Healthy Dinner Ideas: Easy Peasy!
Are you breaking into cold sweats because summer is just around the corner and you are thinking about bikinis and shorts? Well you’re definitely not alone. How about coming up with Healthy Dinner Ideas? Fear not! You haven’t missed the boat yet. You can get your body back into summer shape and you can still do it the good old-fashioned way, with balanced nutrition and exercise. The best part is unlike the old days, you don’t have to spend months and months waiting for results. If you couple these healthy dinner ideas with workouts like The 21 Day Fix Extreme, you’ll be summer-ready in a few weeks.
Healthy Dinner Ideas: Easy Peasy!
Check out this seven day healthy dinner idea meal plan:
Monday: Quinoa Salad with Salmon:
- 8-ounce Salmon fillet (skin-on)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup uncooked Quinoa
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 1 cubed cucumber
- 1/2 cup red onion (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped basil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Cook Quinoa according to box directions. Season salmon, heat a tablespoon of oil over high heat. Cook the salmon skin side down for 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium and cook for 3-4 more minutes until skin is golden. Flip salmon and cook 2 more minutes. Remove salmon from heat, flake apart, and add all ingredients including cooked quinoa to a bowl. Gently stir all ingredients together.
Tuesday: Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Lean Turkey Meat Sauce
- 1 lb. lean turkey
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce
- 1 lb. whole wheat spaghetti noodles
Saute’ onion for five minutes in olive oil, add ingredients through 5, and boil noodles in salted water per box directions. Serve one cup of noodles with one cup of sauce.
Wednesday: Turkey Taco Salad
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey
- 1 package of Lawry’s Taco Seasoning
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 can vegetarian fat-free refried beans or black beans
- 1 cup low-fat shredded mexican cheese blend
- 1 cup prepared salsa or pico de gallo
- 1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
- 1 bag shredded lettuce (lettuce of your choice)
Sauté turkey in olive oil with seasonings until brown. Heat beans. Assemble with lettuce as the base, top with taco meat, beans, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. Enjoy!
Thursday: Grilled Pork Loin Medallions with Garlic Lemon-Pepper Asparagus
- 1 pound boneless pork loin cut into 1/4 inch medallions
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 1 tbsp. lemon-pepper seasoning
Cut and season pork. Heat a grill pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil. Add pork to grill pan and grill for 3 minutes on the first side, and 2 minutes on the other side. Add asparagus to a large saute pan with 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Drain water, add remaining olive oil, and season with minced garlic and lemon-pepper seasonings. Cook about 2 more minutes or until desired level of doneness.
Friday: Grilled Chicken with broccoli and corn
- 1 cup Lawry’s Herb & Garlic 30 minute marinade
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 ears of corn
- 2 cups of broccoli
Marinate chicken for 30 minutes. Shuck corn and lightly coat with olive oil then wrap corn in foil. Add marinated chicken to a hot grill along with foil wrapped corn. Grill chicken until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Corn needs about 15 minutes. Steam broccoli for five minutes while allowing the chicken breasts to rest.
Saturday: Summer Spaghetti with Light Caprice Salad
- 1 lb. angel hair or spaghetti (thin spaghetti) noodles
- sliced summer squash
- sliced zucchini
- 2 carrots (shaved or peeled into thin strips)
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 container cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 1 bunch of basil
- 2 large beefsteak tomatoes
- 1/3 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Boil salted water. Saute ingredients 2-5 in a tbsp. of olive oil for 6 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and half of the amount of basil for 2 minutes. Add noodles to water, boil no more than 6 minutes. Drain noodles and add to saute pan. Add tbsp. olive oil. Toss to combine.
Cut remaining basil into strips. Slice beefsteak tomatoes, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and basil strips, drizzle with remaining oil, 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Sunday: Sirloin Steak Kabobs with Grilled Polenta
- 1 lb. boneless sirloin steak cut into cubes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 red onion
- 1 zucchini
- 1 squash
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 18 ounce tube prepared polenta
Cut vegetables (other than tomatoes) and meat into even 1 inch pieces to ensure they cook at the same rate. Prepare kebabs alternating with meat and vegetables. Drizzle with 1/8 cup of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cut polenta into 1/4 inch medallions, drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Cook polenta and kebabs on a hot grill. Start polenta first, after about 10 minutes add kebabs. Grill about 5 minutes per side.
Having a Beachbody isn’t out of reach this summer! Try these Healthy Dinner Ideas and you will be energized and be able to conquer any fitness routine and make your goals a reality.
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