• Plan ahead. Have an idea of what you will prepare for the week. Perfecting your grocery list takes a bit of practice, but it makes your shopping and cooking very efficient.
• Keep your meals simple. Be organized.
• Decide what you are preparing the night or the morning before. Use good food safety practices by thawing frozen foods in the refrigerator.
• Pick fruits and vegetables that require little peeling or chopping, such as baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, or grapes.
• Prepare extra vegetables, and freeze leftovers for quick side dishes.
• Visit the salad bar for pre-cut vegetables to top salads, sandwiches, or pasta.
• Pasta has endless possibilities, and with jarred sauces, you can have an almost gourmet meal in minutes. Try frozen tortellini or ravioli one night.
• Get a slow cooker! You can make just about anything in these pots. One great idea is to buy large baking potatoes. Wrap each one in foil, and pierce a hole in the side. Put the potatoes in your slow cooker, and cook on low for about 8 hours. When you get home, simply set out baked potato toppings such as lite sour cream or plain yogurt, reduced-fat cheese, or even chili.
Some quick cooking tips:
• Simplicity - To cook quickly, you’ll need to eat simple meals that don’t require elaborate preparations.
• Multi-tasking - Having multiple cooking processes going on at once is the key to efficiency.
Here are some quick meal ideas:
• Make quick pizzas with English muffins or French bread, spaghetti sauce, chopped vegetables, and reduced-fat mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 4 to 6 minutes until the cheese melts. Serve with a mixed green salad and milk with a piece of fruit for dessert.
• Use leftover chicken to make chicken quesadillas. Chop or shred cooked chicken, and mix with salsa, chopped onions, and green chiles. Spoon the mixture over half a flour tortilla, sprinkle on shredded reduced-fat cheese, and fold over the other half of the tortilla. Place in a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and brown on each side (~4 minutes/side). Serve with black beans seasoned with cilantro, low-fat milk, and fruit.
