Looking for some delicious and healthy dinner recipes that you can make in less than 10 minutes? With the help of Australian model and nutritionist Liana Werner-Gray and her new cookbook 10-Minute Recipes we’ve got you covered
It can seem hard to try and eat healthy whilst living a busy lifestyle. By the time you finally get home at the end of the day the last thing you want to do is slave away at the stove. But healthy cooking doesn’t have to take hours. With the help of Liana Werner-Gray and her new book 10-Minute Recipes we bring you nine delicious and healthy recipes that you can make in 10 minutes.
[Disclaimer: we haven’t tested all these for time, so some might take a little longer if you’re as slow as we are with sharp objects and vegetables]
Zucchini Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Walnut “Meatballs”
Vegan but looking for a hearty Italian style dish that will fill you up fast? Then this is the one for you. This is a completely raw plant-based vegan dish, meaning there is no cooking required. It is extremely nutrient rich, leaving you fulfilled yet light so you can continue on with your day without feeling sluggish.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 large zucchini
1 batch Raw Tomato Sauce
1 batch Walnut “Meatballs”
Nutritional yeast, to taste (optional)
To make
Use a spiralizer or vegetable peeler to make spaghetti strips with the zucchini. Place in the bowls. Evenly divide the Tomato Sauce and “Meatballs” between the bowls, and sprinkle nutritional yeast, if desired, on top.
Top Tips
To save some time, you can make this recipe without the Walnut “Meatballs,” and just have the Zucchini Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce.
Top with Cashew Cheese.
Calories: 377 | Total Fat: 28.6g | Carbs: 26g | Dietary Fiber: 9g | Protein: 10.4g
Bean Burgers
Looking for lighter plant based alternative to a classic beef burger? Look no further. These vegan burgers are filled with flavorful herbs and spices making them a nice change from a traditional burger even for meat lovers. Werner-Grey suggests making a batch to store in the freezer so that you can quickly pull one out whenever you need to fulfill a craving.
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin
coconut oil, for cooking
One 15-ounce can organic beans, drained (butter, kidney, or black beans work best)
½ cup almond meal
1 small yellow onion, chopped
¼ cup nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon fennel
¼ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon sage
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 Flax Egg Alternative/ 1 egg (for non vegans)
To make
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.
Mash the beans with the rest of the ingredients. Taste and add more spices to your liking.
Divide mixture into 4 equal parts, then shape into patties.
Fry the patties until golden, about 4 minutes on each side.
Top tips
Top these burgers with fresh parsley, cilantro, and basil.
Serve on gluten-free rolls, kale, collard greens, lettuce, or Gluten-Free Tortillas.
Non vegans can use one egg in this recipe instead of Flax Egg Alternative.
Replace the nutritional yeast with more almond meal for a less cheesy flavor.
Variations
Bean Balls: Roll the mixture into 10 balls and serve on brown rice pasta or Zucchini Pasta.
Nut-Free Bean Burgers: Replace the almond meal with pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, or hemp seed meal.
Spicy Bean Burgers: Add extra cayenne pepper.
Lentil Burgers: Use lentils instead of beans.
Tigernut Bean Burgers: Replace the brown rice flour and flax meal with ½ cup tigernut flour.
Calories: 248 | Total Fat: 12g | Carbs: 27g | Dietary Fiber: 11g | Protein: 13g
Thai Wraps
These delicious thai wraps use leaves to encase their flavoursome filling. Orange juice adds a delicious zest. Who needs takeaway food when you can make delicious and healthy food at home?
Serves 4
Ingredients
Wrapper:
4 large collard greens, kale, or lettuce
Sauce:
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 carrot, grated
Juice of 2 oranges
¼ cup scallions, diced
Filling:
1 avocado, sliced
1 mango, sliced
½ cup fresh mint
½ cup fresh coriander
½ cup bean sprouts
1 cup cabbage, diced (roughly ¼ of a whole cabbage)
To make
Combine all sauce ingredients well and set aside.
Lay out a large lettuce leaf and layer it with the avocado and mango slices, mint, cilantro, sprouts, and cabbage. Repeat for all the leaves, then top with sauce, to taste.
Calories: 135 | Total Fat: 6g | Carbs: 22g | Dietary Fiber: 5g | Protein: 3g
Beef Tacos
These filling tacos have the option of being made with a taco bread outer layer or you can just as easily trade them in for a lettuce wrap – the healthier, if a bit messier option. Eating healthy doesn’t mean missing out on some of your delicious favourites.
Total time: 10 minutes | Serves 3 (2 tacos each)
Ingredients
Filling:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin
coconut oil, for cooking
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garlic powder, or
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper
Choose Your Shell:
6 organic taco shells
6 tortilla wraps
6 lettuce leaves
Choose Your Toppings:
Nutritional yeast
Organic cheese, grated
Carrots, grated
Lettuce, shredded
Avocado, cubed
Peppers, diced
Fresh cilantro
Black beans, cooked
Vegan Sour Cream
10-Minute Salsa
Mango Salsa
Ketchup
Taco Sauce
To make
If you are choosing taco shells, bake them in the oven at 350˚F for 5 minutes while you prepare the filling.
Heat a large frying pan with oil, then add the beef and spices. Use a wooden spoon to break up the beef and combine the mixture well.
Cook for 8 minutes or until done.
Wrap the meat in tortilla wraps, taco shells, or lettuce leaves.
Top tips
To make things even faster, use 2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning instead of the listed spices.
Stretch out the filling and serve more people by adding ¼ cup Ketchup and ½ cup beans.
Use large, soft organic tortillas to make burritos.
Use this filling in the Vegan Nachos for Beef Nachos.
Variations
Chicken Tacos: Use ground chicken or cubed chicken breast instead of beef.
Fish Tacos: Use white fish fillets instead of beef.
Calories: 204 | Total Fat: 8g | Carbs: 10g | Dietary Fiber: 1g | Protein: 26g
Beef Pho
Werner-Grey was inspired to create this recipe when she tasted a delicious bowl of pho in London. She decided that she could make a quick version that was really fulfilling and this was the result. This soup is great at this time of year as it’s warming and comforting – just what we need when we come in from the cold.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 packets of ramen noodles
1 teaspoon ginger powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon star anise
powder or seeds
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
or maple syrup
1 tablespoon extra-virgin coconut oil
½ pound steak strips
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
(or garlic powder)
2 large eggs
Toppings
1 cup bean sprouts
1 green onion, diced
Dash of cayenne pepper,
or ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Juice of 1 lime
Handful of fresh coriander
Handful of fresh basil
To make
In a pot, add the ramen noodles, ginger powder, salt, pepper, star anise, and coconut sugar to 5 cups of boiling water.
While the noodles are cooking, heat the coconut oil in a skillet, and sauté the steak strips and garlic until done, approximately 6 minutes.
Add the eggs to another pot of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove eggs from the pot and run under cold water, then set aside.
Serve the ramen in bowls, with the liquid broth. Top with the steak pieces and other toppings. Lastly, peel the eggs and add them whole.
Top tip
Add 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger instead of ginger powder if you have more time.
Calories: 827.4 | Total Fat: 28.0g | Carbs: 89.6g | Dietary Fiber: 2.6g | Protein: 53.2g
Raw Lasagna
The walnuts in this lasagna mix give it such a lovely thick texture and consistency that you won’t even mind the fact that you’re missing meat. Tasty strips of zuccini take the place of pasta in this dish making it extra healthy and full of nutrients.
Serves 1-2
Ingredients
1 zucchini
¼ batch Walnut “Meatballs”
¼ batch Cashew Cheese
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
To make
Use a vegetable peeler to create thick layers of zucchini strips. Place the first layer on a plate.
Add some Walnut “Meatballs” mixture and then a layer of Cashew Cheese. Add a middle layer of zucchini strips.
Add another layer of the walnut meat and cashew cheese, followed by a final layer of zucchini. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle oregano on top!
Top tip
Spend more time layering your lasagna with fresh basil, peppers, pesto, and Raw Tomato Sauce.
Calories: 223 | Total Fat: 21g | Carbs: 16g | Dietary Fiber: 4g | Protein: 6.6g
Vegetable Stir-Fry
This vegetable stir fry recipe is super simple but it is packed with layers of textures and flavours. Plus it is a great weekly to staple to prepare, make large batches of and then keep it in your fridge.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin coconut oil for cooking
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, diced or 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large carrot, chopped
1/2 head of broccoli, chopped
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 cup spinach
1 cup green beans
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
To make
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan on medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, then saut. for 2 minutes.
Add ginger, turmeric powder, cumin, thyme, salt, and all vegetables to the pan, and then stirfry until tender, about 7 minutes.
Serve, sprinkling sesame seeds over each dish along with salt and pepper to taste.
Top tips
Add your favorite spices or other vegetables like peppers, snow peas, zucchini, beets, or peas.
Add a squeeze of lemon right before serving for added health benefits.
Variations
Vegetable Pasta Stir-Fry: Serve over 1 and a half cups cooked brown rice pasta
Vegetable Rice Stir-Fry: Serve over 1 cup cooked rice
Sesame Vegetable Stir-Fry: Use sesame seed oil instead of coconut oil
Artichoke Vegetable Stir-Fry: Add artichokes.
Spicy Vegetable Stir-Fry: Add half a teaspoon or more of cayenne pepper.
Sweet Vegetable Stir-Fry: Add 1 tablespoon or more honey or maple syrup when adding the vegetables
Meat and Veg Stir-Fry: If you are a meat eater, add chicken, beef, or scrambled eggs to this dish.
Calories: 190 | Total Fat: 16g | Carbs: 11g | Dietary Fiber: 5g | Protein: 4g
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Immune boosting soup
This soup is incredibly immune boosting because it combines onion and tomato with garlic and spices. Onions are high in vitamin C which is apparently one of the reasons we crave them when we’re feeling run down. Werner-Gray suggests making a large batch of this soup up to keep in the freezer and then defrosting a pot whenever you’re feeling run down. Fresh herbs are best to use for their immune boosting properties but if you don’t have access to fresh herbs you can just make this recipe with dried herbs.
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
Pinch or two of cayenne pepper
8 fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh coriander or 1 teaspoon dried
3 fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
3 medium tomatoes
To make
Heat the oil in a pot on medium heat, then add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. (I like to gather up all my spices now, while the onion softens.)
Mix all the herbs and spices into the pot.
Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze their juice into the pot. Then chop up the tomatoes into bite-size pieces, and add them to the pot.
Add 2 cups water and let cook for 7 minutes.
Taste, then season with more salt and pepper, if desired.
Top tip
Top with additional fresh herbs like basil, parsley, and cilantro.
Calories: 149 | Total Fat: 7.9g | Carbs: 17.8g | Dietary Fiber: 4.8g | Protein: 2.5g
Almond crusted chicken tenders
Werner-Grey says that if you ask your butcher to cut the chicken into strips for you, or if you buy prepackaged chicken strips this will mean even less time in the kitchen. She also suggests serving them with Sweet Potato Fries and Four-Ingredient Green Salad. Tasty.
Serves 4
Ingredients
¾ cup extra-virgin coconut oil for cooking
1 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons turmeric powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
To make
Add the oil to a large pan and heat on medium-high.
Mix the almond flour, turmeric, and salt in a bowl or plate.
Wet the chicken with water, then dip them in the almond flour mixture until well coated.
Drop the tenders into the hot pan, and cook for 4 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through.
Variation
Use tigernut flour instead of almond flour.
Calories: 724 | Total Fat: 62g | Carbs: 10g | Dietary Fiber: 5g | Protein: 36g
Liana Werner-Gray grew up in the Australian outback and often hunted for food with her aboriginal neighbours. At the age of 16 she moved to Brisbane to pursue a modelling career and quickly became addicted to sugary junk foods, not having had them before. One day she landed herself in hospital and could no longer take her health for granted. She shared her journey to healing in her blog and then her first book The Earth Diet. After her first books success she has now created a book of her favourite quick recipes and time-saving techniques to create 10-Minute Recipes.
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