It is indeed challenging to create a healthy and satisfying meal that takes twenty minutes to get to the table. The dilemma arises when you wonder how you can best spend the remaining time. Healthy meals made from fresh ingredients can be prepared in half that time! Preparation time is minimal for serving healthy meals. The healthiest food options are choices which are nearest to their natural state. The foods are either served raw or are cooked at their optimal state of freshness. Most of the ingredients in a healthy meal require no or minimal cooking.
Salads top the list of the most speedy meal options. Greens can be mixed with other vegetables, lean chicken breast, and a light dressing for a complete course. Some salads may require minimal cooking time. A spinach salad with sun-dried tomatoes is a perfect salad choice. The sun-dried tomatoes and garlic require a heating time of 10 seconds. Count another few seconds to heat the vinegar and oil dressing with seasoning. Then add the sun-dried tomato mixture to a bed of baby spinach leaves, roasted red peppers, chickpeas, and feta cheese. You’ve created a salad lover’s dream in less than ten minutes!
Pasta never takes twenty minutes to go from the steaming pot to the dining room table. Any meal of pasta should start with the most healthy and fresh base. Homemade whole wheat pasta is always the best option. Any quality commercial brand of whole wheat pasta can serve as a good alternative to fresh homemade pasta. Cooking time for pasta is under ten minutes. A few additions will turn the pasta into a hearty vegetarian pasta salad. Combine the cooked pasta with a touch of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, and basil and make this tasty vegetarian meal.
Fish never needs to cook for twenty minutes. The optimal cooking time for fish is generally in the ten-minute range. Allergies are always a consideration when serving fish to dinner guests. You should always check about this issue with your guests prior to your dinner party. Mediterranean cod will wow any dinner guest! The fresh cod in the recipe will need to be cooked for three to four minutes and then removed from the pan. The empty pan is then filled with a healthy stir fry of garlic, tomatoes, onions, red peppers, and green olives. Then return the cod to poach in this Mediterranean sauce for just another six minutes or until the fish flakes easily. The twenty-minute deadline is still minutes away!
Fresh eggs are one of the fastest and healthiest meal choices. Eggs work well with other ingredients in a dish. Your egg dishes can be as healthy as the choices of your add-ons. Spinach and cherry tomatoes can be used with eggs to create a colorful and healthy omelet. Fritattas can be easily made with mushrooms, spinach, and red peppers. Fritattas can even be served in a sandwich form on whole grain bread.
A twenty-minute meal is no challenge! You just have to decide how to spend that extra ten minutes or more of your life. Maybe you should count your blessings for the good food and those precious moments!
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