By the time it comes to preparing meals, people today are stressed, tired and pulled at from all directions. Your children need your attention, your boss makes demands, your parents need you and your partner wants time with you as well. Far easier to order a take-out or heat up a processed frozen meal – quicker, but not healthier.
There is an alternative. Preparing simple healthy meals doesn’t have to be a chore. Once you get into the rhythm of cooking, you will discover that you save money and will probably lose weight too. Another benefit of preparing meals at home is that the activity can be a form of exercise in certain circumstances, or at least become a meditative moment in which to relax.
Trick: Double Up
Make double quantities next time your cooking, and store one half in the freezer for another day. Cook and freeze meat, poultry, stews, casseroles, soups and other dishes so that when you’re tempted to order takeout, all you have to do is warm up the frozen food, add a little something, and you’ve got a healthy meal.
Tip: Cold Salad Is A Meal
Don’t discount salad as a meal. Adding the right ingredients can turn plain lettuce and tomato into a sumptuous meal. Add seeds, nuts, meat or fish for protein, fruit and vegetables and croutons for a gourmet surprise. Try grilled salmon on a bed of greens with a little dressing drizzled over it – really good healthy food.
If you have left over chicken from last night’s dinner, mix it with greens, some feta cheese, roasted red peppers, a few olives and a dash of dressing. A good whole wheat bread completes the dish. Another idea is a healthy pasta salad. Mix cook pasta with a little balsamic dressing, some chicken, cold peas, and any other vegetables you have handy. Toss it and serve. Left overs make wonderful salads. Use some leftover chicken to make a scrumptious salad, adding feta cheese, greens, roasted red peppers and a few olives for a twist on the Greek salad. Pasta makes a lovely filling salad, and works well with peas, chicken or tuna fish and balsamic dressing.
Where to Find the Recipes
With the help of the many recipes available on websites, in books and on television, you can turn out superb meals without having to take a chef’s course. Fish is an easy hot meal to prepare. All it takes is a good squirt of lemon and a little olive oil before baking or grilling it. Onion and sweet pepper can be chopped up and spread over the fish before baking for extra flavor.
Learn the secrets of healthy living and a healthy lifestyle.
