I love tacos, pizza and margaritas like no other, but realistically, I can’t eat like that everyday. Too much unhealthy stuff ends up making me feel not the best. Honestly, Monday through Thursday, I really try to cook, meal plan and prepare every meal during the week. I also like doing meatless Monday, which you can find here. It makes our lives so much easier and prevents us from ordering out (and saves us money too). Anyone try to do this? I know our intentions are always good, but life does get in the way sometimes and we just need a burger, you know?!

I am sharing 5 healthy meals that we have often in my house during the week. Plus, they are easy and only require a few ingredients and time. Which are some of the two most important things while cooking during the week, am I right?

1. Rice, chickpea and asparagus skillet

I have a serious obsession with chickpeas, so I could eat this for lunch or dinner at least once a week. It’s easy and versatile too. Brown rice, white rice or this 90 minute Uncle Ben’s Garden Vegetable Rice if you’re short on time (it adds small, chopped veggies good for fussy toddlers).  Throw in a protein like chicken or shrimp, You can find the recipe here: Recipe: Rice, Asparagus, and Chickpea Skillet

2. Asian Chopped Salad with Steak

I have a confession. I love salads. Like a lot. Playing around with the different variations is the best part. We try to have a salad at least once or twice a week. Premade salad kits are a great foundation because you can do so, so, much to them. That’s what I did with this Asian Chopped Salad Kit. I added steak that was marinated in soy sauce and a few other ingredients and done! Super easy. You can find the recipe here: Asian Chopped Salad with Steak. or below.

Steak Marinade

• ¼ cup sesame oil
•  green onions

Instructions

1. Place the plastic bag in a large bowl and then add the soy sauce, sesame oil and vegetable oil to the bag. Whisk in the honey, garlic, ginger and green onions. Add the steak to the bag, flipping it to coat it in the marinade, and then seal the plastic bag.
2. Place the steak in the fridge and marinate it overnight, or for a minimum of 10 hours.When ready to cook, remove the steak from the fridge and preheat your cooking surface (grill or stovetop grill pan).
3. Remove the steak from the marinade, discard the leftover liquid, and sear the steak on each side until it’s cooked to your desired degree of doneness.
4. Let the steak rest for 5 minutes or so and add it to your salad.
5. Enjoy!

3. Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos 

Here is another recipe where you can cut and roast the potatoes the night before. That way they are ready to go, just cook the beans and add the sweet potatoes in. But honestly, you don’t have to roast them if you are short on time. Just dice them and heat oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet for 15 minutes or until tender.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients: 

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes (3 to 4 medium sweet potatoes), peeled and sliced into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Spicy black beans

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• Fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• ⅓ cup water
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Extras 

Top with avocado, guacamole, feta cheese or pico de gallo.

1. Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Using foil, line the baking sheet. Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, cayenne and salt. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, tossing halfway, until the sweet potatoes are tender.
2. Prepare the black beans: Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and a sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have softened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the cumin and chili powder and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring. Pour in the beans and water. Stir, cover and reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
3. Cook for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and use a potato masher or a fork to mash up at least half of the beans. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and cover until you’re ready to serve.
4. Add your toppings and serve with warm tortillas!
5. Enjoy!

4. Calabacitas

This is something I learned from my husband and mother in law. Calabacitas in spanish means zucchini, so the base of this dish is zucchini, but they are some other veggies and layers of yum in there too.  The recipe is meatless and it can be a side or main dish. There are countless options with this. The recipe is:

Ingredients:

• Two zucchini, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1/2 can chickpeas
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 packet Sazon Goya seasoning

Optional: Tortilla chips for serving, shredded cheese or tortillas

Directions: 

1. Add onion, garlic and olive oil to pan and cook until onion is brown.
2. Drain tomatoes (you don’t have to, it’s a just a preference of mine). Let this cook for a few minutes.
3. Add zucchini, drained black beans, and chickpeas.
4. Add Goya seasoning and cook until the zucchini is cooked through. (I use this seasoning on so much. We order packs of it at a time.)
5. Serve with cheese, avocados, sour cream, tortilla chips or make tacos with tortillas.
6. Enjoy!

If you are looking for breakfast ideas, here are three:

1. Turkey bacon and kale egg cups. Recipe here.

2. Scrambled eggs, kale and cottage cheese-The cottage cheese makes the eggs super fluffy with added protein.

3. Peaches and cream cheese toast– One of my favorite end of summer, early fall snacks or breakfast. Recipe here.

I hope you find some of these meal ideas helpful and I would love to hear any you guys have to keeping it lighter during the week. Add your comments below or message me on Instagram. They have definitely helped me get through some crazy weeks and I hope they do the same for you!

And as always, thanks for following and you can sign up for weekly email updates here.

Until next time,

Christine