microwave cooking | Nicole Geurin, MPH, RD

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5 Healthy Meals in 5 Minutes or Less

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Nicole Geurin, MPH, RD | 1 comment

Yesterday I gave a cooking demonstration to a group of seniors in Sacramento called Heart Healthy Cooking for One. The recipes were so popular, easy to make, and delicious, that I thought I would share them on my blog! Each recipe takes 5 minutes or less to prepare, so it’s perfect for when you want to whip up a quick and healthy breakfast or lunch for yourself. There is also a convenient vegetable cooking chart for the microwave at the end. Check them out, in easy printable format: 5 Meals in 5 Minutes or Less.

These recipes are all easily prepared using a George Foreman grill and a microwave. If you don’t have a George Foreman grill, you can use a skillet on the stove. But, I highly recommend a George Foreman grill because they are so easy to use! I just use a small one that costs less than $20 at Walmart or Target.

All of these recipes are very heart healthy. The characteristics of a heart healthy meal are:

Low in fat (especially saturated and trans fat)
Low in sodium
High in fiber

Heart disease is currently the #1 killer in America. But, 80% of heart disease is preventable through healthy lifestyle choices! So, I hope you enjoy these delicious heart healthy recipes!

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Posted in Family and Child Nutrition, Healthy Recipes, Nutrition Info

Tagged 5 meals in 5 minutes, easy recipes, Five meals in five minutes, Healthy Recipes, heart healthy meals, microwave cooking, quick cooking, recipes for george foreman grill, recipes for the microwave

10 Healthy Foods You Can Cook in the Microwave

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Nicole Geurin, MPH, RD | 5 comments

Cooking food in the microwave is easy, healthy, environmentally-friendly and delicious! Here’s why microwave cooking is:

Healthy: Unlike some other methods of cooking (such as boiling), microwave cooking allows foods like fruits and vegetables to retain most of their healthy vitamins and minerals. Additionally, microwave cooking very compatible with a low fat diet because food does not require the addition of excess fat to cook food.
Environmentally-friendly: Microwave cooking is energy efficient! It conserves energy by only heating up the food within it, and not the rest of the house.

Below are my favorite 10 healthy foods you can cook in the microwave. Bon appétit!

Oatmeal: Oatmeal is my favorite breakfast food. Quick cooking oats, combined with low fat milk and chopped fruit, cooked for 4 minutes in the microwave make for a delicious morning! Try my Fall Morning Oatmeal recipe.
Spinach: This nutrient-packed superfood cooks in the microwave in less than 1 minute! Try this 20 second recipe or my new favorite: top spinach with a little peanut vinaigrette (like the kind at Trader Joe’s shown here) and sprinkle with peanuts. Microwave for 30 seconds. Yum!
Fruit “Cobbler:” This is one of my favorite heart-healthy desserts! Combine fresh or frozen bite-sized fruit pieces in a microwave-safe bowl (banana slices, apple chunks, blueberries, strawberry slices, peach slices, etc.). Microwave on high until fruit is hot and soft. Top with granola and fat free whipped cream. You’ll love it!
Corn on the Cob: One of my summertime favorites. Place peeled, rinsed corn cobs on a microwave-safe plate, and nuke until cooked! (About 4-5 minutes per cob.) In Mexico, they squeeze fresh lime juice on corn rather than butter. Give it a try!
Green Beans: Rinse green beans and microwave on a plate until bright green, about 1 minute per handful of beans. Fresh green beans are one of my favorite veggies- so much tastier than canned!
Fish: Finally, an easy way to cook and enjoy fresh fish! My favorite method is to cook fish for 1 minute on my George Forman grill, and then finish cooking in the microwave. Check out my easy recipe for Grilled Salmon!
Popcorn: Did you know that popcorn is a whole grain? Choose a microwavable popcorn brand that is low in fat and sodium, and cook according to directions.
Soybeans: Also known as edamame, soybeans are a delicious, protein-packed, fiber-filled snack! Buy frozen edamame in the grocery store, and cook in a microwave safe bowl with just a little bit of water until warm. Discard the water. Top with just a pinch of salt. If they are in the pods, pinch the beans out of the pods before you eat them!
Whole Wheat Couscous: Couscous is a Mediterranean grain that is basically teeny-tiny pasta. Honestly, I usually cook it on the stove, but it is just as simple to cook it in the microwave. Heat 1 and 1/4 cup of water in the microwave until boiling. Add one cup of cous-cous, stir and cover. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and then fluff with a fork and serve. For a ton of couscous recipes, check out this Food Network link.
Eggs: There are many different ways of preparing eggs using a microwave, but my favorite is poached eggs! Poaching eggs is a very healthy way to prepare eggs, because it requires no added fat. Here is a great video on how to poach eggs in the microwave.