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Tips to Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals Here are some simple ideas for making meals more quickly and for making healthy selections. 1) Menu Planning - use what you have, use up leftovers, create leftovers for lunches, plan in times to eat out, eat pizza. Most food preparation time is wasted trying to decide what to make. IF you plan ahead, you don't waste time. 2) Purchase real food, nothing pre-made in a package. Deli food, on the other hand, can be a good thing. 3) Use the microwave for cooking not just re-heating. 4) Make what the family likes to prevent snacking. 5) Shop when there are sales at the stores and use coupons if you like, but don't use up gas and precious time to save $2. Find the balance. Shopping at one or two stores speeds shopping because you know the layout better and don't have as many choices. 6) Select stores that honor competitor's coupons to reduce the trips. 7) Stores often repeat their sales on a regular cycle. If you get to know that cycle, you can set up your menu plans to take advantage of sale prices. 8) Stock up, but again find that balance. Don't shop weekly if you can do it monthly. Buy quantities of items on sale and freeze them. Pull out items needed to thaw according to your menu plan. Buy things you like in quantity. If you go through 2 cases of root beer a month, why are you only buying a 12-pack? Be aware of your available storage space and use it wisely. 9) Inspire family members to participate in preparing the meal. Assign older children a night to cook their favorite dish. Have younger children tear lettuce. There's plenty of work to go around! 10) Clean up as you go. If the sink is full of sudsy water when you start making a meal, you will be more enticed to quickly wash utensils, pots and pans as you go. Throw things directly into the dishwasher. Keep a dish rag handy and wipe up the stove while it is still warm, just before serving. It cleans much easier and you can then use it as an extra surface to place things on during clean-up. Put food items away after using them. Don't leave the oil and flour out on the counter. 11) Arrange your kitchen so it is as efficient as possible. A larger kitchen can be less efficient than a small one because it takes so many steps to go from stove to sink. Identify work areas and keep things near where you use them. 12) Find dishes that the family likes that combine cooking effort or dishes. Casseroles use fewer pots and pans, for example. Use a splatter screen to steam veggies over other foods that are cooking below. |
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