Along with the menu plan, meal prep and recipe post I have shared each week, I have also tried to include some type of tip or trick to help in planning. I shared some ways to plan your meals easier, how to freeze bulk items into easy to grab ice cubes and some apps to deliver savings while you shop. Today I want to share some items which I think you should ALWAYS have in your pantry. Keeping this selection on hand will ensure you will not be scrambling to figure out what to eat last minute because it will be your fail safe.

Proteins: Tuna / Chicken / Ground Turkey / Beans / Eggs / Greek Yogurt

Carbohydrate: Pasta / Rice / Wrap or Tortilla / Naan

Extra: Diced Tomatoes or Rotel / Cheese / Condiment

The amount of dishes you can create from these 10(ish) items is crazy, not to mention whatever else you may have laying around. I will leave the ‘condiment’ open since that depends on your taste. I always have mustard, ketchup, mayo, sriracha and salad dressings on hand which help in adding flavor where it may be lacking (Greek Yogurt mixed with another condiment is another way to add flavor and protein while staying figure friendly).

Five Quick-Fix Meals with 5 Ingredients or Less

1. Eggs – cook Rotel or Diced Tomatoes, add beans, make a well for egg, cook, top with cheese
2. Chicken Quesadilla – chicken, tortilla, beans, cheese / condiment
3. Taco Bowl – Ground turkey, eggs, rice, yogurt + ketchup (healthy Thousand Island)
4. Pizza – Naan, chicken, beans, diced tomatoes, cheese
5. Pasta – Pasta, tuna, diced tomatoes, cheese

Disclaimer: all products were already in my house. i was not paid to promote the above products nor am I being reimbursed. i talk to you from the heart and not talking about products just for a kickback. thanks for reading!