Fast cook, quick and healthy meals

Although cooking is one of the things that we most like to do, most ofthe time the pace of our daily lives prevent us from enjoying this moment. Buthaving little time for cooking does not have to be at odds with good food, yousimply have to have good weekly planning for recipes and when doing your foodshopping.  If you put these two factorstogether, you will be halfway to making the change.

How to prepare quick and healthy meals

A good trick for preparing quick and healthy meals is to know how to combine foods so that each dish provides you with all the required nutrients. At Harvard University (USA) they suggest the Harvard Plate, which consists of vegetables (vegetables and greens) making up half of the plate you are preparing, a quarter of the plate for carbohydrates and the other quarter for proteins. 

The prior preparation of sauces and other garnishes or dishes based on vegetables or legumes will also simplify the task at cooking time and will complement your daily meals. 

Create a weekly menu that is easy, quick, economical and healthy

Organise your lunch and dinner calendar:

•  Be realistic and set out all the scenarios. It is important to know how many meals you will have at home, how many of you there are at mealtimes, or if you take a lunchbox to work. 

•  If there are children who eat at school in the home, take this into account when planning your meal plans so that you don’t repeat their meals on the same day. 

• Choose recipes that don’t take more than 30 minutes to cook.

• Food portions to keep in mind when creating the weekly meal plan: 

- 3-4 portions of vegetables.

- 3-4 eggs (if you don’t have problems with your cholesterol).

- 4 portions of fish (at least 2 of oily fish).

- 2 portions of white meat (rabbit, turkey, chicken).

- 1 portion of red meat.

Planning your weekly shopping: 

• Create a weekly or fortnightly meal plan that will also help you to plan your fresh food shopping: vegetables, fruit, meat and fish, and help you to choose seasonal and economical produce.  

• Making a meal and shopping plan will help you to save and to make the most of the foods you buy. 

Get frozen vegetables, but not heavily processed meals:

• If you are uncertain about what days you will be having lunch or dinner at home and you can’t plan a good shop of fruit and vegetables, you can always have frozen vegetables to hand which, apart from maintaining all the nutrients of fresh vegetables, are quick and easy to cook. 

Examples of quick and healthy food to cook

GARDEN CHICKPEAS  

Ingredients for 4 persons

100 g red pepper
150 g tomatoes
240 g  cooked chickpeas
2 eggs, hard boiled
40 g olive oil
5 ml de vinegar
2 g cumin

How to prepare: 

1.Wash thoroughly and drain the chickpeas.

2. Chop the hard-boiled eggs and the raw pepper. Place the chickpeas in a salad bowl, add the pepper and eggs. Mix well. 

3. Season with cumin, oil, a few drops of vinegar and salt to taste. 

4. Cut the tomatoes into cubes to garnish. 

CREAM OF BROCCOLI WITH SPICED PUMPKIN SEEDS

Ingredients for 4 persons

400 g broccoli
120 g courgette
50 g chives
70 g leek
1 clove of garlic
100 ml white wine
200 ml almond milk
2 g de ground cumin
1 g rosemary
5 g parsley
1 g black pepper
40 g olive oil
80 g pumpkin seeds
water
salt

How to prepare:

1.Cut the broccoli flowers, reserving the stalks for making the stock. Wash all the vegetables thoroughly, cut up the courgette and finely chop the onion, the leek and the garlic clove. Heat up 2 soup spoonfuls of oil in a saucepan and cook the chives and garlic for a few minutes. Add the leek and cook for a few more minutes until it is transparent.

2.Add the courgette and stir well. After 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, salt and pepper and season with cumin and rosemary to taste. Add the wine, let the alcohol evaporate and cover with water or stock. Bring to the boil, cover and leave it to cook on a medium heat until the vegetables are very soft.

3.Blend with a blender until you have an even and creamy texture. Add the almond milk, adjusting the quantity as you like it.  Serve with a little extra milk on each portion and with some fresh parsley.

LANGOUSTINES WITH TOMATO AND ARTICHOKES

Ingredients for 4 persons

400 g peeled langoustines
4 artichokes
50 g chopped tomato
20 g olive oil
2 g chopped parsley
5 g chopped garlic
salt
pepper

How to prepare: 

1. Clean the artichokes and cut them into quarters.

2. Arrange the peeled langoustines, chopped parsley and the garlic in a dish that has been greased with olive oil.

3. Cover with microwaveable cling film and cook on maximum power for 1 minute. 

4. Add the remaining ingredients and seasoning. 

5. Cover once again and continue to cook for 3 minutes. 

6. Remove the garlic, let the dish rest for 1 minute and serve.