Everyone who has ever juggled home, family and kids knows how
difficult it is to create healthy meals when pressed for time.
Cooking healthy, delicious meals can be difficult, but some
advance planning can allow you to make the most of your cooking
time.
One way to cook healthy meals that are easy to prepare is to
plan your meals around several key foods that can be prepared in
large quantities and used in several different recipes on
consecutive nights. This method of making meals last is totally
different from the usual strategy of making a huge batch of food
and living on leftovers for the rest of the week. Your family
will certainly appreciate the difference.
There are some key elements to cooking this way. The first step
is to promptly separate and refrigerate the portion that will be
used for the next days meal before you place tonight's meal on
the table. Refrigerating the unused portion of the prepared meal
is important to preventing food borne illnesses, especially when
serving meat, poultry, seafood or any meal containing eggs or
dairy products.
The foods that have been prepared ahead of time should be stored
in shallow containers to allow it to cool more quickly in the
refrigerator. Thicker foods like stews, puddings and meat slices
should be stored in bowls no deeper than two inches. The food
should be stirred occasionally as it cools.
The left over refrigerated foods should be used within one to
two days. If the food is to be stored longer than that, it
should be frozen for later use and thawed overnight in the
refrigerator. Thawing food at room temperature should be
avoided, since it can be a gateway to food borne illnesses and
other pathogens.
One of the easiest examples of the leftover strategy is chicken
breasts or turkey cutlets. Poultry works great for this
strategy, since it is easy to cook large quantities.
Start by cooking extra chicken breasts or turkey cutlets. Half
of the chicken or turkey should be refrigerated overnight for
use the next day. The remaining half can be topped with your
favorite spices, sauces and seasonings and served right away.
The brilliance of this strategy will become apparent the next
evening, when the other half of the turkey or chicken can be
used in an entirely different way. One great way to use the
other half is to cut it into strips, add lettuce and salad
dressing and create a delicious Caesar salad. Thus one staple
food becomes two delicious and totally different meals.
Rice is another great staple that works well for planned ahead
meals. The rice dishes start with cooking and preparing a large
quantity of rice. While the rice is cooking, add some ground
beef or ground turkey to tomato sauce and flavor it with some
Italian seasonings. Pour it over the rice and serve your family
a great meal.
On the second night, take the remaining rice, fry it in a
skillet and mix it will your favorite vegetables and perhaps a
can of shrimp or crab for another, totally different rice based
meal.
The leftover rice can also be saved and combined with turkey,
chicken or beef from previous meals to create different flavor
combinations, including casseroles and soups.
Rice makes a great staple for nay meal preparation plan. In
addition to its versatility, rice is also easy to freeze. After
the cooked rice has been cooled in the fridge, it is easy to
transfer to freezer bags and saved for future quick, easy and
healthy meals.
No matter how short of time you are, it is still possible to
create delicious, nutritious meals in no time. Making a week's
worth of meals in only a few hours will give you more time to
enjoy your food and your family.
About the author:
Tony Robinson is a Company CEO, webmaster husband and dad. In
his busy lifestyle he has placed importance on health and
fitness. Visit
http://www.eat-healthily.com for good eating tips
and techniques to assist you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
