Quick Healthy Dinners

This pesto chicken pasta is my answer to the 6 p.m. takeout urge. Seared chicken breast, whole wheat pasta cooked right in the same pot with broth, a jar of pesto, a bag of spinach wilted in at the end...

Honey garlic pork chops are the answer to pork's unfair reputation. The dry, gray chop of memory was an overcooked chop — cooked to today's actual target of 145°F and glazed in the same pan, pork is a 20-minute dinner...

Some dinners are transportation and some are comfort. This ground turkey and sweet potato skillet manages both: smoky, slightly sweet, finished with melted cheddar, and still a single pan of lean protein and vegetables that's done in half an hour...

These healthy sloppy joes taste like the ones from the school cafeteria, and I mean that as a compliment. Lean ground turkey, a sauce built from tomato sauce and a spoon of maple instead of a can of the sweet...

These shrimp tacos are the fastest real dinner I know. Shrimp tossed in chili, cumin, and lime, seared for four minutes, then piled onto warm corn tortillas with a crunchy cabbage slaw dressed in Greek yogurt and lime. Fifteen minutes...

The best healthy chicken fried rice starts with rice you cooked yesterday. Day-old rice, diced chicken breast, three eggs, a bag of frozen peas and carrots, and low sodium soy sauce, all in one skillet in about 20 minutes. It...

Lemon butter tilapia is the dinner for the night you have fifteen minutes and zero negotiation left in you. Season, sear, spoon over a quick garlic-lemon butter — done before the oven would have preheated. Each serving delivers 35 grams...

Some nights the choice isn't between cooking and takeout; it's between takeout and cereal. This 15-minute garlic shrimp stir-fry exists for those nights. Shrimp, a pile of vegetables, and a garlicky soy-sesame sauce, done before a pot of rice would...

Cajun shrimp and smoked sausage in one screaming-hot skillet is what I make when dinner needs to taste like effort without requiring any. Twenty-two minutes, one pan, and the kitchen smells like New Orleans. A serving delivers 38 grams of...

Ground chicken tacos are the fastest honest dinner I know: twenty minutes, one skillet, and a spice mix from jars you already own. The packet is not invited. Two loaded tacos — tortillas, cheese, and the Greek yogurt standing in...