Planning meals for your family can be quite difficult and time consuming. This is most especially true if you are planning nutritious and healthy meals. However, all you need is a little planning and some basic knowledge when it comes to nutrition, and you can easily create healthy meals that your family will surely enjoy.
The secret in creating delicious and healthy meals for the family is proper planning. Planning does not only allow you to create healthy and fun meals, but also allows you to cut on costs and keep your time commitments at a minimum.
Kitchen devices like microwaves and slow cookers are prefect time saving helpers when it comes to meal preparation. There are plenty of meals that you can start in the morning, and leave all day to cook inside a slow cooker or crock pot. This can be a lifesaver for working parents who have little time to prepare dinner at the end of the day.
Aside from that, you can also try making meals ahead of time in huge quantities. You can try making them in batches on the week end, freeze them and heat them in the microwave. There are plenty of healthy meals that you can prepare at home. For families with varying schedules, you can store meals in single serve microwave safe containers. This way, each family member can heat up his own meal at his own desired schedule.
When you plan meals for the week, it is a great idea to make a chart containing the listing for the day and the week. Planning is the best idea and the quickest way to prepare food anytime any day.
In planning, it is always a good idea to involve your family in the process. Getting everyone’s input, especially the children, helps your family members value the importance of healthy food choices. This can also help your children start in healthy eating and healthy choosing at a young age.
You can also involve your family in preparing the food. Even young children can help around by setting the table, washing the vegetables, mixing ingredients and more.
In order to save time, you can cook staple foods in large quantities. This way, you can simply freeze them and heat them or spice them up with other ingredients on the following nights.
In freezing leftovers, it is very important to practice caution. Always label the containers with freezer tapes and permanent markers. Keep the oldest foods in front and place the new ones at the back. Follow this continuous cycle and check regularly for expired items.
If you still have plenty of freezer space, why not stock up on meat during sales. Meats can be frozen, and can last for a long time. This saves you with money and time as well.
A well stocked pantry is just as important as a well stocked freezer. Thus, you should also stock your pantry up with staple items like vegetables, fruits, soups and more. This way, you have everything at hand when you prepare food. Stocking up on staples can save you much time as well. Grocery stores constantly have sales, so these are basically the best time to hoard on products.
Make sure that you have a ready supply of whole grain cereals, canned vegetables, tomato sauce, beans, canned tuna and salmon. These things are easy to use and easy to create in to healthy meals in just a moment’s time!
