10 Easy Healthy Small Meals

A lovely woman named Barbara wrote me and asked for easy recipe ideas for her and her husband. Her husband does a lot of the cooking and she wants them to move away from depending on so much processed foods. I totally understand that and so I want to help Barbara, and others like her, who are looking for easy to prepare - yet healthy meals.

Many people as they get older or if they have been unwell suffer from no appetite at all. Eating on a regular basis can become very difficult.

Here are some menu ideas I hope Barbara and her husband and so many others like her who live alone will try.

This post page is a selection of 10 simple menu ideas for any time of day.

Perfect Meals for Anytime of Day.

The unexpected benefit about getting older - or recovering after a long illness - is that you gain a certain attitude of indifference as to what time of day it is and traditional menu planning for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

I say eat - whatever kind of meal you want - any time of day - be it 3 meals a day or 6 small meals.

DO whatever works for you in one single day.

On this page post I have 10 menu ideas. My overall goal is to encourage you to relax about strict menu planning and strict recipes. Give yourself permission to do what you want, when you want, utilizing some of my menu ideas, mixing and exchanging ingredients, in whatever way works best for you and your home.

When I was critically ill for a long time - I lost all interest in food and in cooking. However, in order to get well, to be able to walk normally again, climb stairs and live a higher quality of life - I had to get creative about food because I had to eat! So I totally understand that while for some people they need to control how much food they eat in one day - for many other people eating anything or eating on a regular schedule is a difficult burden they wish they didn't have to think about. It does not need to be this way. All it takes is just a little bit of planning.

Fresh food is beautiful - in Color, Smell and Taste

Meal Idea #1 - Scrambled Eggs and Toast - please see my prior post for details on how to scramble eggs.

Serve 2 scrambled eggs for each person with a piece of buttered toast. Any kind of toast you want.

You can serve along side your eggs a small cup of fresh blueberries and top them with 1 Tbsp of heavy cream with a bit of sugar. You can use brown sugar, sugar in the raw, a touch of maple syrup or honey.

Quick Tip - For something sweet as a snack any time of day - you can do fresh blueberries with heavy cream topped with a bit of sugar instead of cookies.

Meal Idea #2 - Quaker Oats Steel Oats single serve package made with blueberries and cranberries. A fantastic way to get oatmeal and fruit. All you do is boil water and cover for the few minutes it takes to cook. Add 1 Tbsp of heavy cream and you have a great meal for any time of day.

I actually love this oatmeal at 3:00 pm in the afternoon with a cup of coffee.

Optional - serve slices of fresh apple and 1 Tbsp of Peanut Butter along side your oatmeal bowl.

Meal Idea #3 - Hard Cheeses and Sliced Bread, Grapes, Blueberries, Apples, Figs or any fresh fruit you like - peaches, plums, cherries, raspberries, olives, etc.

*There is something liberating about giving yourself permission to enjoy as a meal - plated hard and soft cheeses, sliced breads, along with fresh fruit and olives.

The Europeans do this kind of lunch all the time. There is no cooking involved and the meal can be as many different cheeses, fresh fruit and breads or crackers as you like.

You can do rye, dark bread, white, sourdough, french stick, cheddar cheese, sharp cheddar, Fontina, goat cheese, feta or mozzarella. You can also add a colorful selection of cherry tomatoes, use as a dressing different vinegar's, you can add salad greens, baby arugula or spinach.

This kind of easy meal made from cold foods can be a feast.

Your senses will be further enhanced with hot aromatic teas i.e Earl Grey, a small glass of wine or flavored sparkling water.

Use your imagination and give yourself permission to be creative!

Meal Idea #4 - A Feta Cheese, Cherry Tomato, Red Onion Salad drizzled with Olive Oil topped with sprinkled dried herbs.

In a large bowl place sliced or whole cherry tomatoes and top with broken feta cheese pieces and thinly sliced red onion. Top with any kind of vinegar and olive oil and sprinkle dried herbs on top. Serve along side a loaf of warm crusty bread.

*If you do not like Feta Cheese you can leave it out altogether or replace it will sliced fresh mozzarella.

Quick Tip - Pour olive oil onto a small plate and use for dipping the crusty bread.

You can enhance this delightful lunch or dinner with slices of rotisserie chicken you bought at the grocery store. I love the idea of having a rotisserie chicken on hand - if you do not want to actually roast one yourself. They are simply wonderful to have in your refrigerator ready to use. You can slice the chicken meat and serve cold along side your feta cheese and tomato salad.

Quick Tip - Rotisserie Chicken meat cut into chunks with sliced grapes and a small bit of mayo will make a wonderful filling for sandwiches too.

Meal Idea #5 - Cottage Cheese & Fruit - Enjoy in a small bowl cottage cheese with fresh cut fruit OR you can enhance your meal by adding lettuce on the bottom of a plate, then your cottage cheese and any kind fruit combination i.e. apple slices, peaches, blueberries, grapes or oranges. Add a few slices of cold chicken from your rotisserie and this will make a very satisfying lunch.

A favorite lunch dish my Mom made for years.

Menu Idea #6 - Quick Chicken Soup, Vegetables & Rice or Angel Hair Pasta.

Please see my post on making Basamati Rice. If you want you can use a Quick Rice.

Quick Tip - Having a good amount of cooked rice on hand and in the refrigerator will give you a lot of options on quick easy meals all during the week.

To make a quick soup - heat 2 cups of chicken broth. You can add to the broth, fresh chopped scallions, fresh parsley and fresh dill if you like. Sip as is. Or you can add chunks of your rotisserie chicken and serve this as a hot soup over a bowl of re-heated rice.

No need to add the rice to the soup as it might absorb all your liquid.

I like to reheat the rice in the microwave and then pour the hot soup onto the heated rice.

Quick Tip - You can add into the soup whatever cooked vegetables are already in your fridge OR you can add a frozen mixed variety of vegetables that have included baby corn, broccoli and sugar snap peas. Whatever kind of frozen vegetable mix you like. Defrost by running under cold water for 2 minutes and then add the vegetables into your soup. Allow time for the vegetables to heat all the way through.

This soup also works wonderfully over a small bowl of cooked Angel Hair Pasta.

Angel hair takes just 4 minutes to boil. Cook your Angel Hair pasta and coat with Olive Oil, salt and pepper and this will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Menu Idea #7 - Easy Spaghetti Sauce made from leftovers in the fridge. I love to make a quick tomato sauce from anything leftover in the fridge.

Quick Tip - Try to keep on hand and in the fridge at all times cooked hamburger meat, scrambled with a few onions. This is the best way to make a quick Spaghetti Sauce.

**Directions - saute ground chuck with one sliced yellow onion. Add a little salt and pepper and cook until just done. A little red inside the meat is okay. Cool for 15 minutes then put into a bowl or Tupperware container and store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

For an Easy Spaghetti Sauce place your cold scrambled burger meat with onions into a sauce pan and add your favorite jar tomato sauce from the store. Heat until boiling - then serve over cooked pasta.

You can leave this just as a meat sauce OR you can add any cooked carrots that you may have in the refrigerator or you can add saute peppers and onions.

I have used cooked butternut squash too in my spaghetti sauce.

The trick is to have on hand all during the week cooked vegetables stored in the refrigerator. This will make versatile meals so much easier. Many grocery stores today offer in their produce section pre-cut vegetables. Select a few packages and steam them until done OR you can spread all your selected vegetables onto a sheet pan and roast them.

Please see my recipe post for Roasted Fall Vegetables.

This is an excellent way to cook a lot of vegetables ahead of time and to keep in the refrigerator for a quick soup, meal or even a salad.

Menu Idea #8 - Hamburg, Rice and Egg bowl. When you have a selection of pre-made items already in your refrigerator you can make a wonderful dish using for example scrambled hamburg meat and rice. Saute both together in a pan with Olive Oil until it is hot and a little crispy. If you want the hamburg meat to have a little bit of gravy you can add 1/4 cup of beef broth into the hot pan and add a pinch of flour and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.

On a dinner plate, place the rice, the hamburg scramble and top it off with two fried eggs OR 2 sliced hard boiled eggs.

Quick Tip #1 - You can add lettuce or baby spinach to this dish by placing the greens on the bottom of your plate first - then rice, your meat and top with the eggs. This is a very nutritious, easy way to enhance any freshly prepared meal.

Quick Tip #2 - consider adding chopped scallions or fresh chopped parsley onto any meal. This will add nutrition as well add great flavor.

Menu Idea #9 - Small red potatoes mashed served with sour cream, ham and scallions.

Sometimes nothing hits the spot like mashed potatoes. But who wants to peel? You do not have too with this menu idea. Simple take your small red potatoes and wash them well placing into a large pot. Add cold water to the potatoes and a small handful of salt.

Boil the potatoes until done.

Be sure to test with a fork. If in doubt, cook for 3 minutes more.

Drain your red potatoes and with a potato masher, mash them adding 1-2 Tbsp of butter and hot milk until creamy.

You can add on your hot mashed potatoes 1 Tbsp of Sour Cream and/or 1 Tbsp of Butter, sprinkle on top chopped scallions or chopped fresh parsley and have this alone as a meal.

You can also add into the mashed potatoes chunks of rotisserie chicken, any scrambled hamburg you have on hand or you can add chunks of good quality boiled ham.

So easy to make and very nutritious.

Menu Idea #10 - Easy Egg Frittata

Crack 4-6 eggs into a bowl and whisk with a fork. Do not add salt at this point

In a saute pan heat 1 Tbsp butter coating the entire bottom of the pan. Pour into the buttered pan your eggs and any add shredded cheese, slices of meats and any cooked vegetable you have on hand.

*I often will use fresh baby spinach, small pieces of cooked butternut squash, sauteed onions, very small pieces of cooked potatoes and I love to use shredded Fontina and Parmesan cheese.

Key - while the eggs are cooking do not stir.

Allow your eggs to cook gently.

After 2 minutes cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Cook your egg frittata for approx 7-8 minutes or until the cheese has fully melted and the eggs are hot.

Quick Tip - serve your frittata with a small tomato salad or green salad and you will have a wonderful nutritious easy meal.

Add you salt & pepper onto the fritatta before serving.

Optional - dashes of hot sauce.

Fresh healthy food is your best friend!

ENJOY!