Time Saving Tips for eating healthy!

Hello All,

Here are some time saving tips that have helped me through the years!

Once I decide on a menu and pick the items up from the grocery store, I spend a day or several hours cooking.  Now for me this is usually a Saturday or Sunday.  As meat is the one component of any meal that takes the most amount of time, I usually make a couple of different meats and freeze them so that when I come home on any given night I can either make a couple of side dishes or a salad and be good to go.

For instance with lasagna,  I put two or three squares in some plastic wrap, then foil, then a ziplock bag and on a day when I know I'm gonna be slammed from running hither and yon, I take a packet out of the freezer before heading out for the day.  When I get home I either microwave it, or put it in the oven and make a nice garden salad to go with the lasagna.

The same with chicken or the rare occasions when I eat beef, I prepare the chicken in a couple of different ways, say for instance Chicken Risotto Milanese.  For this you need 1/2 cup of butter (sub olive oil to make this a healthier dish) 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts thinly sliced, 1 large onion, 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth ( i suggest Swanson's Natural Goodness which is lower in sodium than the regular or any other lower sodium chicken broth at your local store), 2 1/3 cups Arborio rice ( aka Risotto rice) 2/3 cup white wine (make sure that you use a wine you'd drink, if you don't have white, a nice zinfandel works fine) or omit if you like.  1 teaspoon crumbled saffron, and Parmesan cheese to garnish.   In a large sauce pan heat about 1/2 teaspoon of the olive oil and saute' the onion just until it softens next add the rice and stir so that the oil will coat the rice.  Add the saffron threads, and the thinly sliced chicken. Next add the chicken stock and bring it to just about a simmer.  This dish is a bit time consuming because you need to keep stirring the rice as the liquid cooks down. 

This is a dish that you can have for dinner one night, and perhaps lunch on another day with a side salad. 

If you're trying to watch your sodium intake, or trying to save a little money by not eating out so much or watching your weight, eating food that you've prepared yourself really helps you to know exactly what is in the food you're eating.

Sometimes I will make a whole meal, the meat and the side, and eat from it the whole week, for lunch and dinner, it all depends.  Keep in mind that your freezer is your friend and you can freeze just about anything for a long (cooked items) or short period (raw items) of time.  Of course you have to figure out what works best for you and your family, but I hope you will consider these suggestions!

Much love to all of you!

J