Meals with less than 10 ingredients in less than 10 minutes?

I took a collage class yesterday that was great fun and included a delicious lunch with some fabulous women. As it usually does when women, especially moms, are together the discussion led to getting healthy dinners on the table in the midst of our busy schedules. One of the moms wanted meals that are 10 in 10. 10 ingredients or less with less than 10 minutes prep time. My first thought was 10 minutes!, you'll have to sacrifice something with only 10 minutes of preparation. But then I realized the healthy, tasty dinner I had made the night before actually met her criteria.

Getting a healthy meal on the table 7 days a week with her 10 in 10 rule, may be difficult, but doing it for part of the week, with other days having a little bit more time invested is very doable.

Wednesday night I made a simple fish recipe, roasted root vegetables and a salad. The main prep for this meal was cutting all the vegetables, which I'll try to get done as I am talking to my kids about their day. For Thursday night, I used the leftover vegetables and made a roasted root vegetable frittata, which had less than 10 ingredients and took less than 10 minutes to prepare. If you look at this recipe and instantly think there is too much fat in it, please don't fear fat. Fats, say Mary Enig, PhD, "provide a concentrated source of energy in the diet; they also provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormonelike substances. Fats as part of a meal slow down absorption so that we can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption and for a host of other processes".

Serve the frittata with a nice green salad tossed with a simple homemade dressing makes a balanced meal. Be sure to get your exercise and 8 hours of sleep each day, eat well balanced meals using a variety of foods during the week, drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water each day, buy clean (organic, sustainable) proteins, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats and your body will be happy!