When I first began to lose those initial 50-60 lbs, I was constantly searching for healthy recipes.

They all looked amazing on Pinterest. But I could never quite duplicate them in my own kitchen, and the effort that went into buying ingredients and preparing the recipe, only to throw out half of it, became too much of a time suck.

But, realistically, it doesn’t have to be that complicated.

No one has the time to cook up these elaborate recipes.

You might have children of your own, dogs to take on walks and a busy career. If your meals contain more than just a few ingredients, they probably won’t be made on a regular basis.

I’ve been sending some of my recipes to you over the last few weeks, but the honest truth is I barely spend any time in the kitchen at all.

Remember you can’t go wrong with a piece of meat, some whole food carbs such as rice, and some veggies (plus seasonings of course).

Here’s how I eat healthy without living in the kitchen.

Normally I’ll cook up a big pot of rice or potatoes on a Sunday, steam a couple day’s worth of veggies, and have it ready in the fridge for my meals during the week.

Then I’ll prepare my protein – fitting many of them into themes. I cook protein more often.

Some options include:

• Tacos or quesadillas (see recipe below)
• Hamburgers
• Chicken or turkey (cut in strips or ground and cooked with spices)
• Steak
• Wild caught fish
• Stirfry meats (chopped steak, chicken etc. seasoned with soy sauce)
• Ground meats / chili (just tomato sauce or taco seasoning so hardly qualify as “chili”)

Any of these options can be combined with some rice/potatoes and veggies to make a wholesome, complete meal in minutes.

On the theme of quick and easy “healthy” meal ideas, here’s one of my go-to recipes that takes five minutes to whip up.

Chicken Quesadillas

What you need:

• Chicken breast, diced (or ground turkey or beef) *I usually have something cooked already
• Spices (cumin, oregano, garlic powder)
• Salt and fresh pepper (no need for sea salt…)
• Cooking spray
• Tomatoes
• 1 bell pepper (red or green) cut into strips
• 1/2 cup low fat mozza cheese
• Salsa
• WW tortilla
• greek yogurt (sour cream sub)

How to do it:

• Pre-heat tortilla shell in coated pan
• Add cheese, chicken and spices
• Add veggies
• Add “dollop” of salsa and greek yogurt inside (wanted to use the word dollop – success…)

Cook for 4-5 minutes, then fold in half and finish off for a minute or two. DONE!

Sorry for the non-Pinterist worthy photo LOL. Note: I threw lettuce in the last one I made – not a good idea.