8 Easy Healthy Dinner Ideas for Real Life

1.  Stuffed sweet potatoes

Beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber are just a few of the healthy nutrients that sweet potatoes are full of.

Healthy Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

They also taste great and go well with a lot of things. Because of this, they are great for building a full meal on top of.

At least once a week, we make stuffed sweet potatoes at my house. I roast a whole sweet potato and then put beans, chicken, cheese, and sautéed vegetables inside it.

You can make this meal in a lot of different ways, with a lot of different taste mixtures. You can follow one of the easy recipes below, or you can just wing it and put your favorite things on a roasted sweet potato.

• Chicken Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Vegetarian Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Mediterranean Baked Sweet Potatoes

2. Grain bowls

Pecan Pie Cinnamon Rolls Recipe- Step by Step Guide

People love grain bowls in my kitchen. My husband and I love how easy and flexible grain bowls are. This is the kind of food we often make when we want something tasty and quick to make.

We eat gluten-free foods like quinoa and brown rice because I can’t have gluten. Farro, millet, and barley are just a few of the grains that can be used in grain bowls.

Grains are a good way to get fiber and other nutrients, like magnesium. Many health problems, like colon cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, are less likely to happen in people who eat a lot of grains (2Trusted Source).

6 Heart-Healthy 20-Minute Dinners for Weight Loss

Place cooked grains on a plate and add cooked or raw vegetables. Add a protein source, like chicken, fried or hard-boiled eggs, grilled shrimp, or fish.

After that, you can add a store-bought or home-made dressing on top, or you can keep it easy with a little olive oil and lemon juice.

For instance, this Green Goddess Buddha Bowl has brown rice, roasted broccoli, sugar snap peas, avocado, hard-boiled eggs, toasted pumpkin seeds, and a yogurt-based sauce that is hard to resist.

These other grain bowl ideas are great for quick dinners when you don’t have much time:

• Thai Chicken Buddha Bowls
• Salmon Grain Bowls with Lemon Tahini Sauce
• Sweet Potato & Chickpea Buddha Bowl

3. Veggie loaded frittatas

When you have chickens like I do, eggs are used for more than just breakfast. We often make quick and tasty dinners, like frittatas, with eggs as the protein source.

Because eggs already have good fats and protein, all you need to do to get enough fiber is add a bunch of your favorite vegetables.

When I make frittatas, my favorite veggies to use are tomatoes, onions, broccoli stems, spinach, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and asparagus. To make your frittata taste even better, you can add things like cheese, herbs, spices, or pesto.

In your frittata, you can even use leftovers like fish, chicken shreds, and potatoes.

Apple slices or fresh fruit are great with quiche. Any time of day or night, you can eat this meal to feel full. Really easy to make, and you can have one ready in less than an hour.

Here are a few tasty and easy frittata recipes:

• Spring Vegetable Frittata
• Cheesy Chicken Pepper Broccoli Frittata
• Wild Mushroom Frittata with Cheddar, Green Onions, and Peas

4. Dinner salad

When I don’t feel like cooking, one of my favorite meals is a big, full salad.

This is the problem with most salads: they’re not put together well, and you feel hungry again soon after eating them. Adding a lot of protein, healthy fats, and fiber to your dinner salad is the key to making it filling.

Put down a base of your favorite greens, like lettuce, spinach, mixed greens, arugula, or kale. This will make your greens have more fiber. You can add peppers, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, or red onions.

Then pick a protein, like hard-boiled eggs, shrimp, grilled chicken, or salmon. Adding a carb source high in fiber, like roasted sweet potatoes or beans, will make you feel even fuller.

For a crunchy texture, sprinkle your dish with roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Then, drizzle it with a healthy dressing like olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or use this recipe for Homemade Green Goddess Dressing.

Here are a few more dinner salad ideas:

• Chicken Shawarma Salad with Tahini Dressing
• Superfood Salmon Salad
• Crunchy Asian Chopped Salad

5. Loaded brown rice pasta

Most everyone loves a good pasta dish, but most pasta dishes don’t contain the necessary ingredients, such as protein and fiber, to keep you feeling satisfied (3Trusted Source).

Fortunately, using a few simple tips can help you create a filling and nutritious pasta dinner in no time.

First, choose your pasta. I am a big fan of Tinkyada brown rice pasta, but you can use any pasta you like. You can also use zucchini noodles in place of pasta if you’re following a lower carb dietary pattern.

Next, pick a source of protein. I like to use chicken breast or ground chicken or, if I want plant-based protein, I will add chickpeas.

Next, choose your veggies. I love a classic combo of spinach and broccoli, but almost any vegetable will work. Lastly, pick a sauce, such as pesto, marinara, or olive oil.

Here are a few recipes to try out the next time you’re craving a pasta dish:

• Broccoli Pesto Chicken Pasta
• Roasted Vegetable Chickpea Pasta Salad
• Zucchini Noodles with Mini Chicken Feta and Spinach Meatballs

Few meals are more satisfying than a hearty, hot bowl of soup. Fortunately, soup can be simple to prepare and makes a perfect choice for meal prep, as you can make large portions easily.

I like making soups that require only one pot because this means less time cleaning up. I make my soups on the stovetop, but you can make any of the following recipes in an Instant Pot to save time.

• Creamy Yellow Split Pea Soup
• Curry Chicken Soup
• Lentil, Kale, and Quinoa Stew

Curry is a smart choice for a quick, filling dinner because it’s versatile, easy to make, and family-friendly. Plus, eating curry regularly may help improve your health by reducing heart disease risk factors, including high triglyceride and blood sugar levels (4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source).

I like whipping up a warming chickpea and sweet potato curry during the winter months and serving it over rice or quinoa.

Many curry recipes take 30 minutes or less to prepare, including these simple curry dishes:

• Quick and Simple Thai Chickpea Curry
• Easy 1-Pan Salmon Red Curry
• 30-Minute Thai Chicken Curry

Burgers are a great choice for families because they’re simple to make and sure to please even the pickiest of taste buds.

Even though beef burgers are a popular choice, you can make burgers out of just about any protein source, including ground chicken, salmon, tuna, and lentils.

My husband makes a delicious chicken burger, and I like to serve it with a large salad and roasted sweet potato fries.

You can serve your burgers on a hearty whole grain bun, in a lettuce wrap, or on top of a bed of greens to suit your dietary needs.

Here are a few burger recipes that are super simple to prepare:

• Chickpea Pizza Burgers
• Spinach Feta Salmon Burgers
• Seriously Good Sweet Potato Cheddar Barbecue Chicken Burgers