Your Guide to Easy, Healthy Meals

Your Guide to Easy, Healthy Meals

Preparing your nightly family meals may be time-consuming, leaving less time at the dinner table with your loved ones. Luckily, you can simplify your cooking process without sacrificing healthy ingredients. All it takes is a little planning, creativity and easy dinner ideas to simplify your life. 

John Soules Foods wants to make your shopping, preparing and cooking experience as quick and easy as possible. We also want to help you choose the best food options for you and your family.

Table of contents

Components of a Healthy Meal

Before we look at recipes, let’s discuss what makes a healthy meal. The better you understand the components of food, the easier it is to make healthy decisions. Depending on where you look, you’ll find all sorts of different information on nutrition and diets. 

Some sources tell you to avoid carbs, some tell you to stay away from sugar, and others just tell you to watch your calorie intake. Deciding which options are best for you and your family can be challenging. So, to help, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USHHS or HHS) teamed up to give their recommendations.

These organizations suggest that you limit:

  • Refined grains.
  • Added sugars.
  • Cholesterol.
  • Trans fat.
  • Saturated fat.
  • High sodium.

The Food Pyramid

You may recall learning about the food pyramid in health or science class when you were younger. It still stands as a good resource today for guidance on a well-balanced diet. The most important food groups you should include in your diet to stay healthy are:

  • Fruits and vegetables: A diet rich in fruit and vegetables can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers. At least half of your plate should be fruits and/or vegetables for each meal. 
  • Whole grains: Whole grains include foods like whole wheat, whole oats, brown rice, corn, quinoa and whole-grain bread. Having whole grains in your diet helps with weight management, reduces the risk of constipation and could reduce your risk of heart disease. 
  • Protein: While protein is essential in your diet, you want to have the right amount. The recommendation is around 50 grams per day for adults, but the exact amount depends on your gender and age. You should also consume a variety of proteins and meats. 
  • Dairy: It is important to include dairy in your diet, but some dairy products are high in fat, which means that some people avoid them. Some low-fat dairy products still provide a source of healthy dairy. 

The highest level of the food pyramid includes fats, oils, sugars and sweets. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this food group, but you should consume these foods in moderation to maintain a healthy, balanced diet. 

Tips to Simplify Healthy Cooking

We live in a fast-paced world, and finding time to cook healthy meals can be challenging. These tips will help you cut down on cooking time and simplify the process:

  • Add salt to your boiling water: This may sound wild, but adding a little bit of salt to the water you’re boiling pasta in can help it boil quicker and at a higher temperature. It can also slash a few minutes off your cooking time. 
  • Spend some time on preparation: Prepping, cutting and measuring before starting the cooking process can speed up your cooking time. Trying to make the preparations as you go could slow down your cooking. 
  • Preheat your pan and oven: While you’re making those preparations, have the pan on the stove preheating. It saves time because the pan will be immediately ready to go once you’re ready to cook. Similarly, ensure you preheat your oven while you prep. 
    Use fully cooked meat: Using fully cooked meat from John Soules Foods cuts down on cooking time and ensures a delicious meal.
  • Use kitchen shears: Kitchen shears are a life-saver, making cutting and chopping much quicker and easier. 
  • Use the right size pan: If you’re using a large pan when it isn’t needed, it can take longer to heat up, which means longer cooking times. 
  • Remember the lids: Using the lids on your pots and pans can reduce the influence of outside temperatures. It will also keep the heat inside, which will help your food cook or boil faster. 
  • Cut foods smaller: Smaller chunks will cook faster than larger ones. 
  • Sharpen your knives: Cutting or chopping everything can take longer if you’re using a dull knife. A sharper knife will prevent you from wasting time and fighting with the food. 

Quick and Easy Healthy Meals You Can Prepare at Home

Of course, there are many other tips for reducing cook times, but this list will get you started.

We wanted to give you some easy dinner recipe ideas that include the main food groups we already mentioned. It is also important to remember that adding extra fruits and/or vegetables to any recipe is super easy. Fruits can be cut up and served, while vegetables are simple to cook/warm/roast. Take a look at some of our healthy dinner recipes: 

  1. Blackened Chicken and Spinach Frittata: This is a fast and simple recipe. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare and is ready to go about 25 minutes later. It will make about four servings. We recommend John Soules Foods Blackened Chicken for this meal, but you could also choose our Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken
  2. Blackened Chicken, Strawberry and Spinach Salad: This easy, fresh recipe is a quick, healthy dinner option. Our Blackened Chicken is the star ingredient, effortlessly complementing the strawberries, walnuts, balsamic vinegar and other healthy ingredients. You can also use the John Soules Foods Flame Grilled Chicken if you prefer. 
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  1. Chicken or Beef Fajita Quesadilla: This is another of our quick, healthy chicken meals. This recipe will make roughly eight quesadillas. Quesadillas take minutes to prepare and minutes to cook — you can get all eight on the table in under 45 minutes. Check out the John Soules Foods Chicken Fajitas or Steak Fajitas for this meal. 
  2. Copycat Grande Burrito: This healthy and filling recipe only takes 16 minutes to prepare and cook. It’s filled with warm rice, yummy vegetables and refreshing guacamole. It works best with our Chicken Fajitas, but you can substitute any protein for variety.
  3. Chicken Fajita Tacos: This recipe is one of the quickest, and you can get it plated up in 15 minutes. It goes best with our Chicken Fajitas
  4. Beef Tostada: This beef dish is quick and serves four people. For the best-tasting result, we recommend using the John Soules Foods Steak Strips.
  5. Flame Grilled Panzanella Salad: This delicious and health-conscious recipe is ideal for busy days. It’s tastiest with our Flame Grilled Chicken, but you can substitute other proteins if you prefer. It’s also packed with fresh, healthy ingredients, like tomatoes, cucumber and mozzarella. 

These recipes can all be prepared and cooked in under an hour, which is great if you like quick and simple meals. The serving sizes vary, but you can easily double a recipe if needed. If you’re worried about fitting veggies into your meals, you can add a side of fruits and/or veggies. Fruits are easy to cut and serve. Depending on the vegetables and how you like them, you can slice and serve them effortlessly. It’s quick and simple to roast them in the oven or heat them up on the stove. 

If you have any questions or comments about any of our recipes or products, we’d be happy to hear from you. We are also always open to recipe suggestions. If you use our products for your own recipes or have created a recipe from scratch, we would love to hear about it. You can always contact our customer service team to share any feedback you have.

Types of Fully Cooked Chicken to Speed up Meal Prep Times

Sometimes, meal prep can be long and tedious. You might get stuck working late or caught up running errands with kids. In these cases, you need an alternative to avoid eating dinner late. John Soules Foods offers several fully cooked meats that taste amazing and make dinner time easier.

For grilled chicken, we have several options and flavors, including the following:

  • Oven Roasted Diced Chicken
  • Chicken Fajitas
  • Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken
  • Flame Grilled Chicken
  • Homestyle Tenders
  • Southern-Style Chicken Strips and Chicken Bites
  • Chicken Nuggets
  • Chicken Tenders
  • Breaded Chicken Patties
  • Spicy Chicken Patties
  • Buffalo Style Tenders
  • Buffalo Style Chicken

Additionally, we have some beef options:

  • Steak Fajitas
  • Steak Strips
  • Angus Beef Fajitas

These meat options can be used in any recipe you have in mind. You can also make your own impromptu dinner. Heating up one of our meat options with a side of rice, fruits and/or vegetables is a fantastic and speedy meal choice. Find out where our products are sold near you.

Make Healthy Cooking Simple With John Soules Foods

Make Healthy Cooking Simple With John Soules Foods

At John Soules Foods, our focus is on providing great food made simple, which makes us a top choice for mealtime. Our meats offer the perfect balance of seasonings for a high-quality product. We use top-standard meats without all those artificial ingredients and additives. Additionally, we offer plenty of gluten-free products — while our breaded chicken products are not gluten-free, our grilled beef and chicken products are gluten-free.

John Soules Foods products can help you with quick, easy and protein-filled meals. Find our products in a local store today!