Dinner on a Dash

After getting home from a doctor's appointment tonight, I really had no desire to cook an all-out meal. Plus, Mike hadn't eaten his lunch that he packed so he had that leftover to eat for dinner which meant I was on my own. PLUS, we're in desperate need to go grocery shopping and so we only have a little bit of each veggie left. Here's what I made in under 8 minutes (and yes, it includes DESSERT!)

First:
Took a boxed Trader Joe's all natural Black Bean Soup and dumped it in a bowl, added real black beans, put in microwave for 2 minutes.  The key to this meal is always having all natural, organic soups on hand in your cabinet. Of course, fresh is best, but when you're on a time crunch (or lazy kick like me), it's best to be prepared so you don't go calling that pizza shop down the road.

While That's Cooking (this is the key part...multitasking!):
Grab a hand-thrown whole wheat wrap, spread on some homemade Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (I always make a batch of this at the beginning of the week for moments like this). Add broccoli, romaine lettuce, spinach, pumpkin seeds, and drizzle with a teaspoon of balsamic vinaigrette. (should take you 3 minutes to do if you have everything in your fridge at hand)  Or, add your own toppings. Whatever's around is what works best. Add onion, bell pepper, radish, kale, carrot, tomato, etc.

Check On Your Soup:
It probably needs about another 2-3 minutes in the microwave.  I try not to over-heat as to not loose nutrients. Slightly warm is good enough for me.

While that's finishing:
In your blender, throw in 5 strawberries, some crushed ice, a splash of soy milk, and a teaspoon of Stevia.  Blend for 30 seconds.

Throw everything together on a plate, add two slices of dried pineapple rings (or any other dried fruit you have) and you're all done. Depending on how "prepped" you have your fridge (veggies pre-chopped, lettuce pre-washed, chopped, and in bin, a soup on hand for emergency dinners....etc) this shouldn't take you more than 7-10 minutes. I've gotten this down to an art so that I can have a quick but healthy and nutrient-dense meal. Plus, I even give myself a dessert, which I really don't do but once a week.

All in under 8 minutes!

So, the key tips:

1. Make hummus at the beginning of every week. You can use it for so many things.

2. Always have a handful of soups in your cabinet.

3. Healthy whole wheat wraps are great to have on hand. While they're not something you should be eating everyday, they last longer than bread (good for storing) and really spice up those days when you're sick of salad but still need to get those greens in. Plus, they make dinner look schmancy fancy.

4. Preparation is key: the only way to be able to put all this together in a short amount of time is to make sure your essential veggies are washed and ready RIGHT AFTER YOU GO SHOPPING. It saves you on prep time, which is often the biggest time killer in making nutrient-dense meals.  It's a rule in my book...grocery shopping goes hand-in-hand with prepping my veggies. As soon as the food is put away, hubs and I usually spend another 45 minutes cleaning & cutting fruit & vegetables so we're not regretting it later in the week.

To quick meals and a happy body,

Lacey