The idea of healthy home cooking has become increasingly important and we are always wanting to do it. However with busy schedules and life it is hard to do. This is why I want to introduce to you the fastest and easiest way to get a whole meal done without any effort. You will even have leftovers for lunch, and with flexibility for every taste and palate. This week’s inspiration is a Healthy One Pan Meal, so simple and so easy.
You may have heard about healthy one pan meals and maybe even tried them. Basically we are taking a bunch of veggies and a protein and throwing them in the oven to roast. Then when dinner time rolls around, voila…dinner is ready.
The why?
So you may be wondering is this a real recipe? Why did I even bother to write a blog about it? Well firstly many people need ideas for dinner or lunch. So I am here to inspire and provide ideas of what to cook. For me that is always the main issue. The task of looking for ideas of what to cook, but that are healthy, fast, and easy AND delicious.
Aside from giving you inspiration and motivation to cook healthy food, this recipes is a great savior when you did not meal plan or prepare in advance. It’s one of those meals you can throw together in 10 minutes when you just got home from work, or picking up kids and realized you still didn’t prepare dinner. When you are tired, and don’t have patience to cook and would rather order out. This one pan meal is what you need.
What you need?
What is key about making this a delicious and successful dish are two things. First you need to have ingredients at home. Nothing specific is needed. Just veggies you like (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, brussel sprouts, onion, etc) and some form of protein (chicken, steak, sausage, hotdogs, shrimp, fish, etc). I always prefer organic everything but if you cannot at least stick to the dirty dozen and clean 15 list by EWG.
Please feel free to add whatever veggies you like. I have used broccoli, cauliflower carrots and brussel sprouts. Try thinking what roasts well, potatoes, onion, cabbage, peppers are also great. Pick what you like and remember to use a lot of veggies, the more the better!
The second thing you need is to know which veggies roast well and at a similar time. This is important to avoid getting some burnt veggies and raw meat. We want everything roasted evenly. This is why you have my recipe. Once you get comfortable with the combinations of veggies and protein you can play around and make your own creations.
1-2-3 GO!
So let’s get started and make this dish in minutes and enjoy it for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. If you have picky eaters don’t worry, I got you covered. Simply mix it up with veggies they together with yours so you can all share. If you need help cooking and want to learn with a pro, check out my schedule and book a class with me. We will cook together online from the comfort of your own home – Happy Cooking!
Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower cut in florettes
1 head of broccoli cut in florettes
5-6 carrots cut in 3 pieces
6-8 brussel sprouts cut in half
1 lb protein of your choice (sausage, chicken, steak, shrimp, etc)
1 tsp onion powder
3-4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Wash, cut and prep your veggies (peel, cut, etc) and place them on a large baking sheet. It is important to keep all veggies in a similar size so they cook evenly. I like to line them up in rows, especially if you are dealing with picky eater.
Sprinkle spices and oil over veggies and mix well. I use my hands and toss it like a salad over baking sheet (don’t want to dirty more pans or dishes as this is a 1 pan meal!).
Cut up your protein into small bite size pieces and place over veggies. I used a grass-fed, nitrate free spicy sausage here and added some nitrate free all beef hot dogs for those that don’t like spicy food (aka kids).
That is it! Place pan in oven and bake. Now you can help your kids with homework, clean up, or relax while it bakes. Leave in oven for 30-40 minutes until protein is cooked and veggies are brown. If you see it is taking too long you can put oven on broil for last 5 min to really brown everything.
