Intuitive Meal Planning: 5 dinner ideas

For me, dinner is the most difficult meal to plan. By the time I need to start pulling things together, I’m simply out of energy. For that reason, having a number of quick and easy recipes to pull together is essential to my family and my sanity.

Again, the combos below would fit into the category of “some assembly required” in the intuitive meal planning approach I offered a number of weeks ago. Please enjoy the following variations on 5 quick and easy dinner ideas to add to your rotation or riff on them with your favorite things.

Over rice:

• Packaged Indian daal

• Sauteed onion, zucchini, and chickpeas

• Black beans sauteed with canned corn and Trader Joe’s everything but the elote seasoning

• Eggs fried in chili crunch oil with sauteed spinach

Frozen pizza:

• Topped with broccoli florets (or other veg) tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper and baked as instructed

• With salad from a bag – lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, cheese, beans, leftover roasted veggies, anything you want!

• Alongside veggies (brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, root vegetables, etc.) roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper at 425 for about 15 minutes

Simmer in broth:

• Frozen dumplings, baby Bok choy, and canned bamboo shoots

• Cubed tofu, ramen noodles, and baby kale

• Cooked rice, peeled shrimp, baby spinach, and chopped scallions

Frozen fried chicken tenders and:

• Roasted vegetables (brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, root vegetables, etc.)

• Salad from a bag with all the fixings

• Baked potato loaded with veggies, cheese, and scallions

Frittata with:

• Fried onions and potatoes

• Chopped broccoli and cheddar

• Chopped sausage, mozzarella cheese, and baby spinach

• Frozen spinach and grated parmigiano

Check out this other article for some ideas about some new nutritious foods to try and add to these recipes, see my newsletter on “adding rather than taking away.”