Healthy Meal Ideas

Whether you have the entire day to shop for, prepare, cook and eat the perfect healthy meal or you have five minutes to shove whatever you can find into your face before you have to rush out the door to yet another time consuming activity, making sure your body is fed with the right nutrients is a must. When fed properly your body is capable of running at a much more efficient caliber than when you are loaded down with unnecessary simple sugars, saturated fats and grease.

Eating well can be a challenge for those who aren’t particularly gifted in the kitchen or those who just don’t have an ample amount of time to prepare their meals, and while meal prepping can help in both of these scenarios sometimes you need healthy meal ideas that are quick, simple and to the point.

Healthy Meal Ideas For The Morning

Greek Yogurt Plus

If you’re one of those people that thinks that they don’t have time for a healthy breakfast it’s time to think again. Greek yogurt is packed with nutrients that your body needs to function at its best. Buying individual packages of Greek yogurt might be a bit more expensive than buying one giant tub but what you spend in cash you make up for in saved time.

Buy plain Greek yogurt to cut down on unnecessary sugars and instead flavor it yourself. Package a few different additives (like granola, fruit or nuts) separately in small zip lock bags to grab and go to mix into your Greek yogurt so that you can enjoy different flavors without wasting precious time in the morning.

Whole Grain Cereal

Cereal is a quick and easy breakfast option that is often forgotten about because it’s not usually thought of as a healthy meal choice. As long as you stick to healthy whole grain cereals that don’t have added sugars and calories you’ve got a pretty healthy meal option that doesn’t break the bank or take much time to make.

If you think that whole grain cereal is too boring or you need some added flavors try adding slivered almonds, cocoa nibs, sliced up fruit or honey to your bowl once in awhile. Make sure that you’re also using fat-free milk in your cereal so that you can enjoy all of the protein, without the added fat content.

Granola Bars

Make your own homemade granola bars the night before, or a few days ahead of time if you know that you are going to have a particularly busy week and won’t have much time in the mornings to prepare or eat breakfast. This way you can grab a granola bar or two on your way out the door and enjoy a deliciously nutritious breakfast on the go.

Pack your granola bars with chia seeds, flax seeds, dark chocolate, peanut butter and oats to get the most flavor and nutrients out of your quick premade breakfast. As a bonus, the fiber content will help keep you feeling full all morning long.

Chia Seed Pudding

Chia seed pudding is one of the easiest breakfasts that you can prepare for yourself. It has to be made the night before to give the chia seeds time to absorb the milk and create the right consistency, but once it’s made it will last in the refrigerator for 4-5 days so feel free to make a whole week’s worth at once. Chia seed pudding can be enjoyed at home, or on the go by portioning out individual servings ahead of time.

If you’re a chocolate lover and want chocolate chia seed pudding you can use chocolate almond or soy milk to prepare it and add cocoa nibs before eating. If you prefer fruit you can add in bananas, blueberries, strawberries, kiwis or any other fruits you might enjoy after the chia seed pudding has a chance to set overnight.

Protein Pancakes

On mornings that you have a bit more time to prepare, cook and eat your breakfast slow it down and enjoy some freshly made protein pancakes. Whether you choose to add protein powder to traditional pancake mix or reduce your carb intake by purchasing protein packed pancake mix these fluffy breakfast cakes will not disappoint you.

The flavor options are endless with protein pancakes. Add in cocoa nibs or cinnamon before you cook them or top with honey or peanut butter once they are prepared for a delicious breakfast that will taste more like dessert.

Healthy Meal Ideas For On The Run

Monkey Salad

Monkey salad is a fun lunch or mid afternoon snack that will make you feel like you’re cheating on your diet, while you are actually eating one of the most nutritionally diverse quick meals on this list of healthy meal ideas.

To make monkey salad cut up a few bananas, strawberries, blueberries and any other fruits you like and combine them with chopped nuts and cocoa nibs. If you are going to eat this salad right away go ahead and top it with a nut butter of your choice for your dressing, otherwise leave that off until you are ready to enjoy this smooth and crunchy snack.

Pizza Quiche

Some people think that quiche is just for breakfast. Those are probably the same people that think that pizza is bad for you. But with a pizza quiche you can enjoy a low carb pizza any time of the day. Simply bake your egg mixture and top with tomato sauce and your favorite pizza toppings.

As far as healthy meal ideas go, this one definitely tops the chart as a delicious out of the box take on a classic favorite. Just like a regular pizza you can enjoy this pizza quiche fresh, reheated or even cold. Serve me up a slice please.

Meatballs

When you think of meatballs you probably also immediately think of spaghetti or a sub, but meatballs can be enjoyed all on their own as a healthy protein packed snack. Making meatballs ahead of time can be a great way to enjoy this delectable lunchtime food even when you are away from home.

For super flavorful meatballs try making them with a few different types of ground meat, and adding in your favorite cooking herbs and spices. You can even top your meatballs with tomato sauce, or shredded mozzarella cheese and tomatoes for an extra taste of Italy.

Potato & Bacon Soup

Who says that soup is only good during cold or stormy weather? I for one think that a hearty bowl of deliciously nutritious potato and bacon soup is one of the best healthy meal ideas anyone has ever had! Lunches revolve around burgers, fries, cold sandwiches and salads but it’s time that soup made a comeback.

Make a large batch of potato and bacon soup in your slow cooker and freeze whatever you won’t eat this week. That way anytime you are feeling a craving for something smooth, warm and salty you can defrost and reheat a bowl of potato and bacon soup for a lunchtime meal or mid afternoon snack.

BLT

BLTs are a pretty popular lunchtime meal choice, but even if you put it on whole grain bread, it can still be a little bit too many carbs for one meal. This is especially true if you are trying to follow a ketogenic diet. That’s why we suggest putting your B and T on your L and wrapping it up for a healthy alternative.

Wrap some crispy bacon and a few slices of juicy tomato into a large leaf of romaine lettuce to enjoy this savory lunchtime meal. Avoid using mayo and instead add a few slices of avocado to your wrap for a bit of creamy yum in every bite. If you need a little more protein in your life you can even add a cut up hard boiled egg to this BLT lettuce wrap too.

Healthy Meal Ideas For Dinner

Almond Crusted Tilapia

Even if you love seafood more than any other food on the planet, when you eat the same things the same way for too long it can get boring. If you feel this way about your tilapia dinner then it’s time to switch things up a little bit and try encrusting it in almonds. You might be surprised what a little bit of crunch will do for you.

Besides adding a nice crunchy texture to your fish the almonds will also add a few additional nutrients and healthy fats. To add even more flavor and healthy benefits pair your almond crusted tilapia with a side of fruit and a light lemon burre blanc sauce.

ISOPASTA

Eating a healthy diet often comes down to cutting down on your carbohydrate intake and replacing refined white flour with whole grain, which means that pasta as you know it is pretty much off limits. But not anymore! ISOPASTA is primarily made from three different types of protein making it a low carb, high protein pasta that tastes delicious.

Now that you can bring pasta back into your diet the healthy meal ideas are endless. You can make chicken and broccoli alfredo, spaghetti with meatballs, chicken parmesan or even shrimp scampi. Check out our favorite ISOPASTA recipes and try them out for yourself.

Lettuce Wrap Tacos

What’s better than a taco? A lettuce wrap taco of course. Saute your beef, shred up your cheese, dice your tomatoes and whip up some homemade guacamole then toss it all onto a leaf of romaine lettuce for a healthy alternative to a theme dinner classic. You can even break apart a few tortilla chips and add them too if you want a little more crunch.

Healthy meal ideas come and go but tacos are forever. Making your tacos into a healthy meal idea, well that’s a sure fire recipe for success if I’ve ever seen one. So skip out on the mexican restaurant next taco Tuesday and instead opt for these healthy homemade taco wraps.

Mexican Salad Bowl

When most people think of Mexican food they automatically think of tacos, burritos, enchiladas and other beefy treats. The beauty of the Mexican salad bowl though is that even if you skip the meat it’s still bound to be packed with healthy protein, so even vegetarians can feel free to dig in and enjoy.

The base of our mexican salad bowl begins with a bit of cooked quinoa which gives this dinner an immediate healthy boost, with all 9 essential amino acids and a nice bit of protein. Throw in some black beans, grilled corn, chopped tomatoes, salsa, cilantro and just a touch of lime juice and you’ve got yourself a complete dinner in a bowl. If you want even more protein feel free to add a bit of chicken or ground beef.

Chicken Caprese Salad

In the summertime there’s nothing better than a nice cool and refreshing caprese salad. Top that with a little bit of grilled or sauted chicken and you’ve got yourself a balanced healthy meal. Whether you want a picture perfect salad alternating between slices of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil topped with chicken or you dice everything up and throw it in a bowl this salad is a winner.

Making the salad itself is quick and easy, but if you want to make the process even faster and easier we suggest cooking up your chicken ahead of time so that all you have to do when you want a chicken caprese salad is warm up the chicken and throw everything together. Don’t forget to add your balsamic drizzle for a sweet and tangy finish.  

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