Easy Meals I Make at Home in Under 30 Minutes

Another easy meals post coming your way! If you haven’t been here for one of these posts, here’s the rundown.

• These are meals I make for me and my husband at home.
• I cook for the blog most of the time so I don’t make elaborate meals for just the two of us very often.
• I try to get as many veggies in as possible.
• And I try to cook everything as quick as possible.

These are real meals without all the recipe explanations like I normally give in a recipe post. If you want even more inspiration, I have 6 other posts just like this one to look through! Hopefully these posts help you get a little creative in the kitchen and get you cooking some foods you’ve forgotten about or never thought of!

Now let’s talk about how I make meals quick and easy! Whenever I’m making easy meals in under 30 minutes, 3 things help me stay on track when it comes to time –

1. Utilizing brands that help cut down cooking time, as well as leftovers to make creating a full meal even easier
   • I love cutting down cooking time with sauce and condiment brands and making sure I use ALL my leftovers in the fridge
2. Keeping it simple with the produce that is in season
   • If you’re using produce that is in season, it won’t need a ton of seasoning or a longer cook time because it’s so fresh and flavorful. Plus it’s cheaper if it’s in season, so you’re saving money along the way!
3. Learn to multitask 
   • Multitasking means while you’re cooking one thing, you’re chopping something else. And that may mean using multiple pans to cut down on cook time, as well!

And below are some of the brands and companies that I use almost every single day!

ButcherBox – Every month I get my monthly supply of grass-fed, grass-finished, antibiotic and hormone-free, pasture-raised beef, chicken and pork. This way I always have meat on hand that I can pull out of the freezer the day beforehand to make for meals the next day. And since it’s delivered to my doorstep, I don’t have to think about it, which is the best part. In every box, I always get burgers and breakfast sausage, then whatever other meat is available that month!

Thrive Market – I try to get a Thrive Market box delivered to my doorstep every month or so. I love stocking up on coconut wraps, coconut aminos, Siete Foods sea salt grain free tortilla chips, and organic extra virgin olive oil. Be sure to follow me on instagram and my instagram stories/highlights because every time I get an order, I share those finds and goodies on my social media! Thrive also offer seafood now and it’s delicious so I will sometimes grab that from them.

Whole Foods or Natural Grocers or Trader Joe’s –

• Freezer section – I always like to purchase cauliflower rice, sliced bell peppers, asparagus, cauliflower and kale so if I’m in a pinch and have no fresh produce around, I can quickly defrost any of these vegetable and whip up a meal quickly. I also recently picked up Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi and love having that on hand.
• Produce section – I almost always purchase arugula, kale, carrots, cherry tomatoes, ripe plantains, yukon gold potatoes, sweet baby peppers, butter lettuce, honey crisp apples, cilantro, green onions and whatever other vegetable looks good.
• Pre-cut veggies – At Whole Foods (and many other grocery stores nowadays), they have pre-cut vegetables that have made a huge difference when it comes to how long it takes to make a meal. It costs a little more, but to me it’s worth it because it keeps me eating healthy. I’ll always buy pre-cut butternut squash fries, brussels sprouts, kale, beets (I buy the Love Beets brand), zucchini noodles, beet noodles, and carrot fries.
• Butcher section – Since I get all my meat from ButcherBox, I usually only purchase wild-caught fish and seafood at Whole Foods. We try to eat salmon, scallops, sea bass and whatever other fish looks good. And we’ve been eating more fish and seafood recently because my husband is on a strict diet where he can’t have chicken or pork, which is why most of my dinners are beef or fish/seafood. I love getting fish/seafood for the nights that we have limited time since it cooks up so quickly.

Pantry Products – I keep these items on hand because they make prep incredibly easy and quick whenever I’m in a pinch!

• Primal Palate Spices
• Primal Kitchen Ranch, Ketchup and Mayo
• Mike’s Organic Curry Paste
• Rao’s Marinara Sauce
• Maya Kaimal Indian Sauce
• Tolerant Foods Gluten Free Pasta
• Mediterranean Organic Olives & Capers
• Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour
• Yai’s Thai Curry Sauce
• Thai Kitchen Rice Noodles

Latest Fridge & Freezer Favorites –

• Cece’s Cauliflower Rice and Zucchini Noodles
• Birch Benders Paleo Freezer Waffles
• Brazi Bites
• Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi
• Bonafide Bone Broth Soup
• Falafel King Tzaziki
• Majestic Garlic Dip
• Siete Foods Bean Dip & Queso

Utilizing leftovers a lot

• Carrot Fritters
• Cauliflower Tabbouleh
• Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
• Air Fryer Gnocchi
• Air Fryer Potatoes
• Air Fryer Cauliflower
• Crispy Garlic Air Fryer Chicken Thighs
• Moroccan Carrot Salad
• Air Fryer Plantains

Now let’s get into some tasty meals!

Whenever I don’t know what to make for dinner…I make curry. First I made my Air Fryer Chicken Thighs. While those cooked up for about 20-25 minutes, I may the curry. I wanted to add extra veggies so I first added some ghee to a large hot pan, add sliced carrots then a little water and a lid, then let the carrots steam. Once they were soft, I removed the lid and added torn kale. Once the kale was wilted, I added in Mike’s Organic Curry Paste, a can of coconut milk, and some lime juice and let it all combined and reduce with the veggies. Once the coconut milk had reduced and thickened, I added it to a bowl with the chicken thighs and topped it with lots of cilantro.

This was a meal that was made with leftovers and lots of multitasking. The Air Fryer Cauliflower was already cooked so all I needed to do was reheat it in the microwave. So to start the meal, I put Crispy Garlic Air Fryer Chicken Thighs in the air fryer and let those cook away. Then I oven roasted cherry tomatoes at 400 degrees in olive oil and balsamic for about 20 minutes. While both of those things cooked, I made a quick carrot salad by peeling the carrots with a peeler, tossing them in olive oil and lemon juice, and topping them with olives, dates, and pine nuts. Once everything was done cooking, I put a little Falafel King Tzaziki in the bottom of the bowl for a sauce and added some cilantro for extra freshness.

This was a quick breakfast I made when I was low on options one day. I first made my Air Fryer Potatoes and while those cooked for 25 minutes, I started cooking breakfast sausage in a pan. Once the pork sausage was almost cooked through, I added cubed apples to cook with the sausage for another 5 minutes. When the potatoes were done cooking, I added them to the pan with the sausage. Then I put it all on top of arugula!

Another meal in a pinch – curry. First I cooked up pepper and onions in a pan with some ghee. Then I added ground beef. Once the beef was cooked through, I added Yai’s Thai Green Curry Sauce. Once it had mixed together and thickened, I topped it all with cilantro.

Get ready to multitask with this meal. First I started cooking my Air Fryer Cauliflower. Once that got going in the air fryer, I started cooking sweet plantains in a bunch of avocado oil, low and slow. While the plantains cooked, in another pan I started cooking ButcherBox burgers. Now while everything is cooking, I made a salad of massaged kale, cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, and olives, and tossed it in olive oil and lemon juice with some salt. Then once everything was done cooking, I put some Falafel King Tzaziki in the bottom of my bowl and put everything on top!

For this meal, I had leftover Cauliflower Tabbouleh so all I had to do was reheat that in the microwave. So the cooked part of the meal started with my Picadillo recipe. This recipe usually takes around 40 minutes but I was able to cut it down by increasing the heat and just moving my ass a little faster. Once the picadillo started to thicken, I added sweet plantains to pan with avocado oil and cooked them low and slow. I topped the entire dish off with cilantro and goat cheese!

This meal was pretty much all leftovers. I had leftover Moroccan Carrot Salad along with some leftover GF turmeric orzo that I picked up from Deby’s Gluten Free and cooked up the night before. So all I had to do was cut up a steak into small pieces, toss it in some Primal Palate steak seasoning, and cook it in a pan with some ghee. Then I put some Falafel King Tzaziki in a bowl and topped it all off with some fresh dill!

Another curry night. This was a night when I wasn’t sure what I had to actually cook, then I found all the veggies, a curry sauce, and some rice! First I cooked up the rice in pan, which normally takes 20 minutes in total. Then in a pan with some ghee, I cooked up thinly sliced cabbage, peeled carrots, yellow bell peppers, and thinly sliced onions. To help them cook faster, I added water to the pan and covered it. Once the veggies were soft, I added ground beef to the pan and broke it into small pieces. Then I added Yai’s Thai Green Curry Sauce and cooked until it thickened up, then added cilantro on top!

My curry obsession lives on. First I cooked up the rice in pan. Then in another pan with some ghee, I cooked up peeled carrots and onions until soft. Then added ground beef and once it was cooked through, I added Yai’s Thai Yellow Curry Sauce. Once it was thickened, I added the rice to the pan and mixed it all together.

This was my Burger Bowl recipe that I had made the day before for the blog, so all I had to do was reheat the items through for this meal. I recooked the potatoes in the air fryer and reheated the bacon and burger in a pan. Then I made the bowl with tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, and a garlic aioli.

Last but not least, the simplest of all. I cooked up some peppers and onions in a pan, then I added ground beef. Once the ground beef was almost done cooking, I added arugula for an extra green. Then I topped it all off with Primal Palate taco seasoning and hot sauce. While the beef was cooking, I made my Air Fryer Plantains. Then I ate it all with my turmeric hummus and some salsa!

That’s it! 11 homemade meals to hopefully give you a little inspiration with your next meal! 

_________________

This post contains some affiliate links and I may be compensated, but all opinions are my own. This compensation helps with expenses to keep this blog up and running! Thank you for all your support!