Recipes in this article:
Shrimp Scampi ⋅ California Dinner Salad ⋅ Lemon-Caper Chicken and Cauliflower Rice ⋅ Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese
Having avoided grain and gluten for more than a decade, Danielle Walker knows the power of healthy, nutritious food. It’s what led her to write her best-selling cookbooks, including Against All Grain and Eat What You Love.
She also knows that to feel her best, she needs to balance her time in the kitchen with other priorities, like rest, exercise, and mindfulness. That’s what inspired her latest book, Healthy in a Hurry, her fourth New York Times bestseller. In it, she shares some of her favorite recipes for busy times, plus tips for organizing and meal prepping, and other shortcuts to make cooking easier without compromising quality.
“Spending hours in the kitchen in an attempt to eat healthy can sometimes just add to the stress,” Walker writes. “I wrote this book to achieve the former (healthy eating!) and avoid the latter (kitchen stress).”
Try one of these recipes from Healthy in a Hurry the next time you need a quick, nutritious meal.
— KAELYN RILEY
Shrimp Scampi
Makes 4 to 6 servings • Prep time 10 minutes • Cook time 25 minutes
- 1 medium spaghetti squash, about 3 lbs.
- 3 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp. fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- 5 tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 tbs. ghee
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined with the tails on
- Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Slice both ends off the squash and cut the squash crosswise into four or five rounds. Scoop out the seeds from the center of each round. Coat the rounds on both sides with 1 tablespoon of the oil, sprinkle both sides with ½ teaspoon salt, and arrange in a single layer on the prepared sheet pan. Bake the squash for 20 to 25 minutes, until fork-tender. Let cool, then use a fork to pull the flesh into noodlelike strands away from the squash rounds, leaving the “noodles” on the sheet pan and discarding the skins.
- Toss the squash noodles with any oil remaining in the pan, ½ teaspoon salt, the garlic powder, and 2 tablespoons of the parsley. Turn off the oven and return the noodles to the oven to keep warm.
- In a large skillet, heat the ghee and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about one minute, until fragrant. Add wine, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and the red-pepper flakes to taste. Raise the heat to medium-high. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about two minutes, until the wine is reduced by half.
- Add the shrimp and sauté for two to three minutes, until they just turn pink and curl slightly. Stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons of parsley and lemon juice and zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- To serve, divide the noodles among individual plates and top with the shrimp.
California Dinner Salad
Makes 4 to 6 servings • Prep time 15 minutes
Salad
- 8 cups loosely packed mixed greens
- 1 small head radicchio, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 ½ cups fruit (sliced apples, pears, oranges, and/or figs; halved grapes; or clementine segments)
- ½ cup toasted nuts and seeds (lightly salted walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, and/or pecans)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, basil, cilantro, chives, and/or green onions (white and green parts)
- 2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and sliced
- ¼ cup Maple-Cider Vinaigrette
Maple-Cider Vinaigrette
- 2 tbs. pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ tbs. apple-cider vinegar
- ½ tbs. Dijon mustard
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ tsp. ground coriander
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. ground cumin
- ⅛ tsp. ground turmeric
- ½ tsp. fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salad
- In a large salad bowl, layer the greens, fruit, nuts and seeds, herbs, and avocado. Toss gently to combine.
- Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss again to coat. Serve immediately.
Vinaigrette
- In a bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, spices, salt, and pepper.
- Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking vigorously.
- Use immediately, or transfer to a jar, cap tightly, and store in the fridge for up to three weeks. Shake well before using.
Lemon-Caper Chicken and Cauliflower Rice
Makes 4 to 6 servings • Prep time 15 minutes • Cook time 10 minutes
- 2 tbs. ghee or avocado oil
- 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
- ¾ tsp. fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 tsp. dried parsley
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 12-oz. package frozen cauliflower rice
- ¾ cup chicken bone broth
- ¼ cup full-fat coconut cream
- 1 tbs. arrowroot powder
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 bunch lacinato (Tuscan) kale, stems and ribs removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tbs. drained capers
- 2 tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- In a large skillet, melt the ghee over high heat. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper, add to the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, for two to three minutes, until well browned on all sides.
- Turn down the heat to medium-high, add the garlic, shallot, dried parsley, and oregano, and cook, stirring occasionally, for three to five minutes more, until the shallots begin to soften.
- Add the cauliflower rice and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, for two to three minutes, until the cauliflower has thawed and is slightly browned.
- Pour in the broth and stir to release any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut cream, arrowroot, and lemon juice. Pour the mixture into the skillet and let it come to a boil.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for three to five minutes, until the rice has soaked up most of the liquid.
- Stir in the kale and capers and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove from the heat and serve immediately, sprinkled with the lemon zest and fresh parsley.
Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese
Makes 4 to 6 servings • Prep time 15 minutes • Cook time 10 minutes
- 2 8-oz. boxes grain-free short pasta (such as elbows, shells or penne)
- 12 oz. white-fleshed sweet potatoes or russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 6 oz. carrots, peeled and halved
- 1 ⅔ cups chicken bone broth
- ½ yellow onion, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 tbs. nutritional yeast
- ⅓ cup melted ghee or extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp. apple-cider vinegar
- ½ tsp. prepared yellow mustard
- Fine sea salt
- 2 tsp. arrowroot powder, if needed for thickening
- ¼ tsp. white pepper
- Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the package. While the pasta cooks, prepare the vegetables.
- Drain the noodles but do not rinse them and do not wipe the pot clean.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, broth, onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, ghee, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and 3 ½ teaspoons salt to the pot and set over medium-high heat.
- Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until the vegetables are fork-tender. Remove from the heat.
- Let the vegetables and liquid cool slightly, then pour into a blender and blend on high speed for about one minute, until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender directly in the pot to purée until smooth.
- Return the sauce to the pot over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer, and simmer for two minutes. If the sauce is too thin, in a small bowl, whisk together the arrowroot and 1 tablespoon water to make a slurry, then whisk the slurry into the sauce and simmer for three minutes more, until thickened.
- Gently stir the noodles into the sauce until coated.
- Season to taste with salt and the pepper, then serve immediately.
From the book DANIELLE WALKER’S HEALTHY IN A HURRY: Real Life. Real Food. Real Fast. by Danielle Walker. Copyright © 2022 by Simple Writing Holdings, LLC. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
This article originally appeared as “Healthy In a Hurry” in the January/February 2023 issue of Experience Life.
This Post Has 2 Comments
The recipes are great, but it would be so helpful to include nutritional information, including carbohydrates, which are so necessary to know for insulin-dependent diabetics like me. Thanks in advance!
Just wondering if there is an easy way to save these recipes?