There is a simple way to have a healthy eating menu every single night for your family. All you have to do is have a well-stocked kitchen full of healthy foods and you’ll be good to go. Don’t let the “What am I going to cook for dinner” blues keep you from eating right. Know ahead of time what you will cook for dinner and be prepared.
Healthy Eating Menu: Stocking the Pantry
A well-stocked pantry with common sundry items such as legumes, rice, lentils, pasta and other whole grains is a must when wanting to cook healthy meals for yourself and family. Legumes can be used a hundred different ways and there are twenty different varieties to choose from. Beans can be used for nachos, pasta salad, pureed for dips, and used in soups and stews.
Brown rice can be prepared in a couple dozen ways from stir-fries to rice pudding. Whole grain pasta is healthy and can be used for salads, soups, stews, and a variety of sauces. A healthy pantry should not be without legumes, pasta, and brown rice. Think of all the healthy, tasty and simple meals you can prepare using these three common sundry items as the base.
Healthy Eating Menu: Stocking the Freezer
The refrigerator should always have the basic vegetables for soups and stews such as carrots, onions, and celery. But as we all know, it is not always feasible to have fresh vegetables available when we need them. That’s when frozen veggies come in handy.
Frozen vegetables aren’t always as tasteful as fresh, but most of the vitamin content has been retained through freezing. Most vegetables are picked fresh, quickly blanched and then frozen to keep the nutrition intact. Use frozen veggies in the same way you would fresh.
It’s also a good idea to have fresh frozen fruits and berries on hand, such as blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries. Berries are full of cancer fighting agents called antioxidants that protect the body. They are great in smoothies, cereal, and breakfast muffins.
Healthy Eating Menu: Stocking the Seasoning Rack
Nothing beats fresh herbs for flavoring our healthy meals with. Especially the aromatic herbs like basil, oregano and rosemary. But unless you have the luxury of your own herb garden, you’ll have to resort to the grocery store’s stockpile of herbs and seasonings. This is fine, but picking fresh basil from your own basil plant makes cooking a little bit more entertaining.
Be sure to have a variety of different herbs and spices on hand to flavor many of your dishes, sauces, soups, casseroles, and stews. Here is a basic list. Chili powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, curry powder, cayenne, sea salt, paprika, thyme, pizza seasoning, dill weed, sage, and garlic powder.
Healthy Eating: Cooking the Food
Now comes the fun part. Deciding what to cook with all the nutritious food in your kitchen. One way to get focused on nightly meals is to make a weekly menu of each meal you are going to cook for that week. Do the bulk of your shopping ahead of time. You can wash and cut vegetables and meats the night before.
You wouldn’t believe how much time you will save just doing the basic prep work the night before. And family members, if you’re reading this, give the cook some encouragement for their efforts in the kitchen. They will be overjoyed.
