Healthy Living: Meal hacks to save you time in the kitchen

These days, everyone is on the go.  Especially around the holidays.

With that in mind, nutritionist Deborah Enos the One-minute Wellness Coach came up with three easy and quick recipes that will have you spending more time with those you love and less time in the kitchen.  Also, they pack a healthy punch of vegetables that can be harder to include during the winter months.



 

Recipes and notes from Deborah:

 

My top picks from COSTCO:

TAYLOR FARMS-ASIAN CASHEW CRUNCH WITH RICE NOODLES

Re-purpose into a Chicken Asian Noodle Bowl

I love these gluten free noodles from Lotus Farms. They cook up in just minutes and they taste just as good as the noodles you might order in a restaurant.

I get my pan of water boiling (with a good heavy pinch of salt) cook the noodles and then toss in a colander and run a little cool water over them to stop the cooking process.

In the same pan, I add drizzle avocado oil and toss in a few handfuls of the salad. I don’t want the veggies to lose their shape/texture, so I cook them for about one minute.

I toss the noodles in a big bow and then add the cooked veggies. I toss in some cubed rotisserie chicken and then add in all the “goodies” in the salad kit. I add a sprinkle of the won-ton strips, sesame seeds & almonds. I drizzle on little bit of the dressing and dinner is served!

 

TAYLOR FARMS-MEDITERRANEAN CRUNCH SALAD

Re-purpose into a Mediterranean Veggie & Rice Bowl

Add rice to your bowl and warm it up (I make a big pot of rice over the weekend that lasts throughout the week).

Warm up a frying pan on low/medium and add a drizzle of avocado oil.

Throw in 3-4 handfuls of the salad (it will look like a ton of greens but will cook down to about a third of its original size). Cook until slightly wilted, about 1-2 minutes.

Place the veggies on top of the rice and add your protein of choice. I added some precooked ground bison that I had in my fridge.

Add some of the chopped bread sticks & feta cheese and drizzle on a little of the balsamic salad dressing.

That’s it!

 

My top picks from TRADER JOES:

IMAGINE BRAND OR ANY BOXED TOMATO SOUP

Repurpose into: “Nordstrom Café” Tomato Soup

Grab a big sauce pan.

Drizzle with avocado oil and toss in 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic

Once the garlic is slightly browned, add in one container of tomato soup and one big can of chopped tomatoes and one BIG can of tomatoes that have been pureed.

Here’s the secret tip, shhh…add in one heaping tablespoon of pesto and one tablespoon of dried basil.

To make it super fancy you can sprinkle with ribbons of basil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

The original Nordstrom recipe (available online) calls for heavy whipping cream and that of course makes it incredibly yummy. However, if you want to keep the calories lower, this is still a delicious way to go.