Do you ever get overwhelmed (or just plain bored) with finding healthy recipes for a meal plan? We’ve all spent hours down the internet rabbit hole trying to find new healthy recipes, just to use up our energy before we actually come up with a plan for the week.
I’m here to share a couple of my favourite spots on the internet for healthy recipes, and my tips for finding good ones (because nobody likes a flop or fail every week).
(Feeling stuck on just sitting down to plan each week? I’ve got the easiest trick to get you over that hump. Check it out here.)
How to narrow down your choices
Look for sites with reviews, and quickly skim them!
I look for at least 10 or more comments or reviews so that I can learn from the mistakes of those who came before me. Did it need more salt or liquid across the board? Great! Did everyone have to make huge changes to make it tasty? I’ll skip it. This cuts some of the guesswork out for you and reduces the chance you’ll have your own Pinterest fail.
Look at the estimated time it takes to make it
I find most recipe websites or blogs underestimate how long it actually takes start to finish, even as an experienced cook who is comfy in my kitchen. If you’re an experienced cook, assume it will take you 1.5x as long. If you’re a newbie, assume about double until you get speedier with chopping and prep. A meal plan isn’t useful if it takes 1000 hours to get it on the table.
Does it have plenty of veggies and a protein source?
Sites that tend to do niche topics (like some vegan/plant based sites, gluten free sites, or keto sites) often post lots of fun recipes that won’t be easy to adapt to a balanced meal. Look for one that tends to include veggies and protein often so you’re not doing so much adapting.
My Favourite Places To Go For Recipes
1. Real Food Dietitians
This is a site run by two Dietitians. I love it for the fun and well tested recipes, focus on meal prep (you can actually filter recipes by this for things that go well with a big batch), and veggie and protein forward recipes. Like all sites you’ll still have to adjust your portions a bit, but they offer a great jumping off point.
Side note: They do have a “Whole 30” or paleo style on a lot of recipes, so feel free to substitute the regular version of an ingredient for a more specialized one. For example, one of my absolute favourite recipes on there “egg roll in a bowl” calls for coconut aminos, which is a soy/gluten free replacement for soy sauce. So I just use the good ol’ soy sauce in my fridge, because we don’t have issues with those foods in my house.
Favourite recipes to start:
- Egg Roll In A Bowl
- Buffalo Chicken Cauliflower Casserole (a bit of prep but makes awesome leftovers)
- Blackberry Sage Breakfast Sausage Patties (great to prep ahead for breakfast bowls or wraps!)
- Slow cooker White Chicken Chili – if tomato chili isn’t your thing, this dairy free but full of flavour version is delicious.
2. Skinnytaste
Okay, I really cringe at the name, but this site is full of family friendly healthy recipes. The recipes are well tested and there are lots of comments, so if something needs a tweak or was written wrong initially it is easy to find.
Side note: Like many “healthy” sites, this one can use a fair bit of fat free/diet foods. Just use the regular version – a really delicious sharp cheddar goes a long way for flavour with less volume than a low fat version.
Favourite recipes to start
- Hands down, Turkey Cheeseburger Soup is a winner!
- Shrimp, Andouille, and Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner
- Cottage Cheese, Egg and Sausage Frittata
- Greek Chicken Meal Prep Rice Bowls
3. Minimalist Baker (For the plant based folk, or those looking to up their veggie game)
This site is FULL of really well tested vegan recipes, which can be hard to find! More than the others, this one doesn’t always offer a balanced meal, but it makes up for that with fun flavour/preparation methods for plant proteins and veggies and many “how to’s” that make it an invaluable resource. Be prepared to adjust protein and non starchy veggies to make it fit your balance, but this is a great spot for some creative inspiration.
Favourite recipes:
- Crispy Peanut Tofu and Cauliflower Rice
- Chickpea sunflower sandwich (great open faced or in a wrap too)
- Easy Green Goddess Dressing
- How to make tofu taste good
- Crispy Miso Chickpea Bowls with Garlic Sesame Dressing
- Turmeric Chickpea Fritters
- Crispy Roasted Broccoli and Chickpea Kale Salad
I do often share recipes I find on Instagram as well, so follow along there for more frequent inspiration.
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