Everyone wants healthy and easy dinner recipes.

Dinner is the main meal of the day when the family gets together. You want to have a healthy, nutritious meal. But in today’s rushed world, it seems there is never adequate time to prepare a good dinner.

Breakfast is easier to plan. Bacon and eggs is a pretty quick meal. A protein shake is even quicker and a piece of fruit as you’re running out the door quicker yet. Stay away from cereal for breakfast and you’re on the right track.

Lunch is best planned and packed the night before. Leftovers work well. Take some raw veggies in a baggie, a hard boiled egg for protein & fat and always have some almonds or macadamia nuts around. Fruit is portable and a good snack to hold you over if needed. Take a shaker cup with your protein powder already scooped into to it. This protein blast can save you from hitting the vending machine when the mid afternoon hunger arises.

Ah but dinner takes work. You want healthy and easy dinner recipes. You want it to be simple to shop for and fast to prepare. And here is how you do it.

Get prepared.

Have your healthy oils on hand. Coconut oil for cooking. Get some nut oils like almond oil and macadamia nut oil for flavoring stir fries and salads. Avocado oil with citrus flavor added is good to have around. Make sure you have a good olive oil on hand.

Keep some red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar on hand as well. Oil and vinegar with some fresh garlic on salads is fast and healthy. Red wine vinegar is a simple and fast marinade for fish or meats. Mix it with garlic and some spices and you're good to go. So it’s obvious you need fresh garlic around at all times. Also keep some onions or scallions available.

Make dinner easy

And now for the healthy and easy dinner recipes. Well not receipes exactly, but strategies. You need a good protein and fresh vegetable to make dinner. Starch is not required. Forget about the old meat and potatoes days. Fish and rice is good but the rice takes 30 minutes or so. And you really don't need it from a nutrition standpoint. You do not require a starchy carbohydrate to complete a meal. In most cases, this type of carb doesn’t add a lot of food value while they can serve to spike blood sugar. This doesn’t mean you’ll never have potatoes again. Just understand 1) you do not need them for a healthy meal; 2) they may add more adverse effects than positive ones; and 3) they tend to be the one element of the meal that takes a long time to cook.

You have to plan to stop at the supermarket for fresh veggies at least a few times a week. This is a good time to get the protein for the next two meals as well. Alternately, you can purchase and freeze protein if you like. Just remember to get it thawing in the morning before leaving home.

Plan the week

If you can cook three or four dinners a week you are a super star. Plan a chicken day, fish day, meat (beef or pork) day and pasta day (except use a spaghetti squash) and you have the foundation. Day five is Big Salad day where you combine fresh, raw vegetables, hard boiled eggs and maybe leftover protein from a previous meal into a nutritious and tasty dinner. The other two days are left over days. Don’t wait on eating leftovers. Every day they are not eaten reduces the probability of them ever being eaten.

Planning ahead simplifies the shopping process. If you just had chicken last night and fish the day before, you head straight for the meat counter and then over to produce. Keep it simple.

For healthy and easy dinner recipes:

• Keep the basics on hand
• Shop for protein and veggies as needed
• Forget about the starches (in general)
• Always plan a Big salad day
• Consider it a success if you make three to four meals a week