into the bottom of my bowl. I then topped it with a meatball (I had meal prepped a bunch over the holidays and took one and broke it up to saute with some mushrooms and onions) and some steamed broccoli. So good!
I hope all of this inspires you to treat your body right and feed it healthy “girl dinners”! I am happy to explain my process “recipe” more about how to make any of the dishes I shared above, just reach out!
And if you want to see some of the food I make, be sure to follow me on Instagram!
❤️ Shawn
Who Eats Like This?! 