3 Healthy Foods that are Nutritious and Easy to Prepare

I'd like to share a list that I've compiled with some of my favorite go-to fast foods. I always make a point of ensuring these are in my pantry or fridge. Essentially, they are my stuck-in-a-rut, no-time-patience-or-self-control-for-recipes, so-hungry-I-could-eat-a-horse moments.

Maybe you were stuck in traffic longer than expected. Perhaps you were hoping to stretch out last night's leftovers to tonight's dinner but there was no chance as you desperately packed it for lunch on your way out.

These quick, simple food choices won't test your patience or self-control. The possibilities are endless with these healthy fast foods. They're loyal. They're there for you when you need them the most. More importantly, they're super nutritious.

Enter buckwheat.

This quick-cooking, gluten-free, mildly earthy-flavored grain (that's right, not even a speck of wheat in this grain despite its name) is so fun and easy to cook with.

You may also find the toasted version of buckwheat known as kasha. (If I have buckwheat in the pantry, I'll simply toast the buckwheat morsels in a dry pan for a minute or two on the stove to bring out the pleasant, nutty flavor.)

For optimal nutrient content and digestibility, buckwheat can be pre-soaked overnight or for about 6 hours to reduce phytic acid levels. For buckwheat groats that aren't pre-soaked, boiling time is as little as 15 minutes for kasha or 20 minutes for untoasted buckwheat. (Just enough time to prep the veggies (or fruits) and spices!)

This grain saves me for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It works great with fruit (berries, bananas, or apples), cinnamon, grated ginger, and walnuts. It works as a salad with pine nuts, sunflower seeds, and absolutely any veggies you've got in your fridge (carrots, tomatoes, celery, onions, you name it!)  The earthy flavor pairs well with garlic and rosemary or olive oil and black pepper. 

Now, for avocados. 

What an easy, tasty, healthy fat source to combine with your veggies. Combine avocados with almost any veggies you have on hand and you've got maximum absorbtion of nutrients. When researchers combined carotenoid-rich veggies (the red, orange, and yellow ones) with avocado, study subjects absorbed 3-5 times more carotenoids. Without a healthy fat like avocado, you'd absorb 3-5 times less nutrients.

Combine them with red potatoes for a salad. You can never go wrong with some classic guacamole on whole grain or whole cornmeal tortillas. I've even combined avocados with blueberries for a terrific salad topped with yogurt, cinnamon, and some freshly squeezed orange juice. You may have a can of beans (hopefully black) to mix with corn and avocado for a quick wrap.

I'm also quite fond of garbanzo beans (or chickpeas) as a fast food carbohydrate so easy to prepare. 

Combine it with a whole grain and you get all your essential amino acids in one meal. It'll help stabilize your blood sugar and keep your energy levels constant. They're a great source of fiber and iron as well.

When you're in an emergency hunger situation, there's nothing like a classic no-brainer recipe to quell your hunger quick. Take a can of drained, rinsed chickpeas, half a lemon, a few smashed garlic cloves, and a tablespoon or two of tahini and you've got the basic hummus recipe to dip whole grain bread or raw veggies in.

Chickpeas help build a fast, filling salad any time. Drizzle them with olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and toss them with your favorite herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil, etc), salt, and pepper. The more veggies, the merrier. Again, use whatever veggies you've got lying around in your fridge such as cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, and any greens.