You’ll never believe what you can make with 5 ingredients

As a working single mother of two teenagers and one tween, I don’t have much time to slave over a hot stove. I also don’t have time to cook lengthy recipes that call for lots of ingredients. Plus, there’s the budget thing — I’m always looking to make more with less.

Using five ingredients to create healthy, simple recipes seems like no easy feat, but let me tell you how much you can make with only five ingredients. For my new cookbook, “The Easy 5-Ingredient Healthy Cookbook: Simple Recipes to Make Healthy Eating Delicious,” which will be released April 3, I came up with more than 150 recipes that are not only five ingredients, but most of the recipes also take a maximum of 30 minutes, are freezer-friendly or can be cooked in the slow cooker.

[See: 11 Healthy Veggie Recipes That Prove Slow Cookers Are for More Than Meat.]

Before you try five-ingredient recipes, though, you need a well-stocked, well-organized pantry. It can make cooking a breeze, minimize your time at the supermarket and curb how much you spend. You don’t want to overstock it though; if you do, your goodies will get lost in the crowd. Rather, keep it organized and clean, and keep track of the use-by dates so you can use products with the earliest expiration dates first.

My list of pantry essentials include salt, black pepper, cooking spray, olive oil, honey, fresh lemons (for juice and zest) and fresh garlic. The first five are nonperishable, while the last two can be stored for several weeks. (These everyday items don’t count toward the five “ingredients” in my recipes.) Here are three from my cookbook to try:

[See: 10 Healthy Meals You Can Make in 10 Minutes.]

Strawberry-Kiwi Yogurt Parfaits

Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes

1 cup (about 8 large) strawberries, hulled and diced 2 kiwis, peeled and diced

1/4 cup freshly-squeezed or 100-percent orange juice

1 (32-ounce) container nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt

1/2 cup almonds, chopped

In a small bowl, place the strawberries and kiwis. Add the orange juice, and toss to evenly coat. In each of four parfait glasses, layer 1/4 cup yogurt and top with 2 tablespoons of the fruit mixture, followed by 1 tablespoon of chopped almonds. Repeat for a second layer.

Serve or cover and refrigerate for up to three days.

Nutrition information per serving (1 parfait): 314 calories; 9 g total fat (1 g saturated); 23 g protein; 40 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 78 mg sodium

Yellow Squash Noodles with Peas and Mint

Serves: 4 Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

1 cup frozen peas 3 medium yellow squash, or 6 cups of precut squash noodles

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

2 garlic cloves, minced

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil

/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup raw shelled pistachios, chopped

In a small saucepan, bring a cup of water to a boil. Add the frozen peas, reduce heat and simmer until heated through — about five minutes. Drain and allow the peas to cool. Using a spiralizer, make the squash noodles and place in a large bowl. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the mint, garlic, lemon zest and juice, olive oil and pepper.

Add the peas and squash noodles to the dressing and toss to evenly coat. Add the Parmesan, gently tossing to combine.

Sprinkle with the pistachios and serve.

Nutrition information per serving (2 cups): 315 calories; 23 g total fat (6 g saturated); 14 g protein; 16 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 330 mg sodium

[See: Cooking Tricks That Will Make Everyone Think You’re a Great Chef.]

Miso-Garlic Pork Chops

Serves: 4 Prep time: 10 minutes, plus 30 minutes to marinate

Cook time: 10 minutes

1/3 cup white miso 1/3 cup sake

1/3 cup mirin

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced
4 (5-ounce) boneless, pork loin chops

Cooking spray or 1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large bowl, mix the miso, sake, mirin, ginger and garlic into a smooth paste. Add the pork chops and turn to coat all sides with the glaze. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.

Coat a grill pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Alternatively, brush the grates of an outdoor grill with the olive oil. When the pan or grill is hot, cook the pork chops for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until they reach an internal cooking temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nutrition Information per serving (1 pork chop) : 209 calories; 4 g total fat(1 g saturated); 32 g protein; 12 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 932 mg sodium

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You?ll Never Believe What You Can Make With 5 Ingredients originally appeared on usnews.com

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