Quick and Healthy Meals (from Trader Joe's)

After watching this YouTube video, I was inspired to create healthy and quick meals that my Nutritionists would approve of if she was pushed for time and on a budget. I think Trader Joe's is a great place to shop for healthy items and some meals they have really are healthy. If you know what to look for and can add a bit of creativity, you can have a healthy meal within minutes (and skip the fast-food pickup).

My Nutritionists has mentioned a few things to keep in mind when choosing a meal:

• Under 500 calories (you really should not go too far past that per meal)- it needs to be healthy!
• Keep the sugar low (most processed foods add a lot of fake sugars)
• Women are only supposed to have 100 calories of sugar a day (25g= 6 tsp).
• Men are only supposed to have 150 calories of sugar a day (37.5g= 9 tsp).
•  At least one vegetable per meal - she prefers more but at least 1 is mandatory!

Flatbread Pizza *Individual size*

1. Frozen Garlic Naan
2. Arugula
3. Goat Cheese
4. EVOO (or pizza sauce)
5. Prosciutto (optional) 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place frozen Naan piece on oven rack and cook each side 5-7 mins per side. Remove. Lightly coat top of Naan with EVOO. Top with Goat Cheese, Arugula and Prosciutto. Place back in oven for additional 5-7 mins, or until cheese is melted. Remove, Cut and Serve. 

Detox Soup

1. Cauliflower Florets
2. Vegetable Broth
3. Kale
4. Carrots
5. Onion

Heat broth in large pot on Medium. Chop vegetables into small pieces. When broth is on a light boil, add all ingredients, except kale, into pot. Allow to cook on medium heat for 5-9 minutes. Before serving, add Kale and allow to cook for 1 minute. Serve immediately.

Tex-Mex Tortillas

1. Brown Rice Tortillas
2. cherry tomatoes
3. avocado
4. Chicken Breast (or have them pre-done)
5. pumpkin seeds
6. shredded cheese

This recipe is so simple and quick, especially if you have most of it already prepped (like chopping tomatoes, leftover chicken breasts from this recipe, and chopping up avocado). Lay the tortilla on a cookie sheet and place shredded cheese on top. Place in oven on BROIL for 3 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Once removed from oven, assemble all ingredients on top and serve immediately. 

Fast StirFry

1. Stir Fry mix (sauce is included)
2. frozen jasmine rice
3. grilled chicken

Microwave jasmine rice for 3 mins. Meanwhile, place skillet on stove and cook stir fry mix according to bag. Once mix is completed, add grilled chicken to mixture and place over rice onto place. Serve. *Hint: You can reduce the amount of sodium and calories by substituting the sauce mix for coconut aminos.

I hope you like these and they are as enjoyable to you as they are to me. Also, Trader Joe's does have a section of their website dedicated to creating meals (and desserts) around their items. You can go under Recipes from their site and even search for various options. They will even let you know if they are GF or Vegan.