You’re going to love these delicious dinner ideas! Hungry but short on time? Pin this for later!
Or should I just call this my favorite meals of the past two months? I’ll stick with the former because these are 20 meals I am eating and loving lately. But first, let’s chat about dietary restrictions.
Actually, let me tell you about how I currently have no dietary restrictions and it’s incredibly refreshing. After going plant-based (basically vegan) for a year, then having to re-introduce animal protein for hormone reasons, then having to implement an elimination diet after getting the results of a food sensitivity test in order to take care of some gut healing, it feels really good that after a re-introductory phase, nothing is “off limits.”
As always, I’m sharing my personal experience, and it has no bearing whatsoever on how I think you should eat; do what’s best for your body!
I feel like I know my body really now. I know what it likes best:
- At least a 14 hour fast (not saying I always stick to it but I feel better when I do)
- Lots and lots of veggies
- Limited dairy and beans
- Getting enough protein
- Lots of water
However, I am at a place where I can eat anything so a Saturday cheese plate and brewski won’t send my stomach into turmoil. I’m really grateful to be back in this spot because my core belief is “everything in moderation with a focus on quality food” but sometimes personal health challenges dictate a need for temporary detours.
That’s a wordy way of telling you that these meals don’t all meet any certain standard besides being incredibly tasty meals. I hope they offer you some dinner inspiration!
- Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salads: Green leaf lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced red onion, celery and carrot sticks, Doux South pickles, grilled chicken, homemade blue cheese dressing, wing sauce drizzle and chopped cilantro.
- Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup topped with chopped parsley and (unpictured) sour cream. Tortilla chips on the side.
- Greek Bowls: Chopped spinach, Lettuce-Less Greek Salad, chopped purple cabbage, Greek Meatballs, hummus, tzatziki, sliced pita, and fresh herbs.
- Greek Shrimp Pasta with fresh parsley
- Hamburger in a Bowl: Chopped iceberg lettuce, purple onion, Doux South pickles, chopped hamburger, roasted broccoli and asparagus, with mustard and ketchup.
- Immunity-Boosting Golden Soup
- Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells, but made into lasagna roll-ups. Salad on the side.
- Spaghetti noodles drained over baby spinach and topped with Hearty Veggie and Lentil Marinara
- Marinated and grilled Portobello mushrooms, zucchini, red bells pepper, and red onions over rice with fresh tomatoes and a homemade chimichurri sauce.
- Greek Style Baked Cod over brown rice with a Greek Side Salad
- Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti Meat Sauce over sautéed kale and Palmini with a salad on the side
- *Recently went viral on Instagram* One Pot Greek Chicken with Lemon Rice
- Roasted Pork Tenderloin over brown rice with roasted broccoli, red onion, and purple cabbage (if you haven’t tried roasted cabbage, you need to- delicious!)
- Crockpot Pulled Pork BBQ over a baked potato with red onion and parsley. Doux South Chow Chow and Pickles on the side.
- Lightened Up Shepherd’s Pie
- Brown rice taco bowl with black beans and tomato salsa. This is a frozen bowl from Splendid Spoon. I’ve been ordering from them regularly now for 2 months and it’s fabulous. While I love to cook, I usually only do so at dinner, so I keep their smoothies and vegan bowls on hand for quick and healthy lunches during the week. You can use my link for $25 off your first order!
- Turkey burgers (these were frozen Bubba Burger turkey burgers and we really liked them!) with sautéed mushrooms and onions. Oven fries and roasted asparagus on the side.
- David’s Famous Chili with sour cream, diced red onion, and chopped jalapenos
- Homemade pizza- every Friday night! We’ve challenged ourselves to try new toppings each week and I keep a highlight reel on my Instagram to share all our combos. We always use homemade dough and this particular topping combo was STELLAR. Pesto, Italian sausage, baby bella mushrooms, red onion, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.
- Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili with sour cream, jalapenos, and cilantro
Jessica says
“That’s a wordy way of telling you that these meals don’t all meet any certain standard besides being incredibly tasty meals. ”
LOVE this, so refreshing! Thanks for the great lineup of meals. <3
Brittany Dixon says
It took me a while to get back to moderation way of eating, but so grateful to be here! 🙂
Laura says
All these dishes look delicious and full of color and flavor! Love all the Greek inspiration- one of my favorite eating/ traveling destinations. I’ve been inspired lately by the Cook’s Illustrated magazines that I pick up from Costco. They have a classic lasagna recipe that was a total game changer for me. Like your recipes, none of these follow any specific restrictions or “health” requirements. That is how I eat aim to always eat, focusing on meals that are satisfying and tasty. When I make a heavy dish like the lasagna (pulling out all the stops- thick curly noodles, whole ricotta, heavy cream, beef, loads of mozzarella, and rich tomato sauce), I make sure to pair it with a nice green salad with a light vinaigrette, because to me it just makes sense and keeps my stomach happy to fill it up with some fresh vegetables if the main meal is on the rich side (plus salads are tasty).
I do think it is great if you and others have benefited from the food sensitivity tests, but, call it a gut feeling (no pun intended), but I’ve always been a huge skeptic of them. Since this was always just my assumption, I decided to research more about these tests, and from what I’ve read, the science behind it, IgG antibody detection, is not a proven scientific method for identifying sensitivities. Basically, the presence of an IgG antibody is normal and found in healthy individuals, and often not an indicator of a sensitivity. I worry that many people get results that create unnecessary elimination of foods, and the stress that goes with that. While all foods seem to treat me fine (other than obvious personal errors such as extreme overindulgence of Thai chiles or potato chips, which I do on occasion because sometimes it’s worth it!), I’m certain that the test, if I were to take it, would come back with multiple sensitivities, with very questionable validity. But, these are just my thoughts, and if these tests do help people, live and let live! Anyhow, these tests have been on my mind lately as I’ve seen the commercials pop up a lot, and have got me thinking.
Great to see you back on the blog!
Brittany Dixon says
I totally see your point and have heard the science behind the sensitivity tests isn’t clear. For my personal experience, I did notice a difference in the way I felt when I eliminated my sensitive foods, but maybe part of it could have been mental? Either way, I’m appreciative it was a short term path for me!
PS- I am now craving lasagna based on your description alone… 🙂
Lauren Brennan says
Aaaaand now I’m hungry! These all look delicious!
Brittany Dixon says
All were winners in my book! 🙂
Liz T says
What a super collection of recipes. I’ve shared this link with friends. Thanks Brittany! Hope you, your momma and brother and whole family are doing well and finding peace <3