There are days when you just feel like indulging in a delicious meal that instantly leaves you with a feeling of tranquility after a rough day at work! This may read so good and comforting, but it often seems like a distant dream for someone who has been feeling tuckered out after a long hectic day.

There’s nothing more tiring as well as frustrating than cooking an elaborate meal after a hard day at work or making a 3-course meal early in the morning, especially when you are already tired with settling the household chores or running late for work. It is impossible to strike the right balance of nutrition and taste in your meals with that busy schedule!

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If you too can relate to the same dilemma and go through it every day, then here are a few quick and easy last-minute meals for busy families that will give you the much-needed boost of nutrition and taste that will leave you with a sense of rejuvenation!

Easy pea and spinach carbonara 

Fresh pasta cooks up faster than dried, making it a must-have for fast weeknight dinners like this luscious yet healthy meal. Eggs are the base of the creamy sauce. They don’t get fully cooked, so use pasteurized-in-the-shell eggs if you prefer.

Chickpea curry

Made with convenient canned beans, this quick and healthy Indian recipe is an authentic chickpea curry that you can make in minutes. If you want an additional vegetable, stir in some roasted cauliflower florets. Serve with brown basmati rice or warm naan.

Scrambled egg

This meatless dinner comes together in only 15 minutes, thanks to the convenience of frozen chopped spinach and crumbled feta. We’ve added a flavorful burst of sun-dried tomato tapenade to spread over the whole-wheat pita before nestling the scrambled eggs inside. If you can’t find it, basil pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto also work well.

Bourbon chicken

Coating the chicken in cornstarch might seem like an extra step, but the reward is twofold: it gives the chicken a crispy exterior and also thickens the sauce. Legend has it that bourbon chicken was originally named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans; it can often be found on menus at Chinese American restaurants.

Bean and tostadas

Making your tostadas is easy. Use store-bought corn tortillas, brush them with olive oil and bake to crunchy perfection! Here we topped the tostada with refried beans and fresh pico de gallo for an easy 3-ingredient meal.

Lentil curry with cauliflower rice

Combine pre-cooked lentils (often located in the produce section of your grocery store) with an Indian-style simmer sauce for a super-fast and flavorful curry. Serving it over riced cauliflower bumps up the vegetable count and keeps carb servings in check. This 3-ingredient dinner (not counting salt, pepper, and oil) is as easy as it gets. To be mindful of the salt, look for simmer sauces with less than or close to 350 mg sodium per ¼-cup serving.

Vegan coconut chickpea curry

To make this 20-minute vegan curry even faster, buy pre-cut veggies from the salad bar at the grocery store. To make it a full, satisfying dinner, serve over cooked brown rice. When shopping for simmer sauce, look for one with 400 mg of sodium or less and check the ingredient list for cream or fish sauce if you want to keep this vegan. If you like a spicy kick, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce at the end.