Healthy Meals Without The Stress

Simple Dinners for Busy Lives

HEALTHY MEALS WITHOUT THE STRESS - SIMPLE DINNERS FOR BUSY LIVES

You Don't Have To Be a Genius In The Kitchen To Eat Well

Dinner often becomes the most difficult meal of the day. After work, appointments, family responsibilities, and life's endless to-do list, it's tempting to order takeout or rely on processed convenience foods. We've all done it. It's not easy to get creative in the kitchen after a day of work, taking care of the house, and everyday living demands. You can easily end up making the same meals week after week, and the dinners you once loved seem a bit boring after a while. Variety is the spice of life, as they say.

An easy way to throw a little "spice" into your weekly cooking is to find new recipes from friends or online. That's what we do. The good news is that healthy dinners don't need to be elaborate. Some of the healthiest meals are also the simplest—lean protein, colorful vegetables, healthy fats, and a modest serving of whole grains if desired.

Remember, we are going for enjoyment, and eating things that interest us, as well as keeping in mind our health and any special dietary needs you may have. Lynn found this recipe below because it interested her taste buds. But, if you care to take a peak at other healthy, low-stress recipes, check out the link below for an additional 20 more!

This Week's Featured Recipe

Egg Roll Bowl

Love the flavors of an egg roll but don't need the wrapper? This recipe takes the delicious combination of seasoned meat, cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic and ginger and turns it into an easy, satisfying bowl.

It's a great example of how you can take a familiar favorite and make it part of a simple, vegetable-forward dinner. The recipe can be prepared in one large skillet and is ready in about 35 minutes. Also note that you can substitute ground turkey, chicken or beef for the pork. Or use tofu, mushrooms or a plant-based meat alternative.

We gave this recipe a try recently and we liked it so much the first time, we made it again. We tried it with ground pork and with ground chicken. Both were very tasty! We liked the ground chicken just a bit more.

Why We Chose This Recipe

✔ High protein

✔ Packed with vegetables

✔ Lower in carbohydrates

✔ One-pan simplicity

✔ Easy to customize

The combination of protein and vegetables makes this a satisfying dinner without requiring a complicated recipe or a long list of ingredients. And because the ingredients can easily be changed, it's a recipe you can make your own.

Where to find this recipe: delish.com

RECIPE INFORMATION

4 SERVINGS

10 MINUTES PREP TIME

25 MINUTES COOK TIME

35 MINUTES TOTAL

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped peeled ginger

• 1 lb. ground pork

• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

• 1/4 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced

• 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 1 cup shredded carrot

• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

• 1 Tbsp. sriracha

• Kosher salt

• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Step 1: In a large wok or skillet over medium heat, heat vegetable oil. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Step 2: Add pork (or protein of choice) and cook, breaking up meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned in parts and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

Step 3: Push pork to the side and pour in sesame oil. Add cabbage, onion, and carrot then stir to combine with meat. Add soy sauce and sriracha. Cook, stirring frequently, until cabbage is tender, 5 to 8 minutes; season with salt.

Step 4: Divide pork mixture among bowls. Top with scallions and sesame seeds.

Recipe Tips:

• Use coleslaw mix. This recipe doesn’t ask much of your time, but if you want to speed things up and save yourself some knife work, you can absolutely swap store-bought coleslaw mix for the sliced cabbage and carrot. (Note: I tried finding coleslaw mix, but I couldn't find it without the dressing and it seemed more expensive to purchase this way, so I opted to just buy cabbage and carrots. Even with the chopping of the cabbage and the grating of the carrots, I still kept within the 35 minute prep/cook time.)

• Make it Gluten-Free. Use gluten-free soy sauce and you can easily make this recipe gluten-free. It tastes the same!

• Switch up the ingredients. Feel free to get creative and make these bowls completely your own. Swap in your protein of choice. Add in more veggies, like sliced celery or mushrooms, drizzle on some duck sauce or sweet chili sauce, add in a scrambled egg, top with some chopped peanuts, or kick up the heat with some chili oil. This is your bowl—make it how you please.

• Add Cauliflower Rice. You can serve this Egg Roll dish over cauliflower rice if you want to add another layer. Cauliflower rice allows a bit of indulgence without going overboard on carbohydrates.

• Storage. If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

For additional recipes, check out this link - 21 Quick and Easy Healthy Dinners

"Good food is one of the simplest forms of self-care." — Richard Gringeri, DC

This week's Healthy Kitchen Challenge

• Cook dinner at home four nights this week.

• Try involving your family in washing vegetables, seasoning meat, or setting the table. Healthy eating becomes easier when everyone participates.

• Come in and get a Nutrition Evaluation. Dr. Gringeri is a Certified Digestive Specialist and he can help pinpoint and resolve any issues you are having with your diet and digestion health. Calming your digestive tract and having it work well for you is in sight.

Nutrition Spotlight

Cabbage: An Everyday Vegetable Worth Knowing

Cabbage may be one of the most underrated vegetables in the produce aisle. It's inexpensive, versatile and surprisingly nutritious.

Cabbage provides vitamin C, vitamin K, folate and fiber, along with antioxidants that help protect the body's cells. Because it's naturally low in calories and carbohydrates, it can be an excellent addition to meals when you're looking for more volume and nutrition without adding a lot of extra calories or refined carbohydrates.

And cabbage isn't just for coleslaw! You can sauté it, roast it, add it to soups and stir-fries, use it as a crunchy salad ingredient, or—as we're doing this week—make it the foundation of a delicious Egg Roll Bowl.

Healthy Swap of the Week

Instead of: Ordering takeout because you don't have time to cook

Try: Cooking enough dinner to have leftovers for tomorrow.

Why?

One extra serving tonight can become tomorrow's lunch, saving you time, money and the temptation to grab something less nutritious when you're busy.

You'll enjoy:

✔ Less cooking


✔ Less takeout


✔ More control over ingredients


✔ Easier lunches


✔ Less food waste

Dr. Gringeri's Human Engine Tip

Keep dinner simple. You don't need a complicated recipe with a long list of ingredients to give your body what it needs. Start with a good source of protein, add plenty of colorful vegetables, and include a healthy carbohydrate if desired. Think simple, fresh and balanced. And do what we do...use the internet to find new ideas for flavorful, healthy meals.

Looking Ahead...

Next time in The Human Engine Kitchen - Smart Snacks That Actually Satisfy.

Next week we are onto our fourth Chiropractic blog for this series. Until then, stay committed to make small changes to move toward lasting results!

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Your Health Journey Continues


Thank you for taking the time to read our Living Well Series. This concludes our third rotation of our Chiropractic, Nutrition, Exercise and Recipe blog series. Next week we start the fourth rotation. Our goal is to help inspire you to make small changes that produce lasting results. Remember, good health isn't built overnight—it's built one healthy choice at a time. If you'd like guidance on improving your movement, posture, nutrition, or overall health, we're here to help. Together, we can help you keep your Human Engine running at its best. Take the next step and call our office to make an appointment. We look forward to seeing you! (408) 984-7444.

Creating health that lasts,

Richard F. Gringeri, DC