Meal Plan Monday 7: My Favorite Healthy Meals

When the weather gets warmer I automatically want to eat lighter, healthier food. (Plus there was a lot of indulging with my birthday and mother’s day, I won’t lie.) Are you this way? So I thought I’d pull together my favorite healthy meals for you. I hope that you’ll turn to these again and again during the next few months.

Meal Plan Monday

Week 7 Introduces My Favorite Healthy Meals

Meatless Monday: Parmesan Baked Popcorn Shrimp Recipe

This shrimp recipe is quick to make and a favorite in my house. The Panko makes it extra crispy. The original recipe from RasaMalaysia serves two as a snack so I tripled the recipe to make the serving size more substantial.

Favorite healthy meal Courtesy of Rasamalaysia.com — Courtesy of Rasamalaysia.com

Ingredients:

18 oz small peeled and deveined shrimp
3 cups panko (bread crumbs)
1 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten cooking spray
Ketchup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinsed the shrimp and pat dry. Set aside.

Spread the panko in a thin layer on a baking sheet and toast for 3 minutes, until light brown.

Transfer the panko to a shallow dish and mix in the Parmesan and coarse salt. Drizzle the oil and mix well.

Set out the flour and eggs in separate dishes.

Increase the oven to 450°F. Place a wire rack on the baking sheet, lightly coat with cooking spray.

Coat the shrimp in flour, then dip in egg, and then coat well with panko.

Transfer to the rack. Bake the shrimp for 3 minutes on one side, and turn to the other side and bake for another 3 minutes.

Serve with ketchup.

Tuesday: Easy Fajita Chicken Bake

This recipe consists of ingredients I almost always have on hand. And it’s so quick to throw together that I find myself turning to this dish in times of chaos. We all have them. Those days when unexpected events have us reeling. So, reel if you must but use this easy recipe form The Pinning Mama to still get dinner on the table!

Favorite Healthy Meal Courtesy of The Pinning Mama — Courtesy of The Pinning Mama

Ingredients

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 tsp Taco seasoning
2 bell peppers in assorted colors, deseeded and thinly sliced. I prefer red and yellow.
1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Blend Cheese

Directions:

Trim the chicken breasts then lay them in a single layer in a glass baking dish.

Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the top of the chicken breast to taste.

Lay your thinly sliced onions and peppers on top of the chicken breast, spread out evenly over the top.

Drizzle the olive oil over the peppers and onions.

Sprinkle cheese over the top of the dish.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked though and the juices run clear.

Wednesday: One Pot Italian Chicken and Orzo Pasta

Who doesn’t love a one pot meal? Once and done! This recipe from Whole and Heavenly Oven is a snap to put together and the flavors are incredible!

Favorite Healthy Meal from Whole and Heavenly Oven — Courtesy of Whole and Heavenly Oven

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 cup dried orzo pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 can (15 oz) Italian diced tomatoes
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
Minced fresh basil for topping

Directions:

Rub chicken completely dry. Then, rub chicken breasts all over with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Toast orzo in the hot, dry skillet until orzo begins to turn golden. Remove orzo from skillet and set aside.

In same skillet, heat oil until shimmery. Cook chicken in hot oil 2-3 minutes on first side, then flip and cook on opposite side until golden. Remove from skillet and set aside for a moment (chicken will not be entirely cooked—this is ok)

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan until shimmery. Saute garlic and onion until just tender. Add diced tomatoes and chicken broth to pan and bring to a boil. Stir in toasted orzo and reduce heat to medium-low. Nestle browned chicken breasts in among the orzo/tomato mixture. Cover pan and let cook at medium-low 15-20 minutes or until orzo is tender and chicken registers 165 degrees F. Sprinkle chicken and orzo with fresh basil.

Thursday: Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls

This particular favorite healthy meal from Picture the Recipe is so beautiful it makes me feel like a pro! This website does what the name implies-takes you through each recipe picture by picture. Awesome! My husband really loves this. He’s a steak man. I feel great about serving it because of all the healthy vegetables.

Healthy Favorite Meal from Picture The Recipe — Courtesy of Picture The Meal

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 pound flank steak
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 carrot
1 bell pepper
1/2 zucchini
5-6 green onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
2 tsp butter
2 Tbsp finely minced shallots
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup beef broth

Directions:

Cut the steak into 3 inch wide strips. Feel free to tenderize the meat with a meat hammer to thin it out and make it more pliable.

Season the meat on both sides with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, although longer is better.

While the steak is marinading, cut the carrot, bell pepper, zucchini, and green onions into very thin slices slightly longer than the steak. Crush the garlic with the side of your knife.

For the sauce, melt butter in a pan. Add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and beef broth and stir until mixed well. Allow this to come to a boil. The sauce will become thicker. Transfer to a bowl.

Add a touch of olive oil to that same pan and toss in the garlic. Allow the garlic to flavor the oil for a few minutes. Turn the heat up to high and stir fry the carrot, bell pepper and zucchini for 2-3 minutes. (Not the green onion though.) Season the veggies with Italian seasoning and transfer to a bowl.

Assemble the steak rolls by placing some of the veggies and green onion on the steak so they stick out on either side. Secure with a toothpick.

Add a bit more oil to that pan and cook the steak rolls seam (side down first) to desired doneness. Then turn the rolls and cook on the other side too.

Remove the toothpick and serve with the sauce served over them.

GROCERY LIST

And now for your grocery list! Always check to see what you’ve got on hand first; you’ll spend less at the grocery store.

Need a grocery printable? I’ve got a pre-filled out one or a blank one-to make life easier for you. And they’re FREE printables!

Produce

Basil
3 bell peppers
1 carrot
Garlic
Green onions
2 onions
Shallots
1 zucchini

Meat/Seafood

7-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 to 2 pound flank steak
18 oz small peeled and deveined shrimp

Canned/Jarred

15 oz can Italian diced tomatoes

Condiments

Balsamic Vinegar
Ketchup
Vegetable Oil
Worcestershire sauce

Spices

Italian Seasoning
Pepper
Salt
Taco seasoning (to make your own

Dairy

Butter
Eggs
Parmesan cheese
Shredded Mexican cheese

Other

Beef broth
Brown sugar
Chicken broth
Flour
Orzo pasta
Panko

And that’s it friends. Another week of meals planned for you. Meals you can feel good about eating and good about serving to your family. I’d love to hear what you think!

Happy (easy) cooking!

Daria