2020 is the year to do more with less. 2020 is the year to work smarter and not necessarily harder. (Although, we are strong supporters of hard workers.) 2020 is the year to see through all the myths and make the right decisions. We’re here to help you do that. We might be a week late, but we’ve been working on our own plans for this new year.
So, how are we going to do this? By making simple and delicious meals at home of course–without spending too much money. Here is our first recipe of the year, but this is about much more than this $7 meal for two. This is about you starting to understand how to balance the three important aspects of your diet: flavor, nutrition and cost.
If I had the money to eat sushi every single meal, I would. Rice and fish would provide a great macro-nutrient profile to build lean muscle mass. It is also tasty, especially with some wasabi and soy sauce, which are both calorically-friendly. Unfortunately, it isn’t cost effective, nor is it convenient. It can take a lot of time, which is the honorary fourth aspect of your diet.
This one pan meal costs about $7, is vegetarian friendly, is absolutely packed with flavor and only takes about ten minutes start to finish, depending on your knife skills.
(IMPORTANT: You can replace the Trader Joe’s product in this post with any fake/real sausage and pre-made tortellini/ravioli. If you are using real sausage, please cook thoroughly.)
- Chop up a shallot, three cloves of garlic, and half a package of Trader Joe’s Italian Sausage-less Sausage.
- Coat a frying pan with olive oil and bring to medium heat.
- Sweat the shallots and garlic, adding salt and pepper.
- Add the chopped up sausage-less sausage.
- After developing a nice crust on the sausage, add half a cup of white wine and red chili flakes.
- Add Trader Joe’s tortellini and cover.
- Remove from heat after 3-4 minutes.
- Finish with parmesan, balsamic reduction, and/or fresh herbs.
Here are the approximate macronutrients per person, if you split into two even portions, as we did.
- Protein – 26 grams
- Carbs – 64 grams
- Fat – 11.5 grams
- Calories – 460
A lot of you might be thinking, oh no, that is so many carbs and everything I’ve read on the internet is anti-carb. Remember, carbs are (in the opinions of many food scientists, nutritionists, experts in the field) our best source of energy. Olympic swimmers generally consume 60% of their total calories from carbs. We’re not telling you it is okay to eat tons of carbs. Don’t use this as an excuse to go eat a whole cake, but please don’t cut entire nutritional groups from your diet. It isn’t very sustainable, especially in the long run. Consistency is key to getting and staying hungry and fit!
BONUS PUPPY PIC
