Meatballs and cabbage is a quick and easy one-skillet meal that’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser! Make it gluten-free by using rolled oats in the meatballs instead of bread crumbs.
Heat oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet. Add onions and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent (5-7 minutes). Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Mix together tomatoes, brown sugar, vinegar and beef bouillon powder. Pour into the skillet and add the meatballs.
Cover with cabbage and cook for 30-40 minutes until cabbage is tender and meatballs are cooked to an internal temperature of 160℉. Turn cabbage and meatballs gently and occasionally to ensure even cooking.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve immediately.
*To make this recipe gluten-free, use the gluten-free version option of the meatball recipe.
2 servings, 480 calories per serving
Hack: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days or freeze in serving-sized portions for up to 3 months.
Hack: Check the produce department for loose celery stalks. If you don’t see them, ask a clerk if they’re available.
Hack: Shop the salad bar if you just need a small amount of an item that you don’t think you’ll use again before it “goes over”.
Hack: Ask the produce clerk to cut a head of cabbage into wedges so you’ll only have to buy what you need. They’ll wrap the leftover pieces and put it back on the shelf for sale.
We’ve all been there. Heck, some of us are there every single day. Here are some ideas on what to cook when you don’t have time to cook.
What To Cook When You Don’t Have Time To Cook
You had to work late. You have to be somewhere early. Your son has football practice and your daughter has soccer. You got a flat tire on the way home. Whatever it is, it’s left you with no time but guess what? You still have to eat.
It’s tempting to just hit the drive-thru or order delivery but you’re trying to eat healthy, right? There are some things you can do to eat healthy…even if you don’t have the time. Here are a few ideas about what to cook when you don’t have time to cook.
Grab It and Go
Grab It and Go
Sometimes the best strategy is to have some prepared foods on hand so you can just grab it and go, especially if you know you’re going to be short on time in the coming days.
Leftovers. Don’t toss the leftovers! Break them down into serving-sized portions (even if it’s only one serving) and put them in the fridge or freezer for another time.
Make It Ahead of Time. If you know you’re going to be rushed in the morning, overnight oats are a great breakfast that you can just take with you. Breakfast cookies can be prepared in a short order of time and then stored in the refrigerator or freezer for a quick snack. Sometimes I bake this cauliflower casserole and package it into serving-size pieces for easy meals during the week.
Keep Healthy Snacks On Hand. Nuts, dried fruit, baby carrots, fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs, whatever tickles your fancy.
Quick and Easy Meal Ideas
Quick and Easy Meal Ideas
Plan Ahead.Naan dough is easy to throw together and it keeps in your fridge (ready to bake) for up to 3 days. Throw on some topping to make a flatbread pizza or spread on some peanut butter, granola and honey.
Dust Off Your Slow Cooker. There’s nothing better than coming home to find that dinner is ready. You can use a recipe like this pulled pork or do your own thing. Throw in some meat and veggies (get the precut veggies from the produce department or use frozen to save time). Add a little broth or some sauce, turn it on and walk away.
Make It Quick. Things like spinach feta pitas and this pasta dish are super easy and come together super fast! Scramble some eggs with veggies and cheese for a light meal or whip up some scallops in less than 5 minutes.
Or Don’t Cook At All
Or Don’t Cook At All
Have A Sandwich. What’s in your fridge? A piece of leftover chicken or pork tenderloin? Slice it thin and throw it on some bread. Fry an egg. Cream cheese and olives. Or make this veggie wrap.
Always Have Peanut Butter On Hand. Spread it on toast or crackers, with apple slices, slathered on a banana or eat it right off the spoon!
Salad Days. There are many different kinds of lettuce available, already torn into bite-sized pieces and bagged up in the produce department, ready to go. Pair it with some cherry tomatoes, leftover meat or hard-boiled eggs, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and your favorite dressing. Dinner is served!!
One-Pot Wonder
One-Pot Wonder
Soup To Warm The Soul.Chicken Ramon and Vegetarian Tortellini Soup both come together in less than 30 minutes. Don’t have all the ingredients? No worries! Simply dump some broth in a pot and throw in what you do have! Frozen, fresh, dehydrated or leftover veggies, pasta or rice and some protein, if desired. Simmer it up until everything is cooked to your liking.
The Rice Cooker’s Got You Covered. This is one of my favorite quick and easy meal hacks. Measure the appropriate amounts of rice and water into the cooker. Follow that with some ground meat/poultry or nuts/seeds and chopped veggies. Turn it on and dinner is already almost done. If you want to jazz it up even more, use broth instead of water and toss in a dried Thai pepper.
Hearty Meals, Quick Clean-up.Thai curry is warm and comforting while bacon asparagus pasta is a real stick-to-your-ribs dish that comes together quickly. Making a stir-fry is another sure-fire dinner plan. Simply heat a little oil in a saute pan, put any kind of protein and veggie in and cook until everything is done as you like it. Stir in or serve it over some cooked pasta or rice.
Think Outside The Box
Think Outside The Box
Many people feel hemmed in about what sorts of foods are for which meals. I’m here to tell you to stop it. Seriously. Stop.
If it’s good for breakfast, it’s still good when it’s time for dinner. This breakfast burrito is easy to make and easy to take with you. Oatmeal is a healthy choice for any meal and clocks in at less than 15 minutes.
A healthy snack can make a fantastic light meal. Hummus and sugar snap peas, apples with peanut butter, yogurt granola cup…you get the idea.
Dinner for breakfast? Why not? Last night’s baked beans will be great over toast. That leftover pork chop and roasted carrots will be delicious in some scrambled eggs or an omelet! Use leftover asparagus to make this delicious breakfast treat!
You Have What It Takes
You Have What It Takes
You don’t have to use any of the suggestions I have listed above but I do hope I’ve given you some food for thought. You have what it takes to come up with healthy meals in a snap if you open your mind to different possibilities!
What about you? What quick fixes have you come up with for mealtime? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below!
Trying to start a new program of healthy cooking for one? Old habits die hard but here are a few tips to help get you back on track to start eating healthier!
Healthy Cooking for One
We’ve all seen him. That guy in the checkout line at the grocery store, the one we know is single and lives alone. 4 frozen dinners, 1 deli sandwich, 6-pack of beer and an economy-sized bag of Cheetos.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Just because we’re single, it doesn’t mean we’re doomed to a future of breakfast cereal, frozen pizza for one and Ramon noodles.
Nor must we choose drive-thrus or gas station hot dogs. I often who came up with THAT idea. Like, was someone pumping their gas and suddenly thought, “Well, this makes me want to eat a smoked sausage!”? (Yes, I’m kidding. Here’s why gas stations started selling food).
We have a choice. I’d like to share a few things that I’ve picked up along the way to make cooking for one a bit easier and, hopefully, a little more fun.
Healthy Ways Start to Your Day
Healthy Ways Start to Your Day
Running late this morning? Always keep some bananas, frozen strawberries and yogurt on hand to make a smoothie. It just takes a minute and you can drink it on your way to work!
Overnight oats are convenient and the flavor combos are endless so you’ll never get bored. They can be stored for up to 5 days in the fridge so go ahead and throw together a few one evening for a week of quick breakfasts.
Everybody loves Sunday morning breakfast! Make a crustless quiche to enjoy with a leisurely cup of coffee and the newspaper. Store a few pieces in the fridge for up to 5 days for a healthy lunch and put the rest in the freezer for another time!
Play It Again, Sam
Play It Again, Sam
No big plans for your day off? Make a big pot of spaghetti sauce and freeze it in portions for use another day. Might as well freeze up a batch of meatballs to go with it, too!
A dozen mini pork pies make a great grab-and-go lunch (or, rather 12!).
Make a dinner recipe that serves two and take the leftovers for lunch. Or make a recipe that serves three or four and have some left for an easy meal later in the week.
Make connected meals. For example, when making potatoes for garlic chicken, do a few extra and use the leftovers to go with Korean beef (instead of cooking rice).
Or save some potato cubes unmashed to make potato salad. While you’re boiling the eggs for the potato salad, throw in a few extra for egg salad.
And always, always, make extra rice to package up in single serving sizes and store in the freezer!
Strategic Contingency Planning
Strategic Contingency Planning
It happens. You get stuck working late, encounter a major traffic jam on the way home or get caught up in a lengthy conversation with a friend. Then it’s too late to cook that dinner you had planned or you’re just too tired.
Make sure you’ve stocked up on a few items that have a decent shelf life and are quick and easy to throw together.
Eggs, cheese, peanut butter and pasta are excellent choices, as are crackers, rice and bread (store this double wrapped in the freezer if you need to!). Frozen fruits and vegetables require no prep at all so they can easily be used in a pinch.
Think of Ways To Be Creative!
Be Creative!
Decide to go to the farmers market, choose something you haven’t had before then go home and create a meal.
No, honestly, I “wing” a lot of my recipes and it always turns out fine.
Ok, almost always as there was the “Fennel Incident”. Fennel, as it turns out, tastes like black licorice. Gross. Who knew?
Dress up your go-to meals. Grilled cheese? Mix it up with a two cheese combo, mustard and a couple of pickle slices. Add a splash of cream and some croutons to your tomato soup. Swap out the ketchup on your burger for some thousand island dressing.
Presto Chango! Leftovers don’t have to be the same thing that they were when they were originally left over. (Say THAT 5 times fast!) Pair the grilled chicken and roasted carrots you had last night with chopped onion, soy sauce, leftover rice and – BOOM! – a delicious (and definitely not leftover) stir-fry.
Riddle Me This
Riddle Me This
Who do you have to answer to anyway? Cooking for just you allows you to eat what you want, when you want, using whatever ingredients you want and as spicy (or not) as you want.
Who’s gonna even know? So what if that tuna and spaghetti thing didn’t measure up to your expectations? I’m not gonna tell and you don’t have to either!
No one’s watching, right? Pour a glass of wine, turn up the 80’s pop music and have a dance party in your pajamas while cooking pasta for the 3rd day in a row. Because you can.
Life is what you make it so make it good. Be brave, be bold, be empowered. And above all, have fun.
What are your thoughts on cooking for one? What are your favorite recipes and strategies? Let me know in the comments below!
