Not everyone has time to cook. . .
Not everyone has the time to prepare, cook and serve an entire dinner every single evening. We are in such a hurry these days; it’s so tempting to throw together some nasty, icky Mac’n cheese (with the yellow dyed non-cheese powder, preservatives and ton of sodium) and just call it dinner. Resist those temptations though! Here are some alternatives that are just as quick, just as easy (maybe even easier!) and much, much more healthy for you and your family. The recipes basically serve four people, so if you are single or you are just cooking for two, the math is pretty easy to figure out. :-D
Cheese Tortellini-At Trader Joes we have this fabulous dried cheese filled tortellini pasta! It comes in a 12 oz bag which is perfect for four adults, and all you do is boil 5 quarts of water, dump the pasta in, boil it (stirring occasionally) for 15-17 minutes, turn off the heat, add a glass of cold water (I don’t know exactly why, but it firms the pasta up so that it’s not falling off the cheese when you finally get it on your plate. . don’t rinse this in cold water though) and drain. You can then either eat it just plain, which I do, or drizzle some olive oil over it with salt and pepper, which do too, or even plop some pasta sauce onto it (their suggestion, not mine). A 12 oz. bag at my Trader Joe’s goes for 1.60. a better value and much better for you than fako mac’n cheese. No preservatives, artificial colors or flavors, and imported from Italy.
Tomato Soup with Cheese Sandwiches-I still use Campbell’s every once in a while, but it’s so bad for you. Trader Joe’s (again) has some great low sodium, organic tomato soup, 16 oz for 1.45. Can’t beat that! Anyway, for fast tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches: Turn on your broiler and put the highest rack up near to the flame. Put the tomato soup in a saucepan and warm over the stove stirring occasionally. While it’s warming, spread a thin layer of butter on both sides of pieces of bread, lay them on a cookie sheet, and broil until brown on top side. Take them out, turn them over, and lay thin slices of cheddar cheese on half of them, put back under the broiler until cheese is well melted and the other slices of bread are browned. Put the sandwiches together, pour the soup into bowls, and serve. You can throw some leftover croutons, shredded cheese, chopped celery, cooked fish, other things like that onto the tomato soup too!
Salmon sandwiches-Salmon is much better for you than tuna fish, and you might be interested to know that salmon also has been shown to have much lower trace amounts of mercury in it, if any at all, than tuna fish does. This mercury in the fish business is very serious; so serious, in fact, that Doctors are now recommending that pregnant women eat canned tuna NO MORE than once a week, if not avoided entirely. Anyway, canned salmon is right by the canned tuna, and if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, you can get wild, unfarmed canned salmon for a little over a dollar per can. No, this is not a big Trader Joe’s commercial; I just happen to shop there;). Drain one can of salmon per two sandwiches, mix in either a tablespoon of mayonnaise (try Hollywood brand Safflower mayonnaise; good for your heart, less calories, and very tasty!) or one tablespoon cream cheese, and spread over whole wheat toasted bread. It’s amazing how a little thing like toasting bread can really dress up a sandwich, and it doesn’t take long. You can toast it while you’re mixing the other stuff. Now, if you have some on hand, a little bit of chopped onions really goes great with this sandwich too. And, another variation, you can add some chopped egg and horseradish spread to the mix as well. Yum yum!
Refried Bean Burritos-This was a staple in my house when I was growing up! There was always a container of refried beans in the fridge (they keep very nicely) and tortillas, etc. Whole wheat tortillas are nasty, sorry. This is one of the only things I insist upon being made of white flour. Corn tortillas are for tacos, enchiladas and chips, okay? Not for burritos. There are so many different brands of refried beans out there, that I’m going to just give a couple of tips, no brand name recommendations. You want vegetarian refried beans (not beans fried in bacon grease or lard), and you want to make sure that the ingredients are no more than cooked beans, water, canola oil (or other vegetable oil), salt, distilled vinegar, chili pepper, onion, garlic, spices, natural flavor, etc. This is actually a good source of fiber and protein. Now, there are also a million different brands of tortillas around. I use Mission tortillas, with the “no trans fatty acids” guarantee on the wrapper. Make sure there is no lard or anything really nasty on the ingredients list. To make: Heat the amount of refried beans you are going to use in a pan on the stove, stirring occasionally (or microwave, but be careful, these things blow up!) until heated through. Turn one stove burner onto medium heat, and throw a tortilla onto the burner (this works the best with a gas burner; if you have a solid cook-top, cook the tortilla in a pan). When it begins to look glossy, about 5-6 seconds, flip it over. When this side begins to bubble, flip it again. When this side begins to bubble, take it off, spread some beans in it, wrap it up, and serve. The varieties are as endless as sandwich recipes. You can add olives, cheese, sour cream, shredded lettuce, diced radishes, cilantro, rice, salsa, avocado, etc.
Someday, for a blog post, I will go over the ingredients of some of the nasty things most Americans call food, such as American cheese (also, the powdered cheese you find in the mac’n cheese, and velveeta. . .shudder), margarine, decaffeinated and/or flavored coffee, white sugar, white flour, and things like that. Definitely not for the squeamish.
Enjoy!
Cheese Tortellini-At Trader Joes we have this fabulous dried cheese filled tortellini pasta! It comes in a 12 oz bag which is perfect for four adults, and all you do is boil 5 quarts of water, dump the pasta in, boil it (stirring occasionally) for 15-17 minutes, turn off the heat, add a glass of cold water (I don’t know exactly why, but it firms the pasta up so that it’s not falling off the cheese when you finally get it on your plate. . don’t rinse this in cold water though) and drain. You can then either eat it just plain, which I do, or drizzle some olive oil over it with salt and pepper, which do too, or even plop some pasta sauce onto it (their suggestion, not mine). A 12 oz. bag at my Trader Joe’s goes for 1.60. a better value and much better for you than fako mac’n cheese. No preservatives, artificial colors or flavors, and imported from Italy.
Tomato Soup with Cheese Sandwiches-I still use Campbell’s every once in a while, but it’s so bad for you. Trader Joe’s (again) has some great low sodium, organic tomato soup, 16 oz for 1.45. Can’t beat that! Anyway, for fast tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches: Turn on your broiler and put the highest rack up near to the flame. Put the tomato soup in a saucepan and warm over the stove stirring occasionally. While it’s warming, spread a thin layer of butter on both sides of pieces of bread, lay them on a cookie sheet, and broil until brown on top side. Take them out, turn them over, and lay thin slices of cheddar cheese on half of them, put back under the broiler until cheese is well melted and the other slices of bread are browned. Put the sandwiches together, pour the soup into bowls, and serve. You can throw some leftover croutons, shredded cheese, chopped celery, cooked fish, other things like that onto the tomato soup too!
Salmon sandwiches-Salmon is much better for you than tuna fish, and you might be interested to know that salmon also has been shown to have much lower trace amounts of mercury in it, if any at all, than tuna fish does. This mercury in the fish business is very serious; so serious, in fact, that Doctors are now recommending that pregnant women eat canned tuna NO MORE than once a week, if not avoided entirely. Anyway, canned salmon is right by the canned tuna, and if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, you can get wild, unfarmed canned salmon for a little over a dollar per can. No, this is not a big Trader Joe’s commercial; I just happen to shop there;). Drain one can of salmon per two sandwiches, mix in either a tablespoon of mayonnaise (try Hollywood brand Safflower mayonnaise; good for your heart, less calories, and very tasty!) or one tablespoon cream cheese, and spread over whole wheat toasted bread. It’s amazing how a little thing like toasting bread can really dress up a sandwich, and it doesn’t take long. You can toast it while you’re mixing the other stuff. Now, if you have some on hand, a little bit of chopped onions really goes great with this sandwich too. And, another variation, you can add some chopped egg and horseradish spread to the mix as well. Yum yum!
Refried Bean Burritos-This was a staple in my house when I was growing up! There was always a container of refried beans in the fridge (they keep very nicely) and tortillas, etc. Whole wheat tortillas are nasty, sorry. This is one of the only things I insist upon being made of white flour. Corn tortillas are for tacos, enchiladas and chips, okay? Not for burritos. There are so many different brands of refried beans out there, that I’m going to just give a couple of tips, no brand name recommendations. You want vegetarian refried beans (not beans fried in bacon grease or lard), and you want to make sure that the ingredients are no more than cooked beans, water, canola oil (or other vegetable oil), salt, distilled vinegar, chili pepper, onion, garlic, spices, natural flavor, etc. This is actually a good source of fiber and protein. Now, there are also a million different brands of tortillas around. I use Mission tortillas, with the “no trans fatty acids” guarantee on the wrapper. Make sure there is no lard or anything really nasty on the ingredients list. To make: Heat the amount of refried beans you are going to use in a pan on the stove, stirring occasionally (or microwave, but be careful, these things blow up!) until heated through. Turn one stove burner onto medium heat, and throw a tortilla onto the burner (this works the best with a gas burner; if you have a solid cook-top, cook the tortilla in a pan). When it begins to look glossy, about 5-6 seconds, flip it over. When this side begins to bubble, flip it again. When this side begins to bubble, take it off, spread some beans in it, wrap it up, and serve. The varieties are as endless as sandwich recipes. You can add olives, cheese, sour cream, shredded lettuce, diced radishes, cilantro, rice, salsa, avocado, etc.
Someday, for a blog post, I will go over the ingredients of some of the nasty things most Americans call food, such as American cheese (also, the powdered cheese you find in the mac’n cheese, and velveeta. . .shudder), margarine, decaffeinated and/or flavored coffee, white sugar, white flour, and things like that. Definitely not for the squeamish.
Enjoy!
posted by Therese_Rose_Morning at 3:46 PM
1 Comments:
Oooh, oooh do post the ingrediants. It's really sick what we eat sometimes. Yuck!
You know what my thought is? If pregnant women shouldn't eat fish..no one should. Period. It's not worth the risk and we don't need to. Omega 3? Found aplenty in tropical oils, some nuts and seeds which are easier for us to digest anyways. Fish are friends..okay I'll stop. (:
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