Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes

It can sometimes be difficult to make time to work on our health goals. With jobs and family and obligations, taking care of your personal health can often fall low on the list of priorities. When it comes to healthy eating, however, there are ways to ensure that you can eat well without spending a lot of time cooking at the end of a busy day. If you’ve browsed our articles here on scrippsamg.com, then you know that we are big fans of meal prepping and finding tricks to make it easier to eat healthy. 

With that in mind, we’ve gathered this list of healthy dinner recipes you can have ready in 30 minutes or less! Hopefully these ideas will make it easier for you to enjoy a satisfying and healthy meal one night this week.

Here are some healthy dinner ideas to try this week:

Black Beans, Broccoli & Quinoa Bowl 

This bowl is so easy, it doesn’t require an exact recipe. Start by cooking quinoa according to package directions. Cook more than you need for one meal — it will keep for days in the refrigerator, and you can easily grab a scoop to use in other dishes later. In a pan, saute ¼ cup of onions then combine with a can of stewed tomatoes and a can of drained black beans. Add seasonings like black and crushed red pepper to taste. Heat until the tomatoes break down a bit, then serve with quinoa and whatever vegetables you have on hand — broccoli florets work well in this one, as do roasted sweet potatoes or brussels sprouts. Out of quinoa? No problem, just use rice instead! This is extremely simple, versatile, and tastes great when reheated, so make a big enough batch to enjoy as leftovers for lunch the next day. 

Veggie Loaded White Wine Garlic Pasta

This recipe from San Diego chef Katie Farina of Katie’s Healing Kitchen packs three types of veggies in one meal — broccoli, tomatoes, and spinach! The recipe as written is vegan and gluten free, but you can use whatever pasta you have on hand, or use one of these pasta substitutes if you want to add a fourth veggie to your meal. This is another quick and easy meal that can be made in a large batch in order to get multiple meals out of it. 

Flavorful Chicken Fajitas

Like easy, versatile chicken recipes? If so, this one may be for you. Marinate chicken in lemon juice and seasonings before you leave for work in the morning, then when you are ready to make dinner, you’ll be all set! Fajitas are fun because you can top them with all sorts of things  —  cheese, guacamole, salsa — it’s a great way to use whatever you happen to have in handy! 

Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet

We love one-pot meals because it makes cleaning up after dinner so easy! In this recipe, turkey, vegetables, and sweet potatoes cook together beautifully in one skillet. Not only does this reheat well, but it’s loaded with nutrients like protein, fiber, and vitamins A, C, and B-6. 

Romaine, Avocado, and Corn Salad

This recipe from Delish makes good use of summer’s fresh corn season. Of course, the nice thing about living in San Diego means you can get tasty summer produce year-round! This is a very simple, fresh salad that comes together quickly. The real highlight is the dressing — made from avocado, water, lime juice, and chili powder, it’s a fresh but zingy topping to a tasty summer salad. You can easily add a protein like baked tofu, grilled chicken, or seared fish to this one.  

Portobello Burgers

Portobello caps brushed with steak sauce and then grilled are the stars of this recipe, which also includes a homemade “secret sauce.” Top with tomatoes, onions, pickles and you’ll have a lighter version of a burger that comes together in less than 20 minutes.

Baked Fish

If you want to cook up a fast and healthy entree, baking fish is simple and hard to mess up. Simply season and bake until it flakes easily with a fork. This recipe is helpful as it lists different types of fish and the seasonings that go well with each — match your fish with what you already have in the kitchen, prepare a side salad or vegetable, and you’ll be sitting down to a no-fuss fast and healthy meal in no time! 

20 Minute Sweet and Spicy Noodles

This Thai-inspired dish tastes really impressive for something that only takes 20 minutes to make! The sauce is a combination of honey, hoisin, soy, sriracha, garlic chili paste, and red pepper flakes, which is what brings both the sweet and the spicy to the dish. Whisk the sauce together while the noodles cook, then combine in a pan to coat. Garnish with peanuts, carrots, green onions and cilantro. 

We hope that these quick and healthy meals help you enjoy a nice dinner at the end of your day!