Fish in a Flash: Quick Dinner Ideas

With holiday parties, travel and last-minute shopping, its no wonder that healthy habitslike eating a nutritious dinnertend to fall by the wayside. Getting a healthy dinner on the table is challenging enough without adding in holiday activities. But, it doesnt have to be impossible.

Lean on convenience whole foods, like fruit, ready-to-eat packaged veggies, supermarket salad bars, frozen or quick-cooking whole grains (like brown rice) and frozen or canned lean proteins (such as canned beans, frozen shrimp and canned tuna, salmon or crabmeat).

Here are some ideas for getting a quick, healthy and tasty meal on the dinner table. And, youll be one step closer to eating the MyPlate way.

Simple stir-fry veggies and shrimp. Ready-to-eat packaged veggies (like spinach, broccoli, carrots or a veggie mix) make dinner a snap. They cost a little more, but having those veggies ready to go on a busy night may be worth the extra dough. Saut veggies and frozen shrimp in a sesame oil and soy sauce. Toss with quick-cooking brown rice or soba noodles.

Powered up salad greens. Hit the supermarket salad bar. Or, grab a bag of mixed salad greens. Top with tomatoes, cucumbers, crushed tortilla chips, avocado, canned tuna and your favorite salsa.

Toss a healthy pizza. Top a whole wheat pizza crust with tomatoes, olives, basil leaves, garlic, canned tuna and a little mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and bake until cheese melts.

Make a quick and healthy burger. Mix a can of salmon with chopped onions, parsley, bread crumbs or panko, egg white and red pepper flakes. Saut in olive oil until cooked and serve with mixed greens or baked sweet potato fries.

For other quick and healthy protein-packed recipes, check out our recipes.

What are some of your busy-weeknight-go-to dinners? Wed love to hear from you! Leave a comment or email me.

Posted by Rima Kleiner, MS, RD