8 Easy 5-Ingredient Meals for Weight Loss

If weight loss is one of your goals, you may think egg whites and grilled chicken are the only things you can eat to achieve a slimmer figure. Although these foods are great to include in any diet, including one focused on weight loss, you may be surprised at how many foods you can include in your weight loss journey. A weight loss diet doesn't have to be restrictive and exclude your favorite items; rather, it should focus on the wholesome foods that allow you to make progress while including items you love. Additionally, the preparation of foods should fit into your lifestyle.

Simple meals can be an important tool for sticking with an eating plan. Dishes that are labor and time intensive, and require tens of ingredients can be intimidating and hard to keep up with long term. Luckily, plenty of delicious, simple, and nutritious meals can be made with as few as five ingredients. To support your health and wellness goals, read on for eight easy five-ingredient meals for weight loss.

Turkey Burger & Salad

Whether you make your own turkey burger with lean meat and seasoning, or prefer the convenience of a store-bought patty, this is a great option for a meal loaded with protein. You could serve this same meal with a veggie burger or lean beef burger in place of the turkey for a little variety, too.

Ingredients:

• 2 cup spinach, raw (14 calories)
• 2 Tbsp salad dressing, Italian (70 calories)
• 2 Tbsp feta cheese, crumbled (50 calories)
• 4 oz. turkey burger, cooked (180 calories)
• ¼ avocado, pit removed, sliced (80 calories)

How to make:

Toss your spinach with salad dressing and feta. Top with cooked turkey burger and sliced avocado.

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Cottage Cheese Sweet Potato

This is a great vegetarian dish and comes together easily. If you are especially strapped for time, prepare your potatoes in bulk up to 4 days ahead of time, and reheat when you are ready to eat. The cottage cheese serves as a convenient and easy protein source, while the broccoli and avocado add volume and fiber to the meal. Top with a dash of hot sauce for extra flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 small sweet potato (about 3.5 oz) (79 calories)
• 1/3 cup 2% cottage cheese (61 calories)
• ½ avocado with pit removed, diced (161 calories)
• 1 cup broccoli, chopped and steamed (30 calories)
• 1/2 tsp. everything but the bagel seasoning (0 calories)

How to make:

Bake your sweet potato until tender. Once fork tender, cut open length wise and top with cottage cheese, diced avocado, broccoli and seasoning.

Pesto Chicken Pasta

Pasta is often thought of as off-limits in a weight loss diet, but noodles can be a good source of filling fiber. This dish is rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats making for an especially satisfying meal. This makes for great leftovers, too, and can be enjoyed warm, or chilled like a pasta salad. If you want to save a few calories and grams of fat, swap the olive oil for some cooking spray.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Ingredients:

• 3 oz rotisserie chicken breast, meat only, shredded (122 calories)
• ½ Tbsp olive oil (60 calories)
• 2 Tbsp pesto (115 calories)
• 1 cup whole wheat spaghetti, cooked (184 calories)
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, raw, halved (47 calories)

How to make:

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once heated, add chicken and heat. Remove chicken from heat and toss with 1 tablespoon of pesto. Next, combine the remaining tablespoon of pesto and halved tomatoes with your cooked pasta. Toss until well incorporated. Top with pesto chicken and serve warm.

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Shrimp Stir Fry

Shrimp is a lean source of protein and cooks up quickly. When paired with brown rice and veggies, you have a fiber-rich meal that comes together in no time. Prepare your rice in bulk a few days ahead to make for a quick dinner meal, or use microwave pouches for quick preparation the night of. Also consider swapping brown rice for quinoa for even more fiber in this meal.

Ingredients:

• ½ Tbsp sesame oil (60 calories)
• 3 oz shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined (72 calories)
• 1 cup frozen stir fry vegetables (123 calories)
• 1/2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce (4 calories)
• ½ cup brown rice, cooked (114 calories)

How to make:

Heat the sesame oil in a pan over medium heat. Add shrimp and heat until fully cooked. Add frozen vegetables and cook until warm and tender. Turn off the heat and toss in soy sauce. Serve over warm brown rice.

Tuna Lettuce Cups

Tuna is rich in Omega-3 fats, an essential fat that provides heart health benefits. It also requires minimal preparation, making it great for easy meals. Swap the raisins in this dish for any dried fruit of choice. Just make sure to skip options that have added sugar. Use a double layer of lettuce for each cup to boost fiber for very few calories.

Ingredients:

• 3.5 oz tuna, packed in water, drained (85 calories)
• ¼ cup celery, chopped (3 calories)
• ½ avocado (161 calories)
• ¼ cup raisins (107 calories)
• 3 Bib lettuce leaves, large (6 calories)

How to make:

Combine the drained tuna with celery, avocado, and raisins. Thoroughly combine until you reach your desired consistency. Serve in lettuce cups.

Bento Box

A bento box meal can be put together with endless food combinations. This option has a high protein content, allowing it to be filling and satisfying. While 5 grams of fiber is adequate for a meal, you can boost this number without adding many calories by increasing your serving of carrots, or adding another raw veggie to your plate.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, large, hard-boiled (142 calories)
• 1 oz cheddar cheese, sliced (115 calories)
• 6 whole grain crackers (79 calories)
• 1 cup grapes (62 calories)
• 5 baby carrots (17 calories)

How to make:

Enjoy components individually or in combined bites.

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Egg Salad in Bell Pepper

Eggs are a great source of protein, and can be convenient when you need something quickly. You can even boil your eggs in bulk to be used throughout a busy week. This meal is loaded with flavor and provides a large volume of food for relatively few calories. Add in seasoning and additional raw veggies for added flavor and crunch, or keep it simple with this 5-ingredient recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, large, hard boiled (142 calories)
• ¼ cup Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat (59 calories)
• ¼ cup celery, chopped (3 calories)
• ½ cup chickpeas, cooked, drained (105 calories)
• 1 bell pepper, red, seeded, halved (31 calories)

How to make:

Combine boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, celery and chickpeas, and mix to desired texture. Serve in bell pepper halves.

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Chicken quesadilla

A quesadilla is another food that is not generally thought to be weight loss-friendly. However, when you make it correctly, it can be part of a healthy diet. Corn tortillas provide about half as many calories as flour tortillas, making them a good option. Lean chicken boosts protein, and healthy fats and fiber from the avocado make this a filling meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 corn tortillas (105 calories)
• ¼ cup Mexican cheese, shredded (110 calories)
• 3 oz of rotisserie chicken breast, meat only, shredded (122 calories)
• ¼ avocado, mashed (80 calories)
• 1 small zucchini, diced (20 calories)

How to make:

Heat a pan over medium heat. Lay one tortilla in the pan and layer with half the cheese and all of the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the chicken and top with a second tortilla. Heat on both sides until the cheese is melted and the chicken is heated throughout. Dip in mashed avocado. Separately, heat the zucchini in a pan until the desired doneness.