If you’re looking for new, simple, and healthy healthy dinner ideas to start your year off with, you’ve come to the right place.
After a year of endless home cooking, many of us have exhausted our dinner recipes. Fortunately, there is no shortage of simple, flavourful recipes that make it easy to pack nutritious ingredients into delicious dinners.
Whether we enjoy the meal alone or cook for a large family that needs to refuel, in the mood for something meaty or something vegetal, here are some of the favorites from TODAY Food.
Seafood recipes
Mackenzie Anne Smith
The secret ingredient for this simple and tasty weekday fish dish is one you might toss in the compost – an orange peel. The bowl with its extremely sweet, pungent taste gives brightness, texture and aromas. In this recipe, it’s mixed into a paste along with other invigorating and balancing ingredients: garlic, ginger, turmeric, and green chillies.
TODAY
The fresh herbs and subtle flavors make it chic, but the quick preparation and cleaning up make this recipe easy enough for any week. It’s a straightforward dinner idea for two as you can order exactly how much salmon you need, or opt for a larger cut and leftovers to toss over a salad for lunch the next day.
Judy Joo
Shrimp don’t need a lot of dressing to be tasty. Here, a simple marinade and quick frying produce a deeply aromatic and perfectly cooked result. The crispy broccolini and earthy soba noodles are a great addition to the sweet and savory prawns.
Ghazalle Badiozamani / Instant Loss Eat Real, Lose Weight: How I Lost 125 Pounds – Includes 100+ Recipes
“For me, retraining my taste buds was part of my health. I soon found that I really liked some foods that I thought I didn’t like when I figured out how to make new, tasty ones Prepared Wisely, “said Brittany Williams, author of” Eat Real Instant Loss, Lose Weight: How I Lost 125 Pounds. “
This blackened salmon is an example. Williams uses fresh, wild-caught salmon, which tastes much less like fish than the farmed variety, and serves it with a fresh pineapple and avocado salsa.
Vegetarian recipes
Kara Birnbaum / TODAY
Aloo Gobi – potatoes and cauliflower fried in spices – was a basic requirement for Priya Krishna’s upbringing. In this simplified version, the whole dish comes together on a sheet pan that is popped into the oven.
“It’s easy to put together, pretty hands off, and its taste-to-ease ratio isn’t on the charts,” said Krishna. “Potatoes and cauliflower are also really exceptional at absorbing and enhancing spices.”
Lucy Schaeffer
The velvety consistency of this satisfying soup is made possible by white beans and Greek yogurt. Whip up a batch and enjoy both the soothing taste and nutrient-rich ingredients in each scoop.
Samah Dada
“I love chickpeas more than anything, not only because they’re a great source of vegetable protein, but also because they’re a) very sweet and b) a fabulous pantry,” said Samah Dada. Your version of Chana Masala only lasts 20 minutes and is the easiest lunch or dinner for yourself or for those you love.
Hetty McKinnon
Hetty McKinnon discovered that “frying” rice in the oven on a sheet pan is not only possible, it actually creates the perfect amount of crispy dishes. As with all sheet pan recipes, it’s the perfect toss in the oven dish – just toss your cold rice with vegetables, kimchi, and spices, spread it all out on a sheet pan, and let a hot oven do the “frying” for you.
Chicken and Turkey Recipes
This salad is so filling and hearty that you won’t miss the taco clams. It’s one of those perfect healthy dinner ideas for kids as they can also help put together their own taco bowl in advance. Just combine the crumbled ground turkey, pico de gallo, Greek yogurt, cheese, and a wedge of lime.
TODAY
In this simple chicken dinner by Valerie Bertinelli, the sweet tomatoes perfectly balance the strong acidity of the spicy sherry vinegar and salt olives. This recipe is so easy to toss together and has a light taste in every bite.
Nathan Congleton / TODAY
Do you have any fried chicken left? Use it to make a delicious new meal! Curtis Stone loves using leftover chicken and vegetables to make this filling dish. It comes together quickly and is healthy and satisfying at the same time.
Patricia Niven
These baked chicken and ricotta meatballs are lighter than their hefty counterparts and don’t require a lot of work. Baking skips the time and clutter of browning on the stove, and you end up with a mixing bowl and sheet pan to clean – and most importantly, 20 delicious meatballs.
Nathan Congleton / TODAY
This light weekday dinner of lean protein and roasted vegetables has all the flavors of a traditional pan but is even easier to prepare. Everything is baked on a sheet pan in just 30 minutes.
Nathan Congleton / TODAY
This is one of those short quick stir fries listed on the ingredient list that just knocks it out of the park every time. Serve with jasmine rice for the easiest, easiest, heartiest dinner that you can serve your family well.
Pork and beef recipes
Joy Bauer
Take it slow with this recipe: the longer it cooks, the more tender, juicier and more aromatic the meat will be. Make the sauce from the boiling liquid at the bottom of the pot and drizzle over the finished brisket. Don’t play hard with this recipe – it’s a keeper!
Ghazalle Badiozamani / Brittany Williams
This classic old-school dinner favorite can be cooked up in a pressure cooker at night if you want something quick and filling for the family. It goes wonderfully with garlic, cauliflower puree or green beans.
Jennifer Causey / Kochlicht August 2017
A fabulous way to add flavor to beef without butter or blue cheese is to top it with a light herb sauce like chimichurri! This deliciously simple dish from Cooking Light only requires five fresh ingredients and takes only 20 minutes.
Jet Tila
According to Jet Tila, the perfect salad should have at least three of the following components: greens, grains, fruits, nuts and cabbage. Greens, pomegranates, pears, lentils and mandarins are also considered lucky foods in different cultures around the world, which makes this salad a super lucky salad. And we could all use a bit of luck as we head into the new year.
