I don’t always do food porn but bow chicka wow wow. Today I’ve got a few simple daily recipes you can make with 5 ingredients or less that anyone can make.
Impress your friends, significant other, but most importantly – impress your taste buds. Each of these simple daily recipes comes with nutrition info so you can fit them into your dietary needs. Make them a part of your 1-2-3 meal plan or use them as a nice change of pace.
SIMPLE DAILY RECIPES, #1: SPICY TUNA 🍣
Servings and prep time:
- Serves: 2
- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 0 mins
Nutrition per serving:
- 108 kcal
- 3g Fats
- 4g Carbs
- 15g Protein
What you need:
- 4 oz. (115g) sashimi tuna
- 1 ½ tbsp. Sriracha sauce
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp. sesame seeds
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
Cut the tuna into small cubes and place in a bowl. Slice the spring onions, keeping the white and green parts separate. Add the Sriracha sauce, white parts of the onion, and sesame oil to the tuna. Mix until well combined. Transfer the tuna into a serving bowl, garnish with green parts of the onion and serve on a bed of white rice.
Most importantly, sit down while eating. You’re about to have an orgasm in the mouth and you will be weak in the knees.
Get in my belly. Recipe coming in hot 🔥
SIMPLE DAILY RECIPES, #2: SLOW-COOKED CHICKEN FAJITA
Servings and prep time:
- Serves: 6
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 4-6 hrs
Nutrition per serving:
- 177 kcal
- 3g Fats
- 10g Carbs
- 27g Protein
What you need:
- 1.5 lb. (680g) chicken breast
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2 bell pepper, sliced
- 1 x 16 oz. (450g) jar salsa
- juice of 1 lime
- salt and pepper
What you need to do:
Add the chicken, onions, peppers, salsa, and salt to a slow cooker. Stir well to combine.
Cook on a high heat setting for 4 hours or low heat setting for 6 hours, until the chicken and vegetables are tender. Once cooked, remove the chicken and place it on a cutting board.
Shred the chicken, with two forks and place back into the slow cooker. Add in the lime juice and mix everything well to combine. Season to taste, with salt and pepper.
SIMPLE DAILY RECIPES, #3: PORK MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE
Servings and prep time:
- Serves: 4
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 25 mins
Nutrition per serving:
- 320 kcal
- 23g Fats
- 10g Carbs
- 20g Protein
What you need:
- 14 oz. (400g) lean pork mince
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cups (480ml) passata (tomato puree)
- ¼ cup (15g) parsley leaf, chopped
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper
What you need to do:
Place the pork in a medium bowl, season with salt and pepper. Add in the garlic and use your hands to mix thoroughly. Using 1 tablespoon of mince, form meatballs, roughly the size of a walnut.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan and cook the meatballs, turning occasionally, for 10 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Then take off the heat and set aside.
In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes until soft. Place the meatballs back into the pan and add the passata (tomato puree). Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat. Simmer down now and enjoy.
SIMPLE DAILY RECIPES, #4: STRAWBERRY 🍓 PROTEIN SMOOTHIE BOWL
Servings and prep time:
- Serves: 4
- Prep: 15 mins
- Cook: 0 mins
Nutrition per serving:
- 315 kcal
- 10g Fats
- 37g Carbs
- 19g Protein
What you need:
- 4 cups (600g) cottage cheese
- 1 1⁄2 cup (225g) frozen or fresh strawberries, thawed if frozen
- 4 tbsp. maple syrup (optional)
- 1⁄2 cup granola
- 1 cup (150g) mixed berries
What you need to do:
Place the cottage cheese, strawberries, and maple syrup in a food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. Divide between 4 serving bowls, top with granola and fresh berries, to serve.
SIMPLE DAILY RECIPES, #5: EASY CHICKEN PICCATA
Servings and prep time:
- Serves: 4
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
Nutrition per serving:
- 328 kcal
- 23g Fats
- 4g Carbs
- 26g Protein
What you need:
- 1 lb. (450g) chicken breast
- 3.5 oz. (100g) butter
- 1⁄4 cup (50g) capers, drained
- 3 lemons, zested, juiced
- 1/2 cup (30g) parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper
What you need to do:
Place a chicken breast between 2 sheets of cling film. Use a meat mallet, or rolling pin, to gently pound the chicken until it is approximately 1.5cm thick. Season well with salt and pepper.
Heat 1⁄4 of the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat and cook the chicken. Cook for 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add the remaining butter to the pan. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the butter melts and turns a golden brown color.
Add the capers to the butter and cook for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and half the lemon zest, and mix through. Now place the chicken and any juices back in the pan. Cook, turning occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly.
To serve, sprinkle with parsley and remaining lemon zest.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I DON’T HAVE AN INGREDIENT?
Think of ingredients in categories like spicy/heat, acidic, sweet, sour, et cetera. When you think of things this way it’s easy to replace ingredients with others that call into the same category.
What does each ingredient bring to a dish and see if you have something similar on hand. For example, the chicken piccata simple daily recipe above calls for lemon. Lemons bring acidity to a dish. Without this, the dish will be simpler. You can skip it if you don’t have it, or add another item that adds acidity like vinegar. Or you could experiment and see how a little orange zest and juice might compliment the dish.
Don’t be afraid to experiment in the kitchen. Recipes are only someone else’s interpretation of what a meal should taste like. Feel free to explore and see what works well and what doesn’t for your palate.
Other ingredients can be simplified. Take broth for example. It’s basically salty water with some flavor. Replacing it with slightly salted water can be a decent substitute.
Is it perfect, no. But it’s good enough.
HOW TO CREATE SIMPLE DAILY RECIPES OF YOUR OWN
The first step is to accept the fact that you won’t enjoy every meal that you make. When you’re experimenting in the kitchen you’re going to make some things that just don’t taste all that great and this is ok. You’ll learn what you enjoy and what combinations of things go well together.
Second, keep some sort of record of what you’re experimenting with. A google doc or index card will do the trick. This way you can easily refer back to meals you enjoy. Before you know it you’ll have a small collection of simple go-to recipes.
Third, keep your simple daily recipes basic and well balanced.
- Protein: Chicken, fish, beef, eggs, tofu
- Veggies: Asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrot, zucchini
- Carbs: Potato, rice, plantain, fruits
- Healthy fats: Avocado, olive oil, nuts, and seeds
A shortlist of some of your favorites from each category can go a long way. Combine 1 from each to create tons of combinations.
Where a lot of people get tripped up is how to make them taste good. Salt and seasoning blends make this easy. Salt will bring out the natural flavors of food and seasoning blends take the guesswork out of how to make meals taste great.
Some of my favorite blends:
- Everything but the bagel
- Everything but the elote
- Taco seasoning (various)
- Frontier all-purpose
Don’t be afraid to play here. The more experimenting the better.
MORE COOKING, PLANNING, AND PREPPING RESOURCES YOU WILL ENJOY
Meal planning and prepping can feel overwhelming sometimes. Even if you’re a seasoned (pun intended so much) in the kitchen, time can be a challenge. I’ve got more resources on the blog that can help take the guesswork out of what, when, and how much to eat.
- The beginner’s guide to cooking healthy
- How to cook without recipes
- How to meal plan: Create simple meal plans that are easy to follow
- A simple weekly meal planning template: Free cheat sheet
- Getting started diet guide: Improving your nutrition
And there you have it. 5 simple daily recipes and ideas about how to create your own. Now get in the kitchen and put some work in.
Cheers.
###