Quick & healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas

Easy smoothie inspiration from A Beach Cottage

Just as we all begin to get back into our routines after the summer holidays, we can take some time out to put our feet up, stare across our quiet, tidy houses and think to ourselves “where the hell did that go?”. Yes, in less than a blink of an eye, it’s gone, and summer itself is just about over. But before you start crying into your tea, mourning the departure of those sunny/drizzly (delete as appropriate) Summer days, let’s pat ourselves on the back and say, “we did it, we survived” and with everything still intact. As a reward, and to make our lives that little bit easier, here are a few speedy meal ideas for those days when you’re trying to get out of the door in a hurry, or those evenings when everyone expects dinner on the table right now. Enjoy!

Breakfasts On The Run:

Breakfast muffins are always a big hit in our house. Granted, you might not have time to make them that very morning, but you can freeze them and get a few out to defrost over night. Homemade by Fleur has delicious sounding Honey Roasted Pear and Almond Breakfast Muffins – and The English Kitchen has a healthy Maple, Bran and Sultana version. It’s not just the French who love cakes for breakfast you know!

Smoothies are healthy and fast, and are a great way of getting a bunch of your five a day in one fell swoop. An American Cupcake In London has a moreish sounding Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smoothie, and English Expat Sarah’s beautiful blog A Beach Cottage has some great ideas to help you along your blending way with an Easy Smoothie recipe! If you are need of a boost in the vitamin department you could always try  SliceOffMe’s Kale Smoothie too.

Finding the time to make porridge might be pushing it when you’re in a rush, but how about this Overnight No Cook Oatmeal from The Yummy Life?   Leave it in the fridge and grab it as you leave the house!

Lunches on the go:

Of course, if you haven’t already, you really should visit the Mecca of everything lunch – Lunch Box World. Make sure you pop over if you are stuck for inspiration.

Hummus. Healthy with a load of chopped up veg, shoved in sandwiches or eaten with breadsticks for a tasty snack – Maris World has a super quick recipe here, did you know that you can actually freeze it in batches saving even more time?  

Lavendar and Lovage has an Easy Greek Feta Salad, great for lunchboxes.

When we are pushed for time, quesadillas are a good option, they are quick, relatively healthy, and you can hide vegetables in them.   The Pescatonian shows us how it’s done with a great looking Prawn and Pea version.  I love The Mini Mes and Me’s Ham and Goats Cheese Tarts .  How easy are these? Perfect for  a quick lunch.

Soup is always good for a fast lunch at home. Yes you could open a tin, or you could make something like Recipe Junkies Spinach and Coconut Milk Soup, it’s quicker than you think, honest!

Evenings in a Hurry:

EasyTeas is a blog jam packed full of fantastic recipes for those time stretched evenings, dig in and see what you can find!

Salad is always an easy option for dinner, and unsurprisingly, given the name, you will find plenty over at the fabulous Salad Pride.

Pasta is always good in a hurry – A Wee Bit of Cooking tempts us with Orecchiette with Sausage Meatballs –  from pan to table in less than 20 minutes. Chez Foti is also a time saver with a super quick Tagliatelle with Cherry Tomatoes and Mascarpone.

And here are a couple of other quick and easy options: – Maison Cupcake has a great Tomato, Olive and Caper Tart that would be ready in minutes for dinner…

What’s faster than an omelette? TheSingleGourmetandTraveller gives us a master class in omelette perfection.

SheCooksSheEats has a great Smoked Paprika Couscous with Pepper recipe. Couscous has to be one of the fastest carbs to prepare and it goes with everything…

Speedy Sweets:

We couldn’t have a Foodie Round-up without something sweet, Little Loaf has a wicked recipe for Salty Bourbon Pecan Squares, for the days when you need to bake, but it has to be quick.   Inside a British Mum’s Kitchen has a super speedy Grilled Peaches with Greek Yoghurt that you can rustle up in a hurry, and what can be quicker than Eton Mess (using prepared meringues obviously!), The Purple Pumpkin has a great recipe.

And last but not least, I had to give The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club a mention.  Not only does it have the best name, but it’s a great time saver, as all the hard wine selecting work has been done for you, meaning you have extra time to spend in the chocolate aisle.

October will be Slow Cooked Month. Whether it’s something you swear by in a slow cooker, or something that takes hours to cook in the oven, or stuff for the days when you have time to experiment…   If you have any applicable recipes, as usual, don’t be shy. Or if you’ve seen any recipes or blogs that you think fit the bill, stick them down too.

Until next month!

About Emma Raphael

Emma Raphael left the UK for Copenhagen in 2009, with her ever-patient husband and two small children. Having enjoyed a couple of years in Scandinavia, Emma and her family found they enjoyed Expat life so much that they now reside in Munich – where the pace of life is relaxed, her language skills are small, and the mountains and bier halls are very large. Being one half of a self-proclaimed foodie couple, Emma enjoys the new produce and restaurants in each new country she resides in, and has made it her mission to convince people that English food no longer deserves the bad rap it once had. She can be found in the kitchen when she’s feeling homesick, trying to recreate comfort food from home. She also has huge passions for travel, photography, art, wine, gardening (although according to her Bavarian neighbours, she’s not much good at that!) and her family (of course)!

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