Food for Thought

Eat Better at Home

Get back into your kitchen so you and your family will eat more healthfully.  Follow these suggestions for eating better at home:

Cook and freeze ahead.  This isn't suggesting a marathon cooking day, just think ahead a little more.

• Instead of cooking and serving a pound of spaghetti, cook two pounds and freeze one pound for later.  All you have to do with a bag of frozen, cooked spaghetti is microwave with pasta sauce to reheat and serve.  It doesn't take any extra effort to cook two pounds of spaghetti noodles versus one.
• Instead of cooking one or two cups of rice, double that and freeze the extra.  You can heat frozen rice easily in the microwave.  Serve it with homemade chili, a veggie stir fry, beans, lentils, baked fish or chicken.
• It is easy to coo two dinners at the same time.  Serve one tonight and one the next day.  Just be sure that you refrigerate extras promptly in a shallow pan for food safety sake.  Reheat quickly and thoroughly.

Make fruit easy to eat.

• Keep the deli drawer full of apples, pears, and small oranges.
• Bowls of freshly rinsed cherries and grapes can be stored on counters and in the refrigerator.
• Sliced melon can be ready to go on plates.
• Take a bag of frozen blueberries, or peaches, or apples that are too ripe and place them in a large bowl with a little sugar.  Microwave on high for three to five minutes.  Spoon into bowls, cover and refrigerate.  This make a great dessert or snack.

Keep it easy when it comes to veggies

• Make a large salad without dressing and serve for two days.  Serve salad while everyone is waiting for dinner.  A variety of "add it yourself" items like nuts, croutons, vinegars and dressings deeps everyone interested.
• Keep baby carrots on hand for those before-dinner-I-am-starved snacks.
• Keep bags of frozen veggies on hand.  They are easy to heat and serve from the microwave or to add into pasta and rice dishes.

Shop smart.  Keep dry goods on hand.  You can often find better prices on bigger packages of dry goods like rice, lentils, oatmeal and dried beans.  This way you will spend less time at the grocery store just buying produce and a few other items like yogurt and fish or poultry.