EASY TIPS (P7)

Healthy eating tip 10: Plan quick and easy meals ahead


Healthy eating starts with great planning. You will have won half the healthy diet battle if you have a well-stocked kitchen, a stash of quick and easy recipes, and plenty of healthy snacks.

Plan your meals by the week or even the month
One of the best ways to have a healthy diet is to prepare your own food and eat in regularly. Pick a few healthy recipes that you and your family like and build a meal schedule around them. If you have three or four meals planned per week and eat leftovers on the other nights, you will be much farther ahead than if you are eating out or having frozen dinners most nights.

Shop the perimeter of the grocery store
In general, healthy eating ingredients are found around the outer edges of most grocery stores—fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and poultry, whole grain breads and dairy products. The centers of many grocery stores are filled with overpriced, processed foods that aren’t good for you. Shop the perimeter of the store for most of your groceries (fresh items), add a few things from the freezer section (frozen fruits and vegetables), and the aisles with spices, oils, and whole grains (like rolled oats, brown rice, whole wheat pasta).

Cook when you can
Try to cook one or both weekend days or on a weekday evening and make extra to freeze or set aside for another night. Cooking ahead saves time and money, and it is gratifying to know that you have a home cooked meal waiting to be eaten.

Have an emergency dinner or two ready to go
Challenge yourself to come up with two or three dinners that can be put together without going to the store—utilizing things in your pantry, freezer and spice rack. A delicious dinner of whole grain pasta with a quick tomato sauce or a quick and easy black bean quesadilla on a whole wheat flour tortilla (among endless other recipes) could act as your go-to meal when you are just too busy to shop or cook.

Stock your kitchen to be meal ready
Try to keep your kitchen stocked with recipe basics:
Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.
Recipe and soup starters such as garlic, onions, carrots, and celery.
Healthy staples like brown rice, white Basmati rice, whole-wheat pasta, quinoa, and wild rice.
Whole wheat bread and tortillas for healthy sandwiches and wraps.
Beans such as lentils, black beans, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, fava beans, and lima beans.
Frozen corn, peas, and other vegetables to add to recipes or for a quick vegetable side dish.
Frozen fruit and berries to make smoothies or frozen desserts.
Dark greens for salads, plus salad add-ins like dried fruit, nuts, beans, and seeds.
Fresh and dried herbs and spices.
Healthy fats and oils for cooking, such as olive oil and canola oil. You can also try specialty oils like peanut, sesame, or truffle oil for adding flavor.
Unsalted nuts for snacking, like almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts, and pistachios.
Vinegars, such as balsamic, red wine, and rice vinegar for salads and veggies.
Strong cheeses, like aged Parmesan or blue cheese for intense flavor in salads, pasta, and soups.