Simple starts here
Photography by Yvonne Duivenvoorden
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It's getting late and you're looking for something nutritious and quick for a weeknight dinner. Do you have the time — or money — to order in? No way. To the rescue come two tasty, fast and lightened-up recipes for each of five popular freezer-and-pantry staples: a pound of ground beef, four pork chops or chicken breasts, a pound of pasta, a jar of pasta sauce and a can of beans.
Nutrition tips
Pasta is high in complex carbohydrates and is a great source of energy. With pasta in the cupboard, you always have a quick meal on hand, even if you're just tossing it with a little oil, garlic, fresh or frozen vegetables, and Parmesan cheese.
Ground beef is one of Canada's favourite ingredients, and it comes in various degrees of fat content. We suggest lean ground beef. Extra-lean is indeed leaner, but it can be tough. Regular ground beef is cheaper but, at 23 g of fat per 4-oz (125 g) serving, contains 5 g more fat than lean. We also recommend draining off the fat wherever possible, as we have done in the following recipes.
Pork chops — when trimmed of fat — are a lean source of protein, with only about 10 g of fat per chop. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts in place of the chops, cooking them until they're no longer pink inside.
With a jar of pasta sauce, you can make a quick and easy dinner with whatever else you have on hand. Full of flavour and low in fat, pasta sauce comes in many varieties, with different vegetable and herb additions. Try various types to find the right sauce for each dish.
Beans (and this includes chickpeas and lentils) are highly nourishing, delicious and easy to keep on hand. They are the richest source of vegetable protein and are a very high source of both soluble and insoluble fibre. They are also a source of B vitamins, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. To make beans a complete protein, always serve them with a grain, seed, nut, dairy or egg protein.
Recipes
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Ham and Egg Pasta
Based on the Italian pasta carbonara, this dish uses ham instead of bacon, reducing the fat in this traditionally rich dish to about 10 g per s... -
Warm Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Salad
The dressing lends a taste of summer any time of year. The red peppers provide vitamins A and C and potassium. Quick and easy to make, this salad is p... -
Beef and Spinach Pizza
The toppings for this knife-and-fork pizza are so flavourful and tasty that you don't need much cheese. -
Spaghetti and Meatball Soup
This hearty soup has all the elements of a big pot of spaghetti and meat sauce. Adding the pasta to the soup and letting it stand allows the pasta to ... -
Orange-Glazed Pork Chops
Tender, juicy pork chops with a sweet orange glaze are on the table in 10 minutes flat. Serve them with noodles or whole grain rice and any green vege... -
Pork Chops with Button Mushrooms
There's no need for cream in this mushroom sauce because the flavourful stock-based sauce gets its slight thickness from the flour used to coat the ch... -
Quick Chicken and Penne Cacciatore
Skinless chicken has 8 g less fat per serving than chicken with the skin. Serve this pasta dish with whole grain bread. -
Huevos Rancheros Cups
A whole wheat tortilla cup, an egg, pasta sauce and a little hot sauce make a zingy supper dish bursting with Mexican flavour. Serve one egg cup with ... -
Coriander Bean Patties
Don't bother with buns for these crisp vegetarian bean burgers with Asian flavours. Serve with rice and stir-fried or steamed vegetables. -
Lentil and Sausage Ragout
Use any smoked sausage, such as kielbasa or garlic, for this flavourful grown-up version of franks and beans. Since there is such a small amount of sa...
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