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Do you struggle to make tasty, healthy, home-prepared meals?

March is National Nutrition Month and dietitians are encouraging Canadians to “Cook It Up Healthy” and discover that cooking can be easy, fun, and healthy.

 There seems to be less time available for preparing foods at home. In a 2007 survey by Dietitians of Canada, 52% of respondents spent only 15 to 30 minutes preparing dinner on a weeknight. The biggest challenges faced when preparing meals were lack of time, energy, ideas, and planning. However, spending a little time planning can lead to big savings in time and money, and offer benefits to your health. The task of making a home-prepared meal may seem challenging to some, but preparing meals can be quick, easy, and allow you to slow down and enjoy a nutritious meal by yourself or with family and friends.

Nutritious Short Cuts to a Quick Family Meal

Big Batch It!

• Weekends are a great opportunity to prepare big batches of food to freeze and use later in the week.

Plan for Extras

• Cook a few extra chicken breasts. Cut into strips and use as a topping for pizza, salad, or as a sandwich filling.
• Roast an extra batch of vegetables. Use in vegetable soup, frittata, or wrap in a tortilla with hummus spread.
• Cook a double batch of brown rice. Make stir-fried rice, add to soup, or make a rice and bean casserole.

Using Convenience Foods

• Frozen vegetables are nutritious and ready to help round out your meals. Steam them lightly to keep great crunch and flavour.
• Try the new selection of pre-cut produce items such as broccoli slaw or a variety of greens. Ensure you wash vegetables under flowing cold water. 

Preparing Meals with the Family

Family meals have a great impact on the eating habits of children because parents often act as role models for healthier food choices. Dietitians of Canada (2007) reports that preparing meals as a family can help children learn cooking skills and increase their nutritional intake. Also, family meals are associated with a decreased risk of children and teenagers developing eating disorders or unhealthy eating patterns, smoking, abusing alcohol, and using drugs.

Additional benefits of preparing meals at home as a family versus eating out:

• You can ensure that you have the four food groups of Canada’s Food Guide included in each meal.
• You are in control of the ingredients and can avoid trans fat and excess sodium.
• You are in control of portion sizes.
• You can have greater social interaction with family and friends.

A Little Planning Goes a Long Way

When time is limited, a little planning can help make things run more smoothly in the kitchen. Below are some suggestions to help plan meals for you and your family.

1. Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide
Use Health Canada’s new Canada’s Food Guide when planning meals. The new Food Guide provides recommendations that are specific for children, men and women, including pregnant or breastfeeding women. It will help you and your family identify how much food is recommended, what types of foods are better for you, and the importance of getting more physical activity. You can learn more about Canada's Food Guide by visiting www.canadasfoodguide.info.

2. Family Brainstorming
To help identify your family’s favourite meals, have a brainstorming session. Divide a blank piece of paper into five columns and write the four food groups across the top (see below). Beside each meal that you or your family identifies, place the different foods that make up that meal into the appropriate column. Try to include at least 3 of the 4 food groups in each meal. Incorporate these family favourites on a regular basis (e.g., once per week or once per month).

Example: Pizza

3. Be Adventurous
Try new foods and experiment with recipes. Set a goal to try a new recipe each week or to introduce a new vegetable or fruit to your family each week.

4. Grocery Store Savvy
Know what you want before you go to the grocery store. Having a grocery list can save time later by limiting the number of grocery store visits to pick up forgotten items.

How to Make Recipes Healthier

Even though a cookbook may be filled with higher fat and higher calorie recipes, you can still use it. With a few modifications, you can reduce the fat or calorie content or even boost the overall nutritional value of the recipe. Review the following tips from Dietitians of Canada on making healthy modifications to some of your favourite recipes:

• Use lower-fat milk (skim, 1%, 2%) instead of whole milk or cream (fresh or canned).
• Reduce the amount of oil in recipes for baking by up to one-third and replace it with equal amounts of applesauce, prune puree, or other fruit puree.
• Bake or broil meat, poultry, and fish rather than frying.
•  Add more vegetables and fruit and decrease the amount of meat added in stews, stir-fries, and casseroles.
• Choose brown rice instead of white rice and whole-wheat pasta instead of white pasta.
• Cook with less oil by using non-stick skillets.
• Substitute garlic or onion powder for garlic or onion salt and use unsalted or low-sodium commercial broths available in the grocery store.
• Add ground flaxseed, wheat bran, or oatmeal to homemade bread and muffins.

Hearty Chicken-Peanut Soup

Try out this hearty soup and it may become a new family favourite.

Soups make easy leftovers that can be frozen for lunches. This recipe takes a nutritious twist on a canned soup by packing it full of fibre and nutrients with added beans and vegetables.
2 tsp (10 mL) vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1⁄2 red bell pepper, diced
2 cans condensed chicken and wild rice soup, (each 10 oz/284 mL) undiluted
1 can (19 oz/540 mL) black beans, drained and rinsed (about 2 c / 500 mL)
5 c (1.25 L) reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 c (500 mL) water
2 c (500 mL) chopped cooked chicken breast
11⁄2 c (375 mL) diced peeled sweet potatoes
1 c (250 mL) salsa
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cumin
1⁄3 c (75 mL) creamy peanut butter

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic, onion, jalapeño, and red pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and wild rice soup, black beans, broth, water, chicken, sweet potatoes, salsa, and cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Using a whisk, stir in peanut butter. Simmer for 5 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Peanut Allergy Alert: This recipe contains PEANUTS.

Makes 12 servings.  Per serving: Calories 171 Fat 6.4 g Fibre 4.2 g
 

Key References:

Ith, T. (2007). Nutrition Month 2007 survey: Summary report.Toronto, ON: Dietitians of Canada.

Chuey, P., Campbell, E., & Waisman, M.S. (2007). Simply great food: 250 quick, easy, and delicious recipes. Toronto, ON: Robert Rose Inc.

University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. (2007). Cook it quick. Retrieved
February 21, 2007, from http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqspice.htm