3 healthy, delicious meal ideas for January
Happy New Year from all of us at VG Meats! We hope you had a joyful, restful holiday season and are starting 2024 with optimism and enthusiasm for what’s ahead. We know a lot of customers are looking for nutritious meal options after an indulgent holiday season—food that will help them feel healthy and energetic as they tackle a new year. We know a thing or two about food, so we’ve gathered up a few recommendations to help you kick off 2024 on a healthy, happy note. Thanks for reading—we hope to see you in Simcoe or Stoney Creek soon! Remember, you can also place an order at VGFarmToCity.ca and choose from home delivery or picking up your order in store.
Steak stir fry
Beef stir fry is one of those meals that’s flavourful and delicious but also really fast and easy to prepare—what we like to call a weeknight winner. You can use any kind of protein for your stir fry, but skirt steak is a great option. Not only is this an affordable cut, it’s excellent in stir fry recipes and will end up juicy, tender and flavourful. You can add just about anything to a stir fry but we recommend snow peas, bell peppers, thin-sliced carrots, broccoli and plenty of aromatics (garlic, ginger, etc). Keep things mild or add some heat, and serve your stir fry as is or with a portion of rice or rice noodles. This is the kind of meal you don’t necessarily need a recipe for—feel free to wing it!—but here’s a great one from Food Network to help you get started.
Chicken vegetable soup
Chicken vegetable soup is delicious, comforting, and packed with protein and nutrients. There’s nothing better than a hot bowl of homemade soup on a cold day, and you’ll probably have enough left for tomorrow’s lunch. Chicken vegetable soup is also very cost-effective and a great use of a leftover roast chicken. You could serve this soup on its own, with a side salad or with some fresh bread. Feel free to experiment or add to any basic chicken vegetable soup recipe—for example, adding or substituting vegetables to suit your family’s preferences, or adding a bit of ginger or curry to the broth. Here’s an excellent recipe from Jamie Oliver to inspire you.
Oven-roasted garlic pork chops
It’s no secret that we love fresh, local pork chops—they’re tender, juicy and absolutely delicious. There are a million ways to prepare a pork chop and make it delicious, but sometimes simple is best. Oven-roasted garlic pork chops take very little time to prepare and only have a handful of ingredients. Serve them with a side of green beans or broccoli, plus your favourite style of potatoes. This is another great weeknight dinner, but you could just as easily dress it up and serve it on a Sunday. Here’s the recipe—enjoy!
