Lemongrass Mussels, Vegetables & Noodles

Ever since trying frozen mussels Steamed Mussels in White Wine Sauce - Trader Joes, I have let down my guard on frozen shell-fish products, in general. That said, I still take a few moments to scan the ingredient list and nutrition label to make sure the ingredients are as natural (less processed) as possible and the sodium level is not exceedingly high. For example, the clams used in Steamed Eggs with Clams is a good quality product that produced such deliciousness with minimal effort.

Back to the Whole Catch Mussels - Lemongrass Curry from Whole Foods Market which might not have one of the best ingredient lists (it's okay good, just not perfectly good) but @$2.99 a package, who could resist this value deal, and the convenience it will bring to the table when one craves seafood.

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Tomato Sauce Meatballs Protein Bowl

No mangoes to make Mango Tomato Sauce Meatballs, but there is always a pack of frozen vegetables available, so why not? For added fiber and overall nutrition as the more (veggies), the merrier.

That completes today's Meatballs Protein Bowl - steamed vegetables as the base, and portion of pasta to pair with tomato sauce meatballs.

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Black Bean Patty Vegetarian Protein Bowl

This vegetarian plant-based protein bowl is made with store-bought black beans patty, paired with vegetables - broccoli, Brussel sprouts, spinach, carrots and cooked barley.


With more time on hand, you can always make your own bean patty/cake e.g. Black Bean Potato Patty/Cake. 

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Cottage Cheese Veggie Egg Frittata

Small yet mighty, eggs pack in dense nutrition for 70-80 calories. It's a staple in our family. Is it also a basic ingredient/food necessity for your family?

The whites brim with protein, while the yolks deliver Vitamin D, cholin, lutein and zeaxanthin. Vitamin D - essential for bone health, immune function and calcium absorption; Cholin - an essential nutrient to maintain muscle and memory; Lutein and Zeaxanthin - antioxidants to prevent age-related macular degeneration.  


Today's Cottage Cheese Veggie Egg Frittata is like any other frittata made before - just tweaked and improved with addition of cottage cheese to boost amount of protein; at the same time making the egg frittata more moist and fluffy.

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Garbanzo Beans Chickpeas with Vegetables

Happy 2026 and we hope your 2026 has been off to a great start!

The new year starts off with this healthy nutritious vegetarian/meatless bowl meal nicely balanced with a variety of cooked vegetables, roasted chickpeas/garbanzo beans, and black rice.

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Winter Melon Soup

We are heading towards soup season here, as temperature starts to drop. So it's soup dish today-Winter Melon Soup.


Abeit the word "winter", winter melon is actually not a winter squash. Named winter melon because of the "sugar" concentrated on the outer green skin that resembles frost, thus the term "winter".

Winter melon is perishable when already cut and sold in wedges; compared to hairy melon/fuzzy squash typically sold whole and can keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. You can also use hairy melon/fuzzy for this soup if you prefer, depending on what's available in your local market.

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Fried Chicken Bowl

Never would I have thought that fried chicken would one day be featured in my bowl meals because fried chicken - KFC style, the fried chicken we grew up eating, is one of the last food dishes I would cook at home.

Out of sight, out of mind. Well, that was until this $2 off fried chicken coupon was sighted in my supermarket shopping account. And what can be better than using this discount to buy an item that I would never prepare/cook at home.


How about waiting for a double discount deal? That popped up in my mind. I will wait for a 5-dollar Friday - that's when 8-piece fried chicken goes on sale for $5 (vs other times, almost twice the price, about $9); then use this $2 discount on this 5-dollar Friday.Woot! 8-piece fried chicken (mix of fried drumsticks and thighs) for $3! (pardon the overuse of exclamation marks).

That's frugal living (did you know: our family also uses store-bought whole rotisserie chicken to prep the family's protein bowls); and planning ahead is part of frugal living including today's semi-homecooked bowl meal.

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Shishito Peppers (Twist Chili) Tofu Bowl

This is a vegetarian version of Shishito Peppers Protein Bowl, substituting chicken with tofu. 


They are many ways to make delicious tofu including Chimichurri Tofu, Korean Spicy Tofu, or Chilled Tofu, Five-Spice Marinated Tofu. Instead of tofu, you can also use Tofu Sheets/Yuba - another great meatless high-protein option. Yuba/Fresh Tofu Sheets Salad is one of my favorite ways to enjoy yuba/fresh tofu sheets

If you going for a simple, no-frills tofu recipe, a little salt, black pepper and garlic powder also goes a long way.

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Steamed Eggplant with Garlic Chili

Besides Roasted Eggplant/Brinjal with Garlic and Spicy Chili Eggplant/Brinjal, steamed eggplant/brinjal is also my go-to eggplant/brinjal preparation whenever I want to put together something easy, quick, healthy and delicious.

Today, this Steamed Eggplant with Garlic fits the bill of being easy, quick, healthy and delicious.

Asian eggplant variety such as Chinese eggplant and Japanese eggplant which have thin delicate skin and sweeter flesh are more suitable for steamed eggplant dishes.

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Smelt Fish Protein Bowl

Besides salmon, mackerel, milkfish, hairtail ribbon fish, this high calcium smelt fish (oven-roast or pan-fried) can also be protein entree to these protein bowl meals.


Oven-roast or pan-fried, these smelt fish (also known as capelin or Japanese masagos) are deliciously crispy and makes protein bowls such a healthy delight to enjoy.

If you are not a fan of fish, you can opt for other seafood option or stick with chicken.

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Shredded Chicken Curry Bowl

When there was leftover curry chicken, we made Curry Chicken Protein Veggie Bowl. But this time, only gravy remaining and no chicken leftover in the curry chicken! The frugality in me simply wants to "save" that precious gravy (can't waste the essence of curry chicken, right?).

The following day, two different leftovers: shredded chicken breast and curry gravy became good friends - combo created by adding leftover shredded chicken breast into the leftover curry gravy, then reheated to make this Shredded Chicken Curry Veggie Bowl.

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Chinese New Year Pork Trotters with Noodles and Vegetables

Braised pork trotters is one of the Chinese New Year dishes enjoyed during this festive season as pigs are auspicious animals in Chinese culture and symbolize strength and good fortune.

This dish is prepared using store-bought boneless pork trotters, tossed with noodles symbolizing longevity equivalent to being in good health and paired with "lucky" vegetables combo.

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Egg Frittata Breakfast Sandwiches

Skip store-bought breakfast and make your own healthier version.  This time, I improved on these breakfast sandwiches with egg frittata as sandwich fillers. These are great make-ahead breakfast sandwiches.

Our family enjoys egg frittata including Onion Egg Frittata, Gouda Cheese Egg Frittata, Pico De Gallo/Salsa Egg Frittata, Frozen Veggies Egg Frittata, Fish & Oats Egg Frittata (made with leftover fish!).

Make a batch, wrap up the extras and warm them up when required.


The idea of make-ahead is to save time especially when the day gets busy. However, you still have to fork out some time about 20 minutes or so, during less hectic days to make this happen; or more accurately, make the egg frittata happen. This is an easy version of entirely-oven-baked egg frittata, all for the sake of us, the busy humans.

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Tempeh Protein Bowl with Marinated Feta Cheese

These bowl-meals are usually built in a few steps which include preparing the vegetables as the base and portioning the protein.


Protein feature in today's bowl is tempeh, and hard-boiled eggs (discover this Rapid Egg Cooker) paired with vegetable base that includes steamed broccolini, red cabbage, mushrooms (check this multipurpose Stainless Steel Steamer)

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Shrimps Chicken Multigrain Congee Porridge

A few days away from daylight savings when we turn our clock back an hour. The days are getting shorter and temperatures are down to sweater weather.

A warm wholesome bowl of multigrain congee (this Rice Cooker /Multicooker will be useful) is a welcoming meal as we embrace autumn and winter. Call this Surf and Turf as shrimps (prawns) and ground  meat (pork, chicken) are added to the otherwise plain bowl of congee made from brown rice, millet, quinoa.

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Shishito Peppers Chicken Protein Bowl

This thin-skinned, wrinkled-looking, mild- spicy East Asian pepper variety - Shishito Peppers is one of the easiest chili peppers to prep and cook. 


When roasted, the natural "smoked" flavor of these blistered peppers make protein bowls extra delicious.

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Chicken Vegetables with Pine Nuts

Most of us yearn to enjoy warm and freshly prepared dishes - dishes which are cooked on the stove or in the oven, brought straight to the dining table; but we do not always have the luxury to do so. Those who meal prep lunch in the morning to bring it on-the-go, do you reheat/warm your lunch box (consider this Electric Steamer/Cooker) when you are at work? Our family usually does not reheat the food items especially when it comes to veggie protein bowls.

This Chicken Veggie Bowl is built from a base of cooked/steamed vegetables, then topped with steamed/stir-fried greens, shredded chicken (freshly cooked or leftovers) and pine nuts (our family enjoys nuts quite a bit and hoping to make our own nut milk in the future).

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Cheese Stuffed Shishito Peppers

This Cheesy Stuffed Shishito Peppers appetizer is easy to make and a flavor bomb even with such simple ingredients - only two ingredients.


This appetizer should also work well with other mild-heat chili peppers such as jalapeno or Korean chili peppers.

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Wonton (Chicken Dumplings) Salad

Store-bought frozen wontons is one of my freezer stash. It might not be the healthiest (homemade ones are always better than store-bought) to stock up in the freezer but it is a convenient choice especially when you want a quick and reasonably balanced meal on a busy day.

This Wontons (Chicken Dumplings) Salad is best enjoyed warm, most suitable during spring weather when the temperature swings from 70Fs to 60Fs within the same day, and varies similar range in the same week. I still love wonton dumpling soup and dumplings in egg-drop soup but not so much when the temperature inches up.


There are different variations of Wonton Salad made in the past e.g. Wontons with Pea Sprouts and Snow Peas, Wontons with Broccoli and Cabbage, colorful variations  Wonton with Beets and Kale. Each time, it gets bigger and better, worthy of a bowl meal e.g. Wontons with Butternut Squash, Asparagus, Cauliflower, Wontons with Egg, Broccoli, Zucchini.

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Budget Chuck Roast Beef Salad

Same same but different. This beef salad is similar to Roast Beef Steak Salad Bowl just using different cut of meat. Same same but different. With the same chuck roast, let's change up the vegetables, so still worthy to be a Budget-Friendly Beef Salad.

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