I mean, figuratively what’s inside my kitchen. ‘Cause right now, it’s cans of primer and tarps. So maybe more accurately- what’s littering the floor of my living room.
What I’m getting at is the items that I’m always sure to have on hand.
You’ve probably noticed that, ahem, I’m not the most creative when it comes to meals. There are many recurring ingredients. I like the idea of keeping enough basics on hand for easy healthy whip-up meals. Here’s my list of things I’m rarely without:
-Can of black beans. YES. Fiber. Protein. CHEAP. It’s what I feed my baby a good portion of the time too. I’ve even made black bean brownies before. Are you horrified?
-Whole wheat tortillas. If you don’t go through tortillas like we do, keep these in the freezer and thaw by microwaving a few seconds.
-Whole wheat pasta. Have I ever told you that I love fiber?
-Bag of fresh spinach. Spinach is so versatile- seriously. Make it into a salad, blend it with a bit of frozen fruit for a shake, add it to pasta sauce, hotdishes, quesadillas, scrambled eggs, sandwiches- almost whatever. Except brownies. I’ll never you any spinach brownies, I promise.
-Frozen fruit. We fall in the camp of “it goes bad before we finish it all,” so we usually just freeze the fresh fruit we buy, or buy already frozen fruit. Add it to oatmeal, yogurt, said spinach shakes, etc.
-Shredded chicken or pork. Every few weeks I’ll make cheater shredded chicken or pork, which I’ve blogged about before. You just take chicken or pork, place it in the slow cooker with low sodium broth, and cook on low for 7-8 hours. I’ll portion this into baggies and then freeze. That way when I want to add some protein to a recipe, I’ve got it pre-cooked and all I need to do is thaw.
-Fiery Cheetos. Kidding! Just seeing if you’re paying attention.
-Plain nonfat Greek yogurt. I usually swap this for sour cream- chili, baked potatoes, veggie dip, tacos, etc. But the nice thing about plain, is you can easily just add a pinch of sugar (or my Trader Joe’s liquid stevia) to sweeten it up enough to eat as a high protein snack.
-Eggs. We go through a lot of eggs. Scrambled eggs are our go-to weekend breakfast, sometimes cooked up with some aforementioned spinach or other veggies. Use the whole wheat tortilla to make an easy breakfast burrito (hint- these freeze pretty well too).
-Tomato sauce. I’ll use this as pizza sauce with a whole wheat tortilla, or else with pasta and some shredded chicken for easy Italian. Just add some basil and garlic to season it up.
Here are some meal and snack ideas using these ingredients.
Black bean & pork tostadas
-1 can black beans
-4 whole wheat tortillas
-1-1.5 cups shredded pork or chicken
-1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
-1 cup shredded taco or cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Layer shredded meat, black beans, chili powder, and cheese on tortillas. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until tortilla starts to get browned and crisped. Serve with a blob of salsa and plain yogurt. Makes 4 servings.
Baked Pasta Florentine (ßfancy speak for ‘there’s spinach in here’)
-1 box whole wheat noodles- I like penne- cooked to package directions
-1 20 oz can tomato sauce
-1/2 teaspoon dried basil
-2 teaspoons minced garlic
-2 cups shredded chicken
-2 cups fresh spinach
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and transfer to glass 9x13 baking dish. Bake until bubbly. Makes 8 servings.
Favorite Shake
-1 cup fresh spinach
-1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (I like blueberry/blackberry/raspberry blends best)
-1/2 cup water
Blend on high speed until smooth. Optional- add ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt + 1 teaspoon sugar before blending for a protein boost.
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