Meals: Four to Add to Your Rep
When it comes to meals, what I have found is that all of us need a few simple, easy recipes in our repertoire. Recipes that require no thought, almost no preparation, and deliver a good nutritional punch. These are four standby meals from my kitchen; I always vary the side vegetable depending on the season. Sometimes I add a whole grain like wild rice or a risotto, depending on how hungry we all are, but the basic meal is here.
Salmon with Green Beans and Almonds
Salmon
- Rinse salmon fillet in water and pat dry with paper towel
- Place salmon (skin side down) in frying pan
- Squeeze lemon juice on top (or skip it if you don’t have any)
- Add salt and pepper
- Cover with lid and turn heat to medium.
- Set timer for 15 minutes.
Beans
While that is cooking,
- place 2 inches water in a medium saucepan
- Turn heat to high
- Rinse green beans
- Add to water when boiling
- Cover with lid and set timer for 4 minutes
In the meantime, open package of sliced or slivered almonds.* Plate salmon when cooked. Drain beans and return to pan. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, a bit of olive oil, and salt to taste. Toss with almonds.
*If you’re really feeling fancy, you can toast the almonds: just place them in a small frying pan without oil on medium heat and toss regularly till lightly toasted. Toasting really brings out the flavor.
Cod Fillet with Spinach
I like either Italian breadcrumbs or Panko for my cod. They both produce a nice thin crust that fancies up the fish just enough.
Cod
- Place a pat of butter or oil (peanut and olive are nice) in frying pan over low-medium heat.
- Rinse cod fillet in water and pat dry with paper towel.
- Place fillet in breadcrumbs and turn to coat well.
- Place fillet in frying pan and set timer for 3 minutes.
- Flip cod and reset timer to 3 minutes.
Spinach
- Place another pat of butter or oil in a saute pan.
- When melted, add prewashed baby spinach.
- Toss until all is wilted.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
The cod can be eaten as is or with a spritz of lemon juice or ketchup or even tartar sauce if that’s how you like it.
Salads
Meals don’t have to be on plates with separate components; sometimes our evening meal is a giant salad in a bowl. It’s a good idea to always have some salad or leafy greens in your fridge for just this purpose. I like the prewashed ones because… it’s easy! If you’re hungry for more, there are some great boxed soups out there these days that can be heated up in a few minutes. Here is one of my favorites.
Protein-Packed Salad Bowl – version 1
First, toast pumpkin seeds (and/or walnuts) in small frying pan on low-medium heat
Then,
- Place prewashed salad greens (or baby kale, baby spinach, arugula, whatever) in large bowl
- Add chopped tomatoes
- Drain and add canned cannellini beans
- Add leftover grains from fridge (quinoa and any rice works great in a cold salad)
- Add raisins or dried cherries
- Crumble blue cheese over top
- Add toasted seeds/nuts
- Toss with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Protein-Packed Salad Bowl – version 2
- Place prewashed salad greens (or baby kale, baby spinach, arugula, whatever) in large bowl
- Add drained canned tuna
- Add leftover grains from fridge (quinoa and any rice works great in a cold salad)
- Add chopped cherry tomatoes
- Add kalamata olives (buy them pitted)
- Add chopped cucumber
- Crumble feta cheese over salad
- Toss with red wine vinegar and olive oil
- Add a pinch of dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste