Between work and home obligations, plus all those healthy changes we’re trying to make into lasting habits, sometimes cooking dinner gets moved to the back burner.
The good news is that delicious, nutritious meals don’t need to require a lot of work. Today we’re sharing three no-fuss meals that require just 10 minutes of hands-on prep work, along with our best tips for getting dinner on the table faster!
Chicken and Brown Rice Sloppy Joes
Sloppy joes are a favorite among kids and grownups alike. This recipe uses lean ground chicken to cut the fat plus extra veggies and whole-grain brown rice for crunch and nutrition.
If you have picky eaters who don’t like onions and peppers, chop them finely in the food processor. It’s quick and also “hides” the vegetables!
You can also swap in your favorite barbecue, pasta or enchilada sauce to change up the recipe in no time flat.
For this quick dinner, keep your side dishes simple: baby carrots and celery sticks with ranch dressing are a perfect fit.
Chicken Bake with Brown Rice and Corn
This Tex-Mex casserole is quick to assemble and contains many of our favorite ingredients–not to mention it’s super creamy and cheesy, yet it has under 350 calories a serving!
If you’re really in a time crunch, you caneven microwave this casserole.
Here are some time-saving tips to get this winning meal on the table faster:
- A couple of times a week, bake or grill a big batch of chicken breasts to make dinner prep a cinch.
- Store leftovers in single-serving containers so you can easily take them for lunch the next day.
- Have a teen or tween at home? This is definitely a recipe they could handle making on their own.
Chicken with Southwest Corn and Brown & Wild Rice
This meal takes simple sautéed chicken up a notch with a spicy (but not hot) southwest corn salsa.
To slice grape or cherry tomatoes, place them between two plastic lids from storage containers (careful not to press down hard!), hold down the top lid, and slice between the lids to cut all the tomatoes at once.
You can also chop onions and store them in a sealed container (to avoid making everything in the fridge smell like onions). They will keep for several days, so there’s no need to spend time chopping every night!
Have leftovers? This recipe is delicious the next day–in a whole new way! Shred the chicken and mix all the ingredients together, then serve over greens for a tasty taco salad at lunchtime!