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.
