I have often struggled over how to make meals that are healthy, easy, and taste good. Sound impossible? Not so my friends! I made this meal the other night and it is absolutely fab and majorly easy. One recipe is mostly done in the oven (which I find to be the easiest way to cook with dysautonomia...less time over a hot stove) and one is completely microwaved.
I may start adding an occasional easy recipe or 2 to the blog so that those of you who are ill know how to cook when you feel terrible all time. I have some tips that I have learned over the years too that I can share. I've definitely been using them lately, because I have been battling a terrible cold on top of my other illnesses. Hope to be able to post more frequently in the future.
Here are the recipes:
Seared Salmon
Salmon fillets (about 6oz each), skin removed
Whole grain mustard
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Preheat oven to 375. Season both sides of salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Spread some whole grain mustard onto one side of each fillet (the amount can vary based on how much you like mustard...I probably used like a tsp or so).
Heat oil in skillet that is oven safe over high heat until oil is glistening. Add salmon (mustard side up) and sear on 1 side for about 2 minutes. Then transfer skillet to oven (don't flip fish) and bake until cooked through, about 6 min.
Microwave-Steamed Garlic Green Beans (courtesy of Everyday Food)
1 lb green beans, stem ends removed
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 Tbsp butter, cut up (or can use olive oil instead)
1/4 cup water
course salt
Place beans, garlic, butter, and water into 2-2.5 qt shallow microwave safe dish with lid. Season with salt. Cover, and microwave on high until beans are crisp tender, 6-7 minutes. Stir, and pour off any excess liquid. Serves 4.
You can also use less beans, just decrease the other amounts proportionally and decrease the microwave time.
Add some microwave or leftover brown rice, and you have a complete meal! Super-nutritious and yummy too. Not something I make all the time (because I usually only have fresh salmon the day that I come home from grocery shopping), but I imagine that thawed salmon might work well too as long as you pat it dry before searing.
1 comment:
I'm astounded at how healthy I've been able to eat once I realized that there are stacks and stacks of frozen veggies in steam packs for the microwave.
My husband and I debated it and realized that the frozen steam packs may seem expensive (but not much so) but then compared them like this:
pros-
I can get whatever veggie I want, year round
I don't have to chop anything, which is often a problem.
I can cook them in minutes, saving myself a lot of time and energy.
They can go in the microwave, thus saving me from overheating while standing over the stove.
Nothing goes to waste, as before I would buy everything fresh and sometimes have a week go by before I could cook again, and by then most things had gone bad.
They retain most of the vitamin and nutrient content both from being frozen AND from steaming as a cooking method (compared to canned food, which is usually awful).
I can pick between no added flavors (or preservatives!) or get the packs that have some flavoring already, making cooking that much easier.
cons-
my freezer is REALLY FULL.
There's packaging sometimes that can't be recycled.
None of these can be used in salads, which I adore.
As you can see, the cons list is pretty small. When weighing out the benefits and time/energy/wasted food all together we realized that it was actually far cheaper and more nutritious to eat the frozen foods.
A friend and I often send each other new recipes that we've discovered can be whipped together this way.
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