Quick Healthy Recipes for Pregnant Women Or Those of us that Need Something Easy

Quick Healthy Recipes 

Dinner: MELT IN YOUR MOUTH CHICKEN- you can make this with chicken breasts or tenders.  Ingredients you'll need for the chicken: 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, 1 cup plain greek yogurt (I used Oikos), 1/2 cup parmesan cheese - grated, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper. Preheat oven to 375.  Combine in a bowl the greek yogurt, parmesan, and all other ingredients.  Line baking sheet with foil. Coat each breast or tender thickly with the mixture (i used clean fingers and a spoon).  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.  If they are tenders depending on how big they are, you'll have to cook them for less time, keep an eye on them and cut into one and make sure the chicken is completely cooked through.  Artichoke is easy to make in a big pot with a little water or you can steam them (they are a little time consuming but i was craving them). Delish! A must try recipe.  Make the chicken early in the morning and then just preheat the oven and cook it when you get home from work! Simple!

Dinner: Lemon Rosemary Salmon. I bought fresh salmon from Ralphs, through it on a skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a whole lemon juiced on top, a couple shakes of dried rosemary, 1/2 tablespoon of fresh minced garlic, and salt to taste. I used Tj's 3 minute microwavable frozen brown rice and added on olive oil butter spray (ralphs) and fat free parmesean with salt and pepper to taste.  A side spinach salad with fresh feta cheese, fresh peaches (because they are delicious, hubbys favorite fruit, and are in season).  You can use any dressing you'd like but I used a homemade recipe: 

Dressing recipe: 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (you can always add 1 tablespoon of honey as well if you like a sweeter taste).  Shake in a jar until all ingredients are mixed well and keep refridgerated  

Dinner: Tader Joes does it again! I bought their frozen "Linguine with Pesto and Tomatoes". It comes in a red bag in the frozen section.  All you do is heat and serve! It takes 7 minutes max on the stove with a little added olive oil.  I decided to add in some chicken (shredded off the bone from a rotisserie chicken i bought that week for easy healthy meals) and fresh sun dried tomatos. I cooked them in a separate pot on the stove top (i try not to use the microwave if possible) with Fresh pesto sauce (Trader Joes also sells this over where they keep hummus). The one i buy is called "Trader Giotto's Genova Pesto".  I also added in a little fresh minced garlic and stirred it around until everything was heated.  I then added it into the pesto linguine mix. I purchased this Tomato Olive bread from TJ's as well and heated it for a couple seconds to just keep it warm. I made a simple side salad with fresh green apples, mediterranean feta (from TJ's) with baby spinach and a homemade dressing. 

Dressing recipe: 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (you can always add 1 tablespoon of honey as well if you like a sweeter taste).  Shake in a jar until all ingredients are mixed well and keep refridgerated  

Dinner or Lunch: I made this for dinner after coming across the recipe one evening while shopping at Traders.  I purchased their roasted frozen corn, organic canned black beans, three cheese mexican blend, fresh tomatos, romaine lettuce, green bell pepper, i added spinach to make it even healtheir, and instead of their cilantro creamy dressing that they sell i used lemon juice and tapatio hot sauce for a kick.  Trader's sells THEE BEST marinated carne asada so all you do is throw it on the grill. Its ready fairely quickly.  This left us with a ton of left overs. You can eat it as a salad or a taco or mix it into a burrito later in the week.  We ate it with a side of corn/wheat mixed small tortillas from Ralphs (They're a corn and whole wheat combination.. theyre really soft and yummy!). Id usually use brown rice tortillas or whole wheat but we wanted to try these out.  Serve with a side of light sour cream or greek yogurt.

Healthy Recipe's and Ideas: What I've Been Eating Lately

Healthy Recipe's and ideas: What I've Been Eating lately:

Dinner: Soy Ginger Marinated Cod Filet:  Cod filet is from trader joes premarinated, grilled it on the stove with coconut oil, made cauliflowermashed potatoes by steaming cauliflower and then smashing it and adding in a little almond milk, garlic, and butter (or EVOO or conconut oil)- salt and pepper to taste.  A side salad with sliced amonds, goatcheese, pears and cranberries with trader joes raspberry vinegar dressing, and a baked sweet potato with cinnomon and coconut oil.

Dinner: Grilled Cheese: grilled sliced pears in coconut oil, goat cheese, and spinach on cinnamon raison ezekiel bread. DELICious! Serve with tomato bisque

Dinner: Stuffed Spicy Mexican Peppers: shredded chicken (i used a routisserie chicken already cooked to save time.. you can always use a crockpot or grill your chicken and shredd with a fork), coucous cooked with a hint of salt and pepper and a little minced garlic, added in raw chopped mushroom, chopped spinach, tomato, half of a yellow onion, corn, jalapenos, and minced garlic...i tend to eyeball my recipes and dont really measure things unless its necessary.. so put as much veggies as you'd like.  I then added in homemade taco seasoning (or you can purchase trader joe's taco seasoning, its pretty delish): 

•  tsp. salt
• 2. tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tps. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. oregano
• 1/2-1 teaspoon ground cumin, depending on your preference

I also added in a splash of mild salsa and a tsp of tapatio

Add all the ingredients together and mix in a bowl.  Then cut the bell beppers (i recommend 4) in half legnth wise and gut them (take out seeds and stems).  Stuff in the above ingredients and add on top a layer of three cheese mexican blend.  Spray the baking pan with olive oil and place the peppers on. Cook for 25-30 mintes.  Eat with a side of greek yogurt! So delicious! If we have left over filling we eat it the next day with cheese on top and no pepper, its still healthy and so yummy!

Dinner: Ground Turkey Meatloaf:  1.25 lbs 99% Lean ground turkey thawed, cut up raw chopped spinach, chopped raw mushroom, 1/2 a yellow onion, 1/4 cup oatmeal, half a bell pepper, 1/4 cup whole wheat crackers smashed, 2 eggwhites, 1 tablespoon ketchup, a dash of basil (1-2 tbsp), a dash of salt, a dash of pepper, a dash of oregeno (1 tbsp), a dash of onion poweder, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp spicy brown mustard if you want, 1 tsp worcestershire sauce, and a tiny splash of tapatio.  In a bowl (with clean hands) smoosh all ingredients together.  Mold into a loaf in a casserole dish (spray the bottom with olive oil). Layer the loaf on top with 2 tablespoons of ketchup.  Preheat oven to 350 and cook for 40-45 minutes.  Serve with a side of veggies or a side salad. I grilled asparagas with garlic and olive oil (salt and pepper to taste).

Dinner: Spicy Shrimp Mango Tacos: Whole wheat tortilla, fresh shrimp (take out the vein and take off the shell, wash and set aside on ice), cook the shrimp in 3 tbsp of mild salsa, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tsp tapatio, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, EVOO, sprinkle of onion powder, and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook until shrimip is no longer opaque (DO NOT OVER COOK THE SHRIMP). Chop up lettuce (we used spinach for the nutritional value), chop up yellow or green onion, we used yellow onion, tomatos, 1 whole mango diced, and a side of limes.  Add on a dalop of greek yogurt, and a sprinkle of three cheese mexican blend.  I always put some of the shrimp sauce on top as well as a couple limes squeezed.  This is always good if you add black beans or corn or cilantro to the recipe. I like to change it up each time.  My hubby loves the mix of sweet (magos) and spicy!

Dessert: Baked Pear:  Preheat oven to 325.  Cut the pear in half and remove the core (you'll have two sides now). I used 1 pear for this and made two servings. In a pan cook 1/4 cup orange juice, 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (or any sugar youd like), 3 tablespoons raisons, 1-2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil, 1 tsp of cinnomon, nutmeg, and you can decide if you want walnuts, pecans or almonds (i only had almonds available so i used those) (you can grill the almonds in coconut oil and sugar first if you'd like...mine were already sliced so i just left them like that), and i added in sliced green apple and cooked it all together.  First simmer the sugar, orange juice, and butter or coconut oil until its boiling..then add in the nuts and fruit. Cook for a couple minutes until its a thicker consitency. Take your mixture and spoon it into the two pears.  Place on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes. Serve with whipped cream, by itself, or if your pregnant and want ice cream go for vanilla frozen yogurt AND whipped cream (:

Breakfast:  Banana and Banana Chocolate Pancakes:  Whole wheat pancake mix (follow serving for 5-6 pancakes) 1/2 cup mix, use unsweetened applesauce (1 single serving cup that come in the togo containers) instead of oil, 1/4 eggwhites, 1/4 of a large banana, 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Mix together. Heat stove on medium and cook when a drop of water sizzles on the pan.  Use coconut oil or olive oil spray each time you place a new pancake on the grill so they dont stick.  Pour 1/4 cup serving for each pancake. Before you flip (when bubbles appear all over the pancake) place the rest of the large banana (sliced) ontop of the pancakes. Then flip and let the other side cook.   I wanted half just banana and half with banana and chocolate so i cooked 4 banana pancakes first and then added in 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder to the mix and cooked those.  I served these with sugar free maple syrup and orange juice.  You can add in flaxseed into the mix or on top for the health benefits if you'd like ( i usually do but forgot to this morning)