Does the thought of cooking dinner make your head spin? After a hard day at work or running errands with the children, I’m sure the last thing you want to do is spend an hour in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and cleaning dishes. Not to worry – I have you covered with these five simple dinner ideas, portioned for two (adjust as needed). You will be on the couch with your feet up at a much more reasonable hour!
- Poached chicken with sautéed vegetables and chickpeas
A really simple and healthy way to cook chicken is to poach it! Boil the kettle and pour boiling water over a large skinless chicken breast that you have sliced into 2 segments. Place on the stove and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until cooked. In the meantime, throw a large handful of chopped asparagus and shredded kale onto a hot pan with a drizzle of olive oil and apple cider vinegar, add 1 tin of chickpeas and cook at high heat for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Serve with poached chicken and 1tbs store-bought pesto each. - Oven baked salmon with broccolini and cherry tomatoes, and roasted sweet potato.
This no-mess meal is a favourite of mine! Preheat the oven to 180C. Take 1 medium sweet potato, wash, cut in half and poke all over with a knife. Microwave on high heat for 4 minutes, until tender. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place 2 fillets of salmon on 2 separate foil sheets and top each with a few spears of broccolini, 6 halved cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper, and fresh herbs if you have any – dill works a treat. Wrap in foil to cover, and bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. Serve with sweet potato. - Tofu and vegetable sir fry with rice
Change up your stir-fry with tofu, no defrosting required! Chop 4 cups worth of vegetables, or buy a mixed stir-fry vegetable bag from the supermarket. Dice a cube of firm tofu. Heat 1tbs sesame oil in a large pan and add the tofu and ‘hardier’ vegetables first (i.e. broccoli, carrot). After 5 minutes add the remaining vegetables, or veggie bag. Create a sauce with 3tbs Tamari, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and ½ tsp honey, whisk well. Pour sauce onto the vegetable and tofu mix with one-minute left to cook. Serve with ½ – 1 individual pot of microwave basmati rice. - Frittata with pumpkin, spinach and ricotta
One for ‘meat free Monday’! Preheat oven to 200C. Steam 2 cups of cubed pumpkin in the microwave for 6 minutes, or until tender. Meanwhile, heat a large oven-proof with 1tbs olive oil, and add 2 cloves of garlic and 1 diced brown onion. Sauté until onion starts to brown, then add the steamed pumpkin and 300g of spinach. Whisk together 6 eggs, season with salt, pepper and chilli, and pour over the vegetables. Top with 1 cup of crumbled ricotta and transfer to the oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked. While the fritatta is cooked, prepare a simple green salad to serve. - Kangaroo burgers
One of the easiest dinners to prepare when you really don’t feel like cooking! Buy burger patties from the supermarket and pan-fry for 4 minutes on each side, they should remain a little pink inside. Meanwhile, slice some tomato and cucumber, and wash some cos lettuce leaves. Assemble burger pattie and salads in a small multigrain roll or between two slices of multigrain bread with 1tbs beetroot dip, and serve!
