What’s for dinner? A daily question that’s more challenging to answer than ever before. Always-changing food recommendations, nutrition trends and time constraints have turned dinner into a dilemma for many of us.
Minute Rice recently asked Canadians what’s really happening at dinner time. Findings reveal that nine-in-10 respondents feel satisfied when they eat healthy dinners – but that only one quarter are doing so regularly. Why? It appears that our always-on schedules and food confusion may be the culprits. Close to half of those surveyed report that constantly-changing guidelines make meal planning difficult. We want easy dinner options but don’t know where to start, and feel failure when we don’t make things from scratch, or find cooking to be stressful, like commuting or paying bills.
“Every time a new study comes out there are more things to consider, which puzzles us further,” say Ceri Marsh and Laura Keogh, family-food experts from Sweet Potato Chronicles. “We shop on the weekend, get our meal plan in place, but by Wednesday we cave and order take out – but it doesn’t need to be this way.”
Perhaps this is why so many of us are looking for a weekday win: an easy-to-assemble, prepped-at-home meal that we can proudly feed to our families. And the good news is that many of us are already a third of the way to a great meal and don’t know it. Making dinner is simple math: 1+1+1, and you’re done.
Take this recipe for Avocado Lime Rice with Grilled Shrimp, for example. It combines veggies, grains, and protein for a meal that is ready in just over a half hour (including prep), and serves four.
Avocado Lime Rice with Grilled Shrimp
Ingredients:
• 2 cups (500 mL) Minute Rice Premium Long Grain White Rice
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) lime juice
• 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt, divided
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh cilantro or parsley, divided
• 20 peeled and de-veined frozen shrimp, thawed (U 16-20)
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) minced garlic
• 2 tsp (10 mL) lime zest
Instructions:
Step 1: Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile mix avocado with lime juice, cumin and half the salt and half the cilantro or parsley. Stir into rice.
Step 2: Meanwhile, preheat grill to high, grease grate well. Toss shrimp with oil, garlic, lime zest and remaining salt. Thread evenly onto metal or soaked wooden skewers. Grill skewers, for 2 to 3 minutes per side or until shrimp start to curl and turn pink.
Step 3: Serve rice with shrimp skewers. Garnish with remaining cilantro or parsley.
Nutrition Facts. Per 1/4 recipe: Calories 240, Fat 13g, Cholesterol 40mg, Sodium 460mg, Carbohydrates 24g, Fibre 2g, Sugars 0g, Protein 7g
For simple 1+1+1 meal ideas and inspiration, visit Thirdoftheway.ca or share your #weekdaywin on social media to inspire others.
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