This turkey meatball marinara skillet is a delicious and fast dinner. Leftovers for lunch taste even better, or bank extras in the freezer for future future meals.
I love one-pan dinners that come together quickly – this dish fits the bill splendidly.
The key to delicious meatballs in this turkey meatball marinara skillet is using egg white and panko breadcrumbs to lock in moisture. The Worcestershire adds a very slight tang. Rather than chopping up fresh garlic and herbs, I opted for dry seasonings to shave off a few minutes of prep time.
It’s important not to overwork the meat or pack the meatballs too tightly. Mix the meat just enough to combine all of the ingredients, and pack them just firmly enough to stay together and survive flipping in the pan.
To get a nice browning on the meatballs, get the pan hot and liberally mist with oil before adding. If you scale up the recipe, cook the meatballs in batches so they don’t crowd the pan or touch.
Other Notes
96/4 ground beef or ground chicken breast will also work well in this recipe. Substitute with 99/1 ground turkey to decrease fat. Tomato provides plenty of sweetness, so opt for no-sugar added marinara.
These meatballs pair great with broccoli, riced cauliflower, and regular rice. For lunch, stuff them into a whole grain pita or wrap with lettuce or fresh basil.
This turkey meatball marinara skillet is a delicious fast dinner and the leftovers taste even better.
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This delectably sweet balsamic chicken salad is balanced enough to eat as a meal on it’s own. Adjust the pasta amount to meet your need; low-carb and vegan options in notes.
I appreciate recipes that have a lot of flexibility to adjust ingredients/macros, and this balsamic chicken pasta salad fits the bill!
– Increase, decrease, or eliminate the pasta to adjust the carbohydrate content.
– Swap out the chicken and feta for tofu and nutritional yeast for a vegan option and use plain plant yogurt for the dressing.
If you decide to add the pasta, I recommend whole grain pasta. It has a slightly sweeter taste and pairs well with the rest of the flavors. In my first attempt at this recipe, I used chickpea pasta which has an unfortunate texture and taste that detracts from the rest of the flavors. Any pasta shape will work – recommend rotelle, bowties or shells for their dressing capture capabilities.
Don’t feel like cooking? The creamy balsamic dressing itself would work great for a regular salad or as a dip for veggies!
This delectably sweet balsamic chicken salad is balanced enough to eat as a meal on it’s own. Adjust the pasta amount to meet your need; low-carb and vegan options in notes.
Special thanks to my client Tony for inspiring this creation.
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Tomatillo steak & peppers (aka chile verde con carne) is perfect for family taco night or meal prep. Sweet and tangy green tomatillo and spices tenderize the beef over time, so it tastes even better the next day.
The trick to keeping extra lean meat cuts such as eye round steak tender and juicy is to carefully control cooking rate. For this tomatillo steak and peppers, we cook the meat until it’s about 75% done. A good amount of pink should remain. By quickly removing from the heat and placing in a covered bowl, it continues to cook slowly. When we return in to the pan for a final few minutes, it completes cooking and allows the rich flavors of the tomatillo base and spices to soak in.
There are a large variety of salsa verde options on the market, I recommend using the roasted variety for additional smokey flavor alongside the smoked paprika. Hatch chile powder and cumin add a deeper pepper flavor. The red chile powder is optional, for some heat.
This recipe is for a large batch. It scales down linear if you’d like to reduce the size. However, this dish tastes BETTER on subsequent days as the sauce further tenderizes the beef pieces.
I preferred to keep the sauce base thin, however you could thicken it up by boiling the sauce for about 30 minutes to eliminate water.
Pairs great with corn tortillas or rice.
This richly spiced tomatillo & pepper steak is perfect for taco night or as part of your high protein healthy meal prep. The sweet green tomatillo and chili spices infuse into the beef over time, so it tastes even better the next day.
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Chicken, tender rice, savory vegetables, and a lemon-egg base combine in this simple and comforting Greek lemon chicken soup. A filling and delicious high protein lunch or dinner – about 30g of protein per bowl, with easy adjustments to macros to meet your needs.
When I first tried Greek lemon chicken soup at a local restaurant, I fell in love and immediately. Had to create my own take on it.
Recipe Notes
For the base, it’s worthwhile to puree together some of the chicken stock, garlic, and green onion (white part) first. Make sure this part of the liquid goes into your pot first. Cooking for 2 minutes with the veggies before will take the sharpness out of the garlic and onion flavors. These flavors will infuse into the chicken before the rest of the stock is added.
For tender chunks of chicken, it’s important not to let the chicken cook all the way through at first. It will continue slowly cooking in the covered bowl, and completely cook once added back to the pot.
The macros are very easy to adjust depending on your needs. Use more or less rice to adjust the carbs. Or, swap for a bag of steamed riced cauliflower right at the end. Use more or less chicken to change the protein content.
The level of lemon flavor is a personal preference. This recipe adds 1/2 cup of lemon juice, which provides a moderate level of lemon flavor.
Chicken, tender rice, savory vegetables, and a lemon-egg base combine in this simple and comforting Greek-inspired soup. A filling and delicious high protein lunch or dinner >35g of protein per bowl, with easy adjustments to macros to meet your needs.
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A healthier, easy to make version of Broccoli Beef stir fry. Skip takeout and enjoy this delicious combination of juicy strips of beef infused with garlic, ginger, and soy mixed with broccoli.
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Juicy strips of beef infused with garlic, ginger, and soy. Enjoy this healthy take on a classic Chinese dish with 30 g protein per serving.
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Simple dinner with minimal clean up. This sage roasted sausage & sweet potato uses a single plan and is delicious for a minimal amount of work. Roasting the sweet potatoes with sage and combining with balsamic brings forward a savory-sweet combination that pairs well with the sausage and broccoli.
For even cooking, it’s worth the time to flip over each of the sausage pieces so that they crisp up on both sides. Swap full fat sausage for low-fat chicken sausage – there are plenty of options at the grocery store and each 85 g link is typically going to have 7-8 g of fat and 12-13 g of protein. I’ve used Sabatinos (Costco) as well as Open Nature (Vons). You could also substitute extra firm tofu in this recipe for a plant-based protein source. Remove excess water from the tofu before baking by pressing.
It’s relatively straightforward to adjust the macros for this sage roasted sausage & sweet potato; if you are looking for lower carbs reduce to one potato and instead add an extra crown of broccoli. To reduce the fat, reduce the oil to 1 tbsp. total or instead make some home made ground turkey with sausage seasoning like the one I made for this recipe and combine with the sweet potato and broccoli at the end.
Savory sage with the sweetness of balsamic combine into this delicious and simple one pan meal.
These baked mango chile turkey meatballs are high protein candy for dinner.
To prepare these mango chile turkey meatballs I highly recommend purchasing an immersion blender. It’s an incredibly powerful tool to make sauces, soups, and in this case to puree fruit. For the power and the money, this one is very impressive.
Ensure you use a mango that is completely ripe, more on the side of being over-ripe. An under-ripe mango will make these meatballs too acidic/tart. Take the time to slow simmer the mango and remove excess water. The time may vary depending on your mango – it took me about 45 minutes to cook down three mangoes. After cooking, the reduction will have a gel quality versus a liquid. Err on the side of making it thicker. If you don’t eliminate enough water, it will be difficult to form the meatballs into a solid ball.
Combine the chile-lime seasoning with the mango and thoroughly blend together before adding the turkey. This will ensure the meatballs are uniformly seasoned. Use your hands to gently mix the mango with the turkey – just enough to combine everything.
To best fit my macros, I formed 16 meatballs that were about the size of 2 tablespoons. Feel free to partition differently – you may need to reduce the bake time if you make them smaller. I don’t recommend making them any larger than the size I made them. As they cook, you will see a bit of water and fat in the bottom of the pan. This will nearly disappear when cooking is completed.
High protein baked turkey meatballs combining the sweetness of mango with the tang of chile-lime. These are meat candy, plain and simple!
These healthy Cajun Louisiana red beans are an excellent source of protein and fiber. Perfect for batch cooking and freezing!
I appreciate recipes that require minimal time standing over a pot – set it and forget it. This healthy Cajun Louisiana red beans recipe requires a bit of prep time (beans should be soaked for at least 8 hours), but it’s truly low on attention and effort. I started the soak Friday night before bed, and forgot about them until I was ready to cook Saturday afternoon. The actual cooking takes 3 hours, but once everything is in the pot there is no need to stand near the stove.
Beans are important…..
Two key steps ensure the right consistency and texture. Firstly, rise and soak dry beans, don’t substitute for canned beans unless you are really slammed for time.Secondly, don’t use budget red beans – quality matters here. High quality beans picked at the right time (and not stored in a warehouse for long) will have a buttery texture. Having tried many brands now, Camellia’s comes out on top.
Cajun Seasoning
To save time, I use pre-made Cajun Seasoning, but you could also make you own (large batch, for multiple uses) by combining 3 tbsp. smoked paprika, 3 tbsp. salt, 2 tbsp. garlic powder, 1 tbsp. white pepper, 1 tbsp. black pepper, 1 tbsp. onion powder, 1 tbsp. oregano, 1 tbsp. cayenne, 1 tbsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp basil, and 1/4 tsp cardamom.
I opted to use low-fat Andoullie chicken sausage. Eight links of sausage are cut into slices and thrown into the pot during the last 30 minutes of cooking. This dish can readily be made vegan by using meatless sausage or extra firm tofu (press or dry fry before adding 15 minutes before cooking is complete).
I keep the base recipe mild and stir in hot sauce or chili flakes before eating. Nandos is my favorite hot sauce for this dish. If you want to kick up the whole batch, add two diced jalapenos when you add in the onion and green pepper.
The dish pairs well with the classics (rice or cornbread) but also tastes great with cauli rice for a lower carb option.
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Skip takeout and stay on track with these easy high protein flatbread pizzas. Simple ingredients with no yeast or rise time. Ready to go in less than 30 minutes.
Left: Chicken + Roasted Poblano w/ Feta Middle: Chicken Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Right: “Satay” Style with Green Onion, Chicken, Broccoli, Sriracha, and Peanut Butter Sauce
I’m very impatient so it was exciting to discover no-yeast pizza crust recipes that don’t require waiting time for dough to rise. Thishigh protein flatbread pizzas is an experimental merge of the many I’ve found online. The dough has only four ingredients – baking flour, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, baking powder, and Italian seasoning (optional). It takes only a few minutes to prepare. In fact, if you have all of the ingredients, making these pizzas is faster and less expensive than getting delivery.Up front: NO…these do not taste like what you can pick up in the Bronx. However, it is a way to stay on track in a healthier eating plan AND not feel like you need to wash your face and lie down after eating it!
A note about yogurt
IMPORTANT: use PLAIN GREEK YOGURT in this recipe. Regular yogurt is too watery to make proper dough. Roll the dough to an even thickness so that the edges don’t burn. One of the most valuable tools I use for baking is a beveled French Rolling Pin. It’s natural wood and there are no joints to clean so it’s more sanitary.
Don’t skip the step of uniformly spraying both sides of the formed dough with olive oil – this is important for a crispy outside texture. Further, you will be baking the crusts at high temp (500 F) so ensure the parchment paper is rated accordingly. The paper will slightly char regardless – this is expected.
The best part about homemade pizza is topping flexibility and you can make it a family experience where everyone prepares their own. Here I’ve made one large pizza but it’s straightforward to divide the dough into smaller portions for personal pizzas, or scale up to make additional pizzas.
Toppings
Beyond the pies shown here, other healthier topping possibilities include Canadian bacon, onion, jalapenos, turkey pepperoni, ground beef, and veggies. For cheese, I recommend using low-fat. Non-fat does NOT melt and you don’t want to feel like you’re eating little bits of white rubber. A less traditional but as tasty option is fat-free feta cheese – it’s an excellent protein source if the melty-cheesy texture isn’t as important to you. If you decide to add veggies such broccoli, make sure they are pre-cooked or roasted to remove excess moisture so the pizza doesn’t get soggy. Even when you take this precaution, a veggie pie may need additional baking time.
The tomato provides enough sweetness on it’s own so look for a marina sauce that has no sugar added and has about 60-70 calories per 1/2 cup. Swapping directly for tomato paste works great if you want a tangier taste. Stirring oregano or Italian seasoning and/or a bit of minced garlic into the sauce before spreading is great for extra flavor .
In addition to the more traditional pizzas, I played around with a Satay style as well! The sauce was made with peanut butter powder and water. Give it a go if you’re feeling adventurous.
Skip the greasy takeout – here’s a simple way to make healthier pizza at home. Grab the family and everyone can make their own.
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This comforting one-pan southwestern chili & pepper dippers recipe is a hearty family dinner and a friendly part of your meal-prep arsenal.
This chili is proof-positive that great tasting comfort food doesn’t need to be loaded down with extra fats. It’s rich in flavor (and protein)!
I love to eat chili with chips but find the empty calories from chips don’t satisfy me. The pepper dippers are higher protein, lower fat, and a lot more robust for chili scooping capability. The red pepper paste (see link in recipe) adds an almost cheesy taste to these chips and with only three ingredients, they are very easy to make. Greek yogurt makes a surprisingly good base for the dough. Note that it does not work with regular yogurt (too much moisture).
We want this chili to be thick and with minimal liquid so look for a fresh pico de gallo salsa or a jarred version where you can drain out extra liquid. Likewise, use of lime powder instead of lime juice helps keep the chili from being watery.
Lean ground beef or chicken are great alternatives for the meat, as is Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) crumbles for a plant-based option. If you don’t care for black beans, pinto beans are a good substitute, with near-identical macros.
Simple and comforting, this hearty high-protein chili with red pepper dippers is an ideal part of your meal prep-arsenal.
Look forward to getting your feedback on this Southwestern Chili & Pepper Dippers recipe! Please share on socials or with a friend if you enjoyed it.
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