5-Ingredient Dinners for Busy Weeknights

Whether you’re unwinding from a stressful workday or relaxing after a sweaty living room workout, the key to healthy eating success is keeping it super simple. So don’t overthink it! Just grab a handful of ingredients you were able to find, and round them out with a few pantry staples. You can put on a pot of brown rice or quinoa while you’re hopping in the shower and slipping into sweatpants. Slap a lean protein, like salmon, chicken breasts, or flank steak, straight into a skillet. And of course, don’t hold back on the colorful veggies, whether it’s easier to slide a sheet pan into the oven or drop dark greens directly into your pasta.  

These healthy dinner ideas call for five ingredients or fewer so you can get something delicious on the table, stat. Please note: olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs and spices don’t count, because you should always have those items on hand.  

Healthy recipe for 5-ingredient quinoa bowls
Quinoa Bowls with Eggs & Avocado

Healthy recipe for 5-ingredient seared salmon
Seared Salmon with Wild Rice & Baby Broccoli

Healthy recipe for 5-ingredient crispy chicken
Crispy Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes & Green Beans

Healthy recipe for 5-ingredient steak fajitas
Skillet Steak Fajitas with Sweet Peppers & Onions

Healthy recipe for 5-ingredient pork chops
Pork Chops with Root Veggies & Garlicky Kale

18 Comments   Join the Conversation

18 CommentsLeave a comment

  • Fitbit is completely helpful , but since I stay in India we don’t have avocados so is there a supplement for it .

  • I have read Hummus and blended Edamame are substitutes. However, I have not used them in recipes to replace the avocados.

  • I’m disappointed that there’s not one vegan suggestion – just one vegetarian option? Fitbit should suggest healthy options – right? So swap out the egg for fried tofu in the quinoa bowl (note: quinoa already contains complete protein profile – so no need for a ‘protein’ there)

    Ditch the red meat in the fajitas and substitute refried black beans or soy curls (by Butler). Same for the veggies and kale: tofu-steaks fried with nutritional yeast (nootch!) or just edamame would be delicious, healthier.

    You can do healthier folks – and simultaneously reduce your carbon and cruelty footprints! 🙂

  • Becky- my wife & l were stationed in San Francisco at the Presidio from 1985 thru 1987 & we loved it- we hated leaving there & made a lot of friends

  • I am amazed at the super health tips given out by “Fit bit” . But sorry to state that I am deprived of many of the privileges Fitbit is giving out freely to their clients because of a technical problem which I could not intimate them as I don’t find their e-mail address anywhere. Therefore I aim trying to reach them by this rout so that I will continue to get the benefits without fail at least in future. Excuse me for the inconveniences causing to you and kindly try to resolve the problem.

    Though I was conscious about my health, I was not taking much care about the exercises/yoga/jogging etch by doing it regularly with a certain ‘quota’ for everything in mind. By the supply of ablaze wrist watch by my son in Washington my mindset changed. I began to look at it seriously when I found that someone is monitoring my activities and encouraging them by reporting them regularly by way of ‘notifications’ every week without fail. This, in fact, boosted my desire to keep amazingly healthy even at this age of 75! A glance at my earlier efforts and the latest ones as monitored by your device will convince you how much your ‘notifications’ have helped and encouraged me to improve my activities.

    An unexpected brake-down happened when my Gmail id got somehow corrupted and all my efforts to ere-kindle it went in vain. Ultimately, I had to be complacent with a fresh e-mail id which I could not intimate Fibit as I was not getting their e-mail from anywhere despite my best efforts.

    My earlier Id was kmb.menon@gmail.com and the new one is menon.kmb@gmail.com

    I am sure with your good offices I will be able to drive home my new e-mail id to the concerned officials in your organization and can continue to get weekly notifications of my performance since the last one I received was of Feb 12 to 18th 2018!

    Regarding your recommendations on healthy food habits, I am impressed very much and going to select only vegetarian recipes as I am a pure vegetarian by birth.

    On the outset, I would like to comment that your organization is doing a yeoman service as far as the health promotional activities are concerned!

    Awaiting to hear from you soon and thanking you, I remain

  • Great ideas! I use most of these items. Hadn’t considered fajita meat. I can purchase pre cooked from the grocer and that would fit right in.
    Shirley

  • It is unfortunate that these meals all include animal protein. Although I openly admit that I am not vegan, I do practice the healthiest diet possible which is based on plant based whole foods. As a former chef and current nutrition and lifestyle consultant, I would be happy to offer healthy recipes that meet any fitness enthusiast’s nutritional needs.

  • I am a vegetarian and was quite dismayed to read that ALL of your recipes were not suitable for vegetarians or vegans. This is quite disappointing as I got really excited when I realised that I could access this! My excitement was soon deflated! Please would you be able to remember those of us who cannot face eating meat at all! Thank you!

  • None of these recipes work for me as I’m vegan. I can make vegan versions of the protein sources mentioned but that doesn’t work for a quick weeknight meal. There is no health need for animal protein, BTW.

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