To me, weekday meals are easiest when they are formulaic. A grilled protein, a starch, a large green salad, fresh fruit. It's mix and match like Garanimals

My favorite starches are couscous (5 minutes!), baked yams, brown rice, frozen or fresh corn, lentils, quinoa.

Make a good vinaigrette and keep it on hand.

My fave is :

5T Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette

2T Olive Oil

1T fig preserves

1/2 t ground mustard

1 t minced garlic

We like to bake (insert your protein of choice) with olive oil and cow camp garlic seasonings.

Or large shrimp in pako crumbs with olive oil and rosemary @ 425 to get them crispy

http://m.cowcampseasonings.com/Products.html

Then we sauté arugula and cannellini beans with garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.

Sometimes I just eat the beans and greens.

I almost forgot our other staple. Fresh tomato sauce. Garlic, olive oil, fresh tomatoes and basil. Cook down and serve with pasta. Or over (protein of your choice). Also good with fresh bread and a big salad.

Spanish I often regret living in such a cold climate and one of the biggest regrets is how awful our tomatoes are most of the year :( If I had any sunlight I'd try to grow my own!

Lisa - thanks for that link! I love having it pre-filtered for me :)

Mtn - I like your idea of having a formula! We often have dinners similar to what you describe but I bet our salads are not a patch on yours.

You can do the sauce with canned tomatoes. Just hold out the liquid. If you want more intense flavor, give a couple dried tomatoes a fine chop and add them.

I am officially hungry for dinner. It is currently 8:00am.

This is my favorite veggie casserole. I omit the Parmesan and bread crumbs (no dairy or bread for me) in favor of a nut crumble. I like to put thick slices of tomatoes in it as they create a sauce. https://www.google.com/amp/www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/tomato-vegetable-casserole-recipe.amp.html?client=safari

We always have a big green salad and berries or other fruit.

Have you tried farro? It is a wheat but high protein. Mtn. mentioned it in another thread. I avoid most grains but I do enjoy this occasionally. I love the texture.

One of my favorites is stir-fry, with whatever I have on hand. Load it up with any veggies from the crisper, add tofu or shrimp or chicken, serve over rice (I mix brown and white) or noodles (I mix whole-grain and regular). Great way to use bits of leftovers, too, just add them at the end to heat up. No recipe, it uses whatever is on hand so it's never the same dish twice!

I think you may mean this recipe? I do love this.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015843-charlie-birds-farro-salad

But for me, simple weekday means reallllly simple. What I lack in creativity I make up for in really good ingredients! I buy all my produce at a specialty market and it really elevates the meal.

What about things like Blue Apron? Do you guys have that Robo?

One of ours is pasta with walnuts. Put a pot of water on for pasta, we use whole grain angel hair, but YMMV, coarsely chop walnuts (we use a scant 1/2 cup before chopping for two people) and toast on the stovetop. Grate a bunch of Parmesan reggiano, cook pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Put pasta in bowls, put a little EVOO and a little more pasta water on pasta, sprinkle toasted walnuts and cheese on top, enjoy. If you have leftover cooked chicken or veggies, they are delicious thrown on and we often use a couple of cups of briefly steamed spinach in it as well.

We don't have blue apron but my husband works right next to a good fruit and veg market which has been helping our produce situation a lot! We do have a healthy meal delivery service for yuppies but it is quite pricey (compared to home cooking, not compared to going out).

What is your criteria for "healthy?"

I don't have a good criterion for healthy yet - I tend to like veggie rich, protein rich, fiber rich foods. Low sodium and low glycemic index are both plusses.

I keep cooked, brown rice in quart freezer bags in the freezer for quick meals with chicken/fish and my favorite, asparagus One pan meal, about ten minutes cooking time.

Roasted veggies - we love them! You can use whatever combo of veggies you like! I will then either bake/grill pork chops or chicken breast. Have rice or a sweet potato our starch. I then usually have left over veggies and rice for lunch the next day. I make a cookie sheet full of the roasted veggies when I make them.

Fritatta - like a quiche without crust. I sometimes do all veggies or veggies and a protein. Chicken/turkey sausage, etc.

We eat alot of salads. You can make a high calorie food lighter by making a salad version - such as taco salad. Lean ground beef (or you could use ground turkey) with taco seasonings on top of salad greens. Add your toppings (tomato/onion/cheese is what I like). Add cranberries, almond slices and a bit of grated parm to a salad and top with grilled chicken. Or add chopped egg and a bit of bacon to a salad.

We're another couple who eats a lot of salads. And last night it was butternut squash soup and grilled cheese, plus I sliced part of an apple to eat with some brie before the rest was ready & we just carried it to the table.

I also make my own tomato sauce (lots of canned and frozen tomatoes from my garden), or stir fry something over rice. On weekends I'll make a big pot of soup and we have it for another night. I love white chicken chili lately.

I recently made a really tasty chicken with a fresh orange juice & herb base & baked in the oven. It was super easy, very tender and full of flavor. I'll make that again.

I like fajitas. Grill any type of meat and put on a wrap/tortilla (there are some really good low carb/high protein ones like Ole out there). Add stir fried onions, peppers, mushrooms, or any kind of veggie you want. Top with salsa, cheese, guacamole, green onions--anything you want. If you've cooked the meat ahead of time it is ready to go in 10 minutes and makes a substantial meal.

During cooler weather, I like making soup, chili, and stew. We also roast just about all of our vegetables now. When we had kids at home and then later when I worked the crock pot became my best friend.

Lynninnewmexico published several healthy recipes on here awhile back that you can probably find if you do a search. I made several of hers, and all were easy and delicious.

We've been on an omelet kick lately. I'll make a southwestern omelet with Rotel (tomatoes and green chilies), cheddar, and lightly sauteed onions. And this spinach omelet with red onions (if I have them, white if not), fresh spinach, fresh grated parm, Monteray Jack (or any cheese of your liking) fresh mushrooms. Cooked with bacon grease for added flavor. YUMMO!

Another simple, but not "quick" meal is pot roast and there will be left overs for a family of two. Brown a (lightly floured, optional) chuck roast on the stove, cut up some potatoes (leave skin on) carrots and onions. Throw in the veggies and a scant cup of water, bring back to a boil and then turn it down to simmer for a couple of hours, covered. My husband prefers just salt and pepper for seasoning but you can add any seasoning you like. A package of brown gravy mix is good to sprinkle on top after the roast is browned. Super simple to put together and you're free to multi-task for two hours while it's cooking :)

My favorite quick & hopefully healthy dinner recipe I call chicken breast in curry gravy:

Saute a cut-up chicken breast til nicely golden brown in a fry pan,

Add a little or more water & a couple teaspoons or more of a good quality Honey Mustard, along with some curry powder. Continue gently cooking for about 10 minutes.

Add some cashew nuts and mango slices (I keep Trader Joe's frozen on hand specially for this recipe). Continue cooking til hot & serve over white or brown rice.

I second the roasted veggies. I will go meatless often. I will make a huge pan of them......adding potatoes to the mix, Red beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, etc. So easy and very yummy!