How long does it take you to cook dinner? An hour; half hour; 2 hours; all day? Is cooking a barrier to eating healthy food? When I host nutrition talks one theme that always emerges is the amount of time it takes to eat healthy. Additionally, it seems that being prepared and having healthy foods on hand is one of the keys to success. So how do we prepare ourselves, cook quick meals, but still stay on track? 

Thursday Night Fish and Veggies
Fish is super easy to prepare, tastes delicious, and is a great source of protein. I don’t know why more people don’t eat fish more often. It literally takes 12 minutes or less to cook. On Thursday nights Jameson and I make dinner together. It’s usually fish. We don’t usually get out of the gym until about 7:30, sometimes 8, so spending an hour cooking after that doesn’t seem like much fun. One night we were talking about how the meal we were eating was so quick and easy to make, but still so delicious and “paleo-approved”. 

Here’s what was on the menu last week:
During the day I had some time to prepare a quick mango avocado salsa and brought it with me. Jameson picked up some fresh wild-caught swordfish steaks, some zucchini and summer squash.

I chopped the zucchini and squash, tossed it all in a big saute pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Sauteed the veggies until they were cooked, but still a bit crunchy, probably about 10 minutes.

While that was happening the fish was on the grill pan. The “grillmaster” concluded that 3-3-2-2 would be the perfect amount of cooking time for the 1.5 inch steaks. Flip after 3 minutes, cook the other side for 3 minutes, then flip again for another 2 minutes of cooking per side. Perfect grill marks and all! If you don’t have a grill pan or a grill, swordfish cooks up easily in the oven; 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

By the time the fish is cooked through, the veggies should be done. Top the fish with mango avocado salsa and serve the veggies on the side.

Quick Sweet Potatoes
CrossFitters need sweet potatoes. My day is not complete without them. Do yourself a favor and always have them ready. But if you need them in a pinch here’s the easiest way. Peel them and slice them into rounds. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and toss those bad boys on there with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake them for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. They will be soft. You can eat them that way or mash them up. Add some cinnamon for a delicious twist.

I guess the main point of this post is to give you hope. Cooking awesome, healthy, nutritious meals can be done with limited time. It does require some planning and a trip or two to the grocery store. Make a list each week of the things you enjoy eating and need. Once you get in the routine you should be all set. Commit to your health and eating well, you know what you need to do. 

Please be on the lookout for a Crock-pot recipe coming soon!