Super-Simple (and Yummy) Recipes

Superfast, Superhealthy Yet Surprisingly Tasty Recipes

Perhaps I have defective taste buds but I find these superfast, superhealthy recipes quite tasty. Perhaps you might too.

BREAKFAST

Superhealthy Yogurt
To non-fat plain yogurt, add fresh or frozen fruit, plus, if desired, a little sugar.

Even easier, instead of fruit, use a teaspoon of jarred lemon curd.

Total time required: less than 1 minute.

Blueberry Walnut Oatmeal
1.  Put 1 to 1.5 ounces of Quaker Quick Oats and just enough water to cover the oats in a paper bowl-- Washing oatmeal from ceramic bowls is time-consuming. Microwave it for one minute. (Of course, time will vary depending on the microwave.)

2. While the oatmeal is cooking, put 1 to 2 ounces of your choice of fresh fruit or frozen berries in a bowl and take out a bag of brown sugar, and of walnut bits.

3. After the oatmeal is cooked, if you're using frozen berries, put them in the microwave for 30-40 seconds.

4. While the berries are cooking, add a teaspoon of brown sugar and a teaspoon of walnut bits to the oatmeal.

5. Add the berries.

Total time required: 2 minutes.

LUNCH OR DINNER

Tomato and Blue Cheese Salad
1. Break up rinsed lettuce leaves into small-enough pieces, add tomatoes and blue cheese to taste.

2. Sprinkle a little red-wine vinegar on it.

Total time required: 1 minute.

Manna Sandwich
To create this delicious grownup adaptation of peanut butter and jelly, simply spread almond butter and a bit of Hogan's lemon curd on Manna Sunseed Sprouted Bread. My favorite almond butter is Trader Joe's raw unsalted, $6.99 in the stores)

Total time required: 1 minute.


Multi-Flavored Chicken
1. Microwave a chicken breast until the center is white, not pink. (The time can range from 4 to 10 minutes depending on your microwave and whether the chicken is frozen.)

2.  Season each bite with one or more of these: garlic powder, parmesan cheese, soy sauce, curry powder, rosemary, and/or onion powder.

For moister chicken, spread a bit of mayo on the cooked chicken.

Total time required: 5-11 minutes but only 1 minute when you can't be doing something else.

Broccoli Parmesan
1. Microwave 4 ounces of frozen broccoli for 2 minutes.

2. Sprinkle it with grated parmesan to taste.

Total time required: 2 minutes 15 seconds.

Dear reader, care to suggest another superfast, superhealthy yet surprisingly tasty recipe?

Two-Minute Meals: Tasty, healthy recipes for people with better things to do than sauté.

Slow food, shmo food.

Some people have orgasms over some brand of olive oil.  

Then there's me. I can barely tell a black olive from a green one.

I can rarely tell frou-frou wine from Two Buck Chuck: "A flavorful deluge of rich black currant, hints of cherry and a long finish of sweet mocha and velvety tannins?!" It's all red wine to me. I'd rather have a diet orange soda.

Maybe you too have retarded taste buds. 

Or maybe you can taste the difference but don't care enough to spend time sautéing rather than quick microwaving.

Whether you're cooking for yourself for the first time,  a culinarily challenged bachelor or, like me, would rather eat something good that takes two minutes to prepare than something very good that takes an hour, this post's for you.

Here's a tasty (at least to me,) healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner that each takes just two minutes to prepare. 

Breakfast a la Nemko
In the morning, when my stomach starts to peep, I trudge into the kitchen and:
1. Pour some oatmeal into a paper bowl. (Washing a ceramic bowl would take too much time.)
2. Put it in the microwave for one minute.
3. While it's cooking, take my supplements (fish oil and curcumin,) put an ounce (no you don't need to measure) of frozen blueberries in a small dish, and take a bag of brown sugar and of walnut pieces from the cabinet.
4. Add the blueberries, a level tablespoon of brown sugar, and walnut pieces. Stir. Done. A healthy, filling tasty breakfast in two minutes.

I can hear you saying, "Yeah, breakfast's easy. After all, you're using Minute Oats.  How about lunch and dinner, big shot? 

Lunch a la Nemko
1. For 40 seconds, I microwave two pieces of whole wheat bread that I keep in the freezer.
2. While the bread is heating, I put some mayo in a can of tuna (or salmon) and mix.
3. I eat the tuna/mayo mixture with the bread, tomato slices and a pickle.
4. I have a fruit for dessert.

Dinner a la Nemko
1. I put a frozen chicken breast or piece of salmon in the microwave on high. The average breast takes 12 minutes, a portion of salmon, six.  (Yes, times may vary with your microwave. Mine is 1,100 watts.) Once you've learned to time it right, they come out great--juicy, perfect.
While it's cooking:
2. I put frozen broccoli  and/or string beans on a small plate, covering it with a paper towel. 
3. I make a salad: Wash the lettuce, tear it into pieces, squeeze out the water and put it in a bowl and slice in a tomato. I add blue cheese and vinegar or my favorite dressing: the award-winning Trader Joe's nonfat balsamic vinaigrette. If the chicken or fish aren't ready, I start eating the salad. 
4. When the chicken or salmon is done, I replace it in the microwave with the veggie for two minutes.
5. I season the chicken or salmon and the vegetable with curry powder, garlic powder, soy sauce, and/or parmesan cheese. 
6. I sometimes have a (cheap) glass of wine with dinner.
7. I have a fruit and/or frozen yogurt for dessert.  

And voila, a tasty, healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner, each with just two minutes of prep time!

Dear reader? Do you think this has the makings of a small book, perhaps selling it in bulk to companies that make microwaves. Perhaps they'd want to use the book as a selling tool: "A free copy of Two-Minute Meals" is included with every one of our microwaves."