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Quick + Healthy Trader Joe’s Dinner Recipes

By: Author Robyn

Posted on Last updated:


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I love Trader Joes!  It’s quick and easy for me to run in and grab a few fresh and well-sourced ingredients and turn them into dinners my family loves and I feel good making for them.  All of these recipes follow the nutrition habits I teach in my course, Nutrition Made Simple, and that Victor and I help our clients with.

While you don’t have to shop at Trader Joes to make these meals, just be sure to try and buy organic fruits and veggies as well as find protein that is grass-fed, pasture-raised, or wild caught.  If you reach for carbs, make sure they are organic, whole grain, sourdoughs, or sprouted.  And always choose organic whole-fat dairy over low-fat versions.  

Affiliate notice: This article may contain affiliate links. When you make a purchase through one of these links we receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Note: We recommend buying a Crock-Pot or Instant Pot. They make these recipes super easy!

Tip: Almost half of these recipes are tacos or mexican food. We personally only eat refired beans if they are homemade and unfortunately Trader Joes doesn’t sell dried pinto beans. If you would like our recipe for homemade refried beans that are absolutely delicious and healhty, sign up for our weekly newsletter here and get free access to our Nutrtion Made Simple course.

For many of the recipes below the vegetable quantities are approximate and can be changed as needed depending on the size of your family. You can alson switch the beef for ground bison or ground turkey too.

1. Healthy Burgers

beef patties, healthy dinner recipes
beef patties, healthy dinner recipes
beef patties, healthy dinner recipes
beef patties, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 2-3 servings
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes

What You’ll Need:

  • 1/3- 1/2 lbs person grass-fed ground beef
  • 1/2 cup chopped spinach or arugula
  • 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
  • 1 clove crushed garlic or 1 tbsp of garlic powder
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning

Optional, serve or top with:

  • Tomato
  • A bed of greens (lettuce, arugula, spinach)
  • Peanut Butter
  • Saurkraut
  • Grilled onions
  • Grilled mushrooms
  • Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic & Onion Jam

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together ground beef, chopped vegetables, and seasonings.
  2. Use your hands to make meat mix into patty forms or use this burger press to make it easier.
  3. Cook on medium-high on a ceramic electric skillet or grill.
  4. Top with any of the above items or serve with a side of rice (the sprouted rice at TJ’s is amazing but hard to find now).

2. Ceviche

ceviche, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 5-7 servings
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Soak Time: 2-8 hours (the longer you soak it the better it tastes)

What You’ll Need:

  • 16 oz wild caught cod or wild caught red shrimp (defrosted)
  • 1 cucumber
  • 3 large tomatoes
  • 10-15 lemons, juiced (or do half lemons/half limes for a more bitter taste) Using a citrus squeezer or citrus juicer saves a lot of time.
  • 1 head of cilantro
  • 1 medium sized red onion
  • 2-3 avocados
  • 1 16 Oz jar of green Spanish olives
  • 1 bag organic tortilla chips (our favorite is the blue corn tortilla chips)

Directions:

  1. Juice lemons and pour into a large serving bowl through a colander to filter out the seeds.
  2. Dice fish or shrimp into very small pieces and add to your serving bowl of lemon juice. Be sure that the lemon covers the fish or shrimp. I find that a large rectangular pyrex baking dish works best.
  3. Place in the fridge to stay cold and soak for at least 2 hours. We recommend you do this step at least 2 hours ahead of time or even better, let it soak overnight for optimal taste.
  4. Dice cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro.
  5. Add to the bowl of fish/shrimp after it has soaked.
  6. Pour your entire 16oz jar of Spanish olives including the juice onto the fish ceviche.  If making shrimp ceviche, you may want to add ketchup to it either when you add the veggies or just top individual servings.
  7. You can eat right away or for improved taste, let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
  8. Serve with slices of avocado on top and scoop it up with tortilla chips.

3. Ratatouille

ratatouilles, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 5-6 servings
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours

What You’ll Need:

  • Meat of your choice (chicken or roast works well)
  • 2 small eggplants or 1 large
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 6 zucchinis or yellow summer squashes
  • 4 large tomatoes
  • 20-30 mushrooms
  • A few cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 sprigs of thyme
  • Basil

Directions:

  1. First, dice the eggplant and set it in a colander sprinkled with salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes to remove water.
  2. Start cook your meat of choice.
  3. While that cooks, dice all your vegetables and separate them into bowls.
  4. Sauté each vegetable individually in a pan until al dente and set aside starting with onion and garlic, then bell pepper, zucchini, and last, mushroom.
  5. Combine all vegetables back into a pot with the diced tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme sprigs, meat, and simmer in a pot for 20-30 minutes or leave in a Crock-Pot on low for a few hours.
  6. Remove thyme and bay leaf, top with basil, and enjoy.

4. Machacha

  • Makes 6-7 servings
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes (+ time to cook your roast)

What You’ll Need:

  • 3 lb grass-fed beef roast
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • A dozen free range eggs
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped (divided in 1/2)
  • 2 1/2 cups organic spinach, roughly chopped
  • Tortillas

For the guacamole:

  • 3-5 avocados
  • Salt
  • 1/4 of an onion
  • 1/2 a head of cilantro
  • 1-2 tomatoes

Optional add ons:

  • Salsa
  • Sour Cream
  • Black beans

Directions:

  1. If you have a Crock-Pot: The night before, Put your roast in a crock-pot and cook on low overnight with a few whole cloves of garlic and salt.
  2. The next day, use two forks to pull meat apart until shredded.

Instant Pot option:

  1. If you have an Instant Pot: Put your roast in your instant pot and cook on high heat for two hours with garlic and 1 cup of water.
  2. Once the meat is cooked, use two forks to pull meat apart until shredded.

Meanwhile…

  1. Sauté bell pepper, half your onion, spinach, and crushed garlic on the stovetop.
  2. Once veggies are soft, add shredded meat to your pan and mix.
  3. Then add a dozen eggs directly to the mixture.
  4. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggs are well done
  5. Prepare your guacamole by cutting and scooping out your avocados into a bowl and mashing with a fork.
  6. Add salt, onion, cilantro, and tomato to your avocado and stir.*
  7. Heat your tortillas on a stovetop.
  8. Serve meat on the tortillas with guacamole, salsa, and any other optional toppings you want.

Bonus: Add refried beans on the side. Our delicious recipe in our course, Nutrition Made Simple.

5. Spaghetti

  • Makes 6-8 servings
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes or in a crock pot on low for 4-8 hours

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 lb grass-fed ground beef plus,
  • 2 lbs ground pork (If you want to splurge, this is our favorite ground pork for spaghetti)
  • 3 zucchinis
  • 2 cups of broccoli or cauliflower florets
  • 2-3 carrots
  • 1-2 medium-sized raw beets
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 onion
  • 2 jars organic tomato marinara sauce
  • Optional: 1 jar creamy basil tomato sauce (It tastes better with this option but we don’t anymore because of the dairy)
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions:

  1. Cook your ground beef and pork in a large pot (big enough for the spaghetti sauce and veggies).
  2. Meanwhile, use a cheese grater or food processor with the grater attachment to shred the zuccini, broccoli or cauliflower, carrots, and beets
  3. Once the meat is cooked, add in spaghetti sauce, shredded vegetables, diced onion, chopped or crushed garlic, salt, and pepper.
  4. Heat on stovetop for at least 30 minutes until veggies are soft. It also works well to cook it ahead of time and leave it in the crock pot on low for 4-8 hours.
  5. Serve and enjoy!

6. Breaded Chicken with Salad + Rice

nut crumb chicken, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 5-6 servings
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes

If you want to make this gluten-free, buy Apple Foods Nut Crumbs. Trader Joe’s sells it’s own version of bread crumbs but they have gluten so we buy the crumbs from Apple Foods.

What You’ll Need:

  • 5-6 free-range chicken breasts
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp grass fed butter (or olive oil dairy free option)
  • 2 egg
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 3-4 cups arugula
  • 2 cups brown rice

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F
  2. Cook brown rice.
  3. Meanwhile…Whisk together eggs and almond milk in a large bowl
  4. Pour your bread or nut crumbs onto a plate.
  5. Place chicken in the egg mixture.
  6. Then place chicken in nut crumbs and cover both sides of chicken with crumbs.
  7. In a skillet on medium-high, add in olive oil or butter. Once hot, add chicken in and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.
  8. Remove from pan and place on a baking sheet.
  9. Cook in the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked.
  10. Serve over rice and arugula.

7. Curry

  • Makes 4-5 servings
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes

What You’ll Need:

  • Meat of choice (1/4-1/3 lb recommended per person)
  • 2-4 tbsp Red Thai Curry Paste (I keep this stocked in my pantry)
  • 16 oz coconut cream
  • 2 cups brown rice
  • A little turbinado sugar or honey
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced
  • A small piece of ginger, grated
  • A vegetable mix of choice (onions, zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, carrots, eggplant, mushrooms, broccoli, etc)
  • Salt

Directions:

  1. Start rice cooking.
  2. Cook your meat of choice.
  3. Warm up the coconut cream in a medium/large pot with as much red curry paste as you like to taste along with a few tablespoons of turbinado sugar or honey.
  4. While meat and rice cook and coconut cream is warming up, individually saute your veggies with garlic then add each one to the curry sauce.
  5. Add salt to curry mixture to taste.
  6. Once done, put rice in a bowl with meat, curry, and veggies. Top it all with fresh basil and freshly grated ginger, and enjoy!

8. Enchiladas

  • Makes 6-8 servings
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 whole chicken OR 16 oz wild caught red shrimp (cooked ahead of time)
  • 8 oz grass fed cheddar cheese
  • 12 oz enchilada sauce (read the label and get one with limited fake ingredients) OR I just use the Hatch Valley Salsa if I’m making chicken enchiladas with corn tortilla since we are mostly gluten free
  • 12 tortillas, flour or corn
  • 1 onion

Flour Tortilla Directions:

If making chicken enchiladas:

  1. For a Crock-Pot: Put whole chicken in Crock-Pot with roughly chopped carrots and celery, a few sprigs of parsley, bay leaves, and garlic. Cook on low in the crock pot overnight (8 hours).
  2. When your chicken is finished cooking, separate your chicken from the bones and shred it up using two forks.

Instant Pot Version:

  1. If you have an Instant pot put whole chicken in the Instant pot with roughly chopped carrots and celery, a few sprigs of parsley, bay leaves, and garlic. Cook on high heat with a thin layer of water and press poultry.
  2. When your chicken is finished cooking, separate your chicken from the bones and shred it up using two forks.

After chicken is cooked:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Line an 8×10 dish with aluminum foil.
  3. Grate your cheese.
  4. Put half your enchilada sauce into a large, shallow bowl.
  5. Dip tortilla in enchilada sauce on both sides.
  6. Lay tortilla flat in your prepared dish and fill it with onion and chicken/shrimp in a line in the center of the tortilla, then roll it up.
  7. Do this until the pan is filled, then sprinkle the top of the rolled tortillas with cheese and a little more enchilada sauce.
  8. Cook for 20 minutes or until enchilada is very warm and the cheese has completely melted.
  9. Serve warm and enjoy!

If making corn tortilla enchiladas:

  1. Pour half the jar of salsa into a pan on the stovetop and turn to medium-high.
  2. Heat tortilla on another pan until warm on both sides to make it more pliable, then dip both sides of the tortilla in the salsa.
  3. Lay tortilla flat in the pan and fill with onion and chicken/shrimp in a line in the center of the tortilla, then roll it up.
  4. Do this until the pan is filled, then sprinkle the top of the rolled tortillas with cheese and a little more enchilada sauce.
  5. Cook for 20 minutes or until enchilada is very warm and the cheese has completely melted.
  6. Serve warm and enjoy!

9. Quesadilla style Fish Tacos

fish tacos, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 5-6 servings
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes

What You’ll Need:

  • Wild caught Cod or Mahi Mahi (about 1/3 lb fish per person)
  • 3-4 ripe avocados
  • 4 tbsp chopped onion
  • 2 tbsp cilantro
  • 1 tomato
  • 3 tbsp organic mayonnaise
  • 2 lemons/limes, juiced
  • 2-3 tbsp organic, whole fat sour cream
  • Salt
  • 12-15 organic tortillas
  • 1 can of salsa (no fake ingredients)
  • Cabbage and/or arugula

Directions:

  1. Cook your fish (we recommend cooking it in bacon fat, avocado oil, or grass fed butter).
  2. While fish cooks, mash your avocado and add salt, onion, cilantro, and tomato and some lime juice.
  3. Combine mayo with some lime juice in a small bowl and whisk for white sauce.
  4. Place one tortilla on a pan, place a few thin slices of cheese on top, and cover with another tortilla. Flipping until cheese is melted.
  5. Fill your tortilla with fish, avocado, white sauce, sour cream, cabbage/arugula, and salsa.
  6. Serve and enjoy!

10. Carnitas Tacos

tacos, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 5-6 servings
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour to cook your pork

What You’ll Need:

  • 2-3 lbs pork shoulder (1/3-1/2 lbs beef recommended per person)
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 2 onions roughly chopped in quarters
  • 2 oranges, juiced
  • 2 lemons/lime, juiced
  • Organic tortillas
  • 1 can of salsa (read the label to make sure there are no fake ingredients)
  • Optional: 8 oz grass fed cheddar cheese

Directions:

  1. If you have a Crock-Pot: Put pork shoulder in crock-pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or overnight with a cumin, oregano, garlic, salt, onions, orange juice, and lime juice.
  2. Shred pork shoulder by using two forks to pull the meat apart.

Instant Pot option:

  1. If you have an instant pot: Put pork shoulder in your instant pot and cook on high for 1 hour with a cumin, oregano, garlic, salt, onions, orange juice, and lime juice. Allow the instant pot to naturally release.
  2. Shred pork shoulder by using two forks to pull the meat apart.

Once pork is cooked:

  1. Mash avocado and add salt, cilantro, onion, tomato, and some lime juice.
  2. Warm corn tortillas on a pan. For an extra yummy taco, melt grass fed cheese in between two corn tortillas and then top with pork, salsa, sour cream, and avocado.

11. Healthy Nachos

  • Makes 5-6 servings
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes

What You’ll Need:

  • 1/4 lb per person of grass fed ground beef or ground pork or our preference Mulay’s Breakfast Sausage and/or Italian Sausage
  • 8 oz grass fed cheddar cheese (2-3 cups when shredded)
  • 3-4 ripe avocados
  • 2 cups organic brown rice
  • 16 oz organic black beans,
  • 1 lemon
  • 8 oz organic, whole fat sour cream
  • Salt
  • 2 bags organic tortilla chips
  • 1 can of salsa (no fake ingredients)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Begin cooking rice as well as the sausage on a stovetop.
  3. Meanwhile, grate the cheese. There should be about 2-3 cups.
  4. Mash avocado and add salt and some lime juice.
  5. Drain beans and warm up on the stovetop.
  6. Line a baking sheet or casserole dish with aluminum foil and spread a thick layer of tortilla chips on the foil. Sprinkle with 1/3-1/2 the cheese you’ve grated and place in the oven for 6-8 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven and top with rice, beans, dollops of sour cream, salsa, and avocado; and sausage. Place in the oven for 2 more minutes.
  8. You should have enough to do 3-4 batches of this.
  9. Serve individually or on a large plate to share.

12. Beef Bourguignon

beef bourguignon, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 5-6 servings
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 hours

What You’ll Need:

  • 2-3 lbs beef roast cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 8 oz applewood smoked bacon
  • 1 pound carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 bottle dry red wine
  • 2 cups of beef broth
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tbsp grass fed butter*
  • 3 tbsp whole wheat flour*
  • 1 lb mushrooms, roughly chopped (don’t chop small)

Directions:

  1. Cut all your vegetables but keep the mushrooms separate from the rest.
  2. In a pan/skillet, cook bacon. Transfer the bacon to a Crock-Pot, but keep bacon fat in your pan/skillet.
  3. Brown both sides of the beef cubes in the skillet then transfer to Crock-Pot, leaving the fat in the skillet.
  4. Sauté the carrots, onion, and garlic in the skillet until lightly brown, then add to the Crock-Pot along with fat remaining in the skillet.
  5. Add the entire bottle of wine into the crockpot along with enough broth to cover the meat.
  6. Add in thyme and tomato paste.
  7. In the warm skillet, combine butter and flour then add to the crockpot mixture.
  8. Add mushrooms to the Crock-Pot and give it a stir.
  9. Cook in the Crock-Pot on high for 6-8 hours.
  10. Serve with sourdough bread on the side

Notes*: If you’re gluten/dairy free you can omit these two ingredients. It adds a layer of thickness to the liquid but its not necessary.

Also, we do this in the crockpot but you can brown everything on the stovetop and then transfer it to a Dutch oven and cook at 350 for about 45-60 minutes.

13. Chicken Soup

chicken soup, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 6-8 servings
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4-8 hours

What You’ll Need:

In the crock pot:

  • 1 free range whole chicken
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • A few sprigs of parsley

To make the soup:

  • 4 carrots
  • 6 stalks of celery
  • 1 head of fennel
  • 8 broccoli florets
  • 1 red onion
  • 4 small zucchinis
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
  • 6 cups purified water
  • Optional: 4 tbsp grass fed butter or ghee
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions:

  1. In a Crock-Pot: Preferably one and a half days before, put your whole chicken into the Crock-Pot with carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.

Instant Pot option:

  1. In an Instant Pot: Put your whole chicken into the Instant pot with carrots, celery, garlic, and a little water. Press Poultry button

When chicken is done and cooled off a bit:

  1. Separate the chicken from the bones.
  2. Put the chicken in a container in the refrigerator for tomorrow and put the chicken bones back into the crockpot.
  3. Add purified water to the chicken bones and cook on low for a few hours or overnight.
  4. Meanwhile, dice all the veggies you want to add to your soup.
  5. Strain the broth to remove the bones then put the liquid back into a large pot or the Crock-Pot.
  6. Add your veggies to the broth along with garlic, salt, and pepper.
  7. Either cook in a large pot on medium-low heat with a little butter and/or olive oil or put in the crockpot on low for the day.
  8. Once the soup is ready re-add the cooked chicken meat to the soup and bring it to a simmer.
  9. Serve with artisan bread and grass-fed butter.

14. Salmon + Brie with Cherries & Hazelnuts

brie with cherries, healthy dinner recipes

I love this as a substitute for crappy pizza!

  • Makes 5-7 servings
  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes

What You’ll Need:

  • 1/3-1/2 lbs per person wild caught salmon
  • 3 tbsp turbinado sugar
  • Thyme
  • Salt
  • Brie cheese
  • Dried cherries
  • Raw hazelnuts
  • Organic sourdough bread

Directions for Salmon:

  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Line pan or dish with aluminum foil.
  3. Sprinkle salmon with sugar, thyme, and salt.
  4. Cook for 15 minutes or until the top of the salmon is white.
  5. Optional: Serve with rice, salad, mashed potatoes, or artisan bread.

Directions for Brie:

  1. Place brie in a dish and place in the oven until almost completely melted, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, slice bread.
  2. After 8 minutes, top your brie with cherries and hazelnuts. and place in oven for 2-3 more minutes
  3. Enjoy on top of delicious sliced bread

15. Monster Salad

monster salad, healthy dinner recipes
monster salad, healthy dinner recipes
monster salad, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 2-4 servings

What You’ll Need:

For the dressing

  • 2 tbsps organic olive oil
  • 2 tbsps red wine or balsamic vinegar
  • A spoonful of raw honey
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

For the salad:

  • 1 chicken breast per person
  • 1 head of organic romaine lettuce
  • 2 cups of organic arugula
  • 2 cups sliced spinach
  • 1 hard-boiled egg per person, sliced
  • 1/4 cup raw pecan pieces
  • 4 tbsp pine nuts
  • 3 tbsp hemp seeds
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 2 avocados
  • 2 organic apples, sliced

Optional add ons:

  • Chopped organic parsley
  • Chopped broccoli
  • Diced green onions
  • Micro greens
  • A handful of sliced carrots
  • Raw cheese
  • Bacon (highly recommended!)

Directions:

  1. Season and cook chicken breasts on medium high, rotating as necessary, until browned on both sides.
  2. Once outside is browned, cut into slices and finish cooking
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the salad
  4. In a salad bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, honey, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and crushed garlic until combined
  5. Chop up lettuce, add to salad bowl along with arugula and spinach, then toss
  6. Add in your chicken, hard boiled eggs, pecans, pine nuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds, avocados, and apples to your bowl. (And any other optional add ons you took.)
  7. Serve and enjoy.

16. Chili + Cornbread

chili, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 4-6 servings
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes

What You’ll Need For Chili:

  • 2 lbs of grass-fed ground beef
  • 1 bag of Trader Joe’s organic frozen corn
  • 1 8-oz can of refried black beans
  • 1 8-oz can Cuban black beans
  • 1 4-oz can organic tomato paste
  • 8 cloves of garlic, crushed or sliced
  • Salt
  • Chili powder

Directions For Chili:

  1. Cook ground beef in large pot on medium.
  2. Once your meats fully cooked, add the rest of your ingredients and season with salt and chili powder as necessary.

Trader Joe’s sell its own cornbread mix or join our newsletter to get free access to our Nutrition Made Simple course. In it, you’ll find a recipe for our gluten-free, dairy-free version of cornbread.

17. Butternut Squash Soup

butternut squash soup, healthy dinner recipes
  • Makes 5-6 servings
  • Prep Time:
  • Cook Time:

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 lb of green apples
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 red onion
  • Hand blender or Vitamix

Directions:

  1. In a Crock-Pot: Cook your squash in a Crock-Pot on high 3-4 hours ahead of time.

Instant Pot option:

  1. In a Instant pot: cut your squash in half down the middle and scoop out all the seeds.
  2. Put your squash into your instant pot with 1 cup of water, and the rack in.
  3. Cook for 9 minutes on high pressure

Once cooked, stop out the insides and set aside. Meanwhile:

  1. Roughly dice the onion and sauté with a little grass-fed butter in a large pot on the stovetop. Cook until soft then turn the heat off.
  2. Peel and roughly dice apples then add to the pot.
  3. Add in your squash.
  4. Use a boat motor or Vitamix to blend three ingredients together until a smooth, soup-like consistency is reached.
  5. Heat on the stovetop until simmering and add salt and pepper.

18. Chicken Schwarma Bowls

  • Serves 4-6
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes

What You’ll Need :

  • 5 cups arugula
  • 1 1/2 cups quinoa
  • 3 lbs chicken schwarma
  • 2 cups green beans
  • 1 16oz can of black beans
  • 1 16oz can of kidney beans
  • 3/4 cup Thai chili lime cashews
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 Tsp grated ginger
  • Tumeric
  • Cayenne
  • 21 Seasoning Salute
  • Dressing of your choice, we love the Green Godess at Trader Joe’s

Directions:

  1. Start your quinoa cooking.
  2. Cook your chicken schwarma on a pan on medium high,
  3. Once your chicken is cooked, cut into small pieces, and set aside.
  4. Place your green beans in a pan and cook on medium heat with grated ginger, turmeric, salt, pepper, 21 seasoning salute, and a little cayenne to taste until soft. Set them aside once they’re done.
  5. Drain and rinse your beans into a colander and set aside.
  6. In a large bowl, toss all your arugula and quinoa in your dressing of choice.
  7. Place a bed of your arugula and quinoa mix on a plate.
  8. Add on a couple spoonfuls of beans.
  9. Add your chicken on top.
  10. Add the green beans.
  11. Top with cashews and cranberries.
  12. Serve and enjoy!

19. Loaded Ground Beef Tacos on a Fried Tortilla

  • Serves 6
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes

What You’ll Need:

  • 12 corn tortillas
  • 3 lbs grass fed ground beef
  • 1 16 oz can of black beans
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 cup cilantro
  • 1 16 oz can of salsa (we love the pineapple salsa at Trader Joe’s for this)
  • 3 avocados
  • olive oil to fry tortillas in

Directions:

  1. Cook your ground beef and season with salt, pepper, and cumin.
  2. Rinse your black beans and set aside.
  3. Dice your tomatoes and cilantro. Set aside into separate bowls.
  4. Cut your avocado into slices. Set aside.
  5. Pour a thin layer of oil onto a pan and heat it up.
  6. Once the oil is hot, throw a tortilla on, flipping occasionally until fried.
  7. Take your fried tortilla and fill it with ground beef, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, salsa, and a few slices of avocado.
  8. Serve and enjoy!

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