4 Easy Tips on How to Make Healthy Recipes

The main reason why so many people do not bother to cook any more is because they think cooking is time consuming. We live in a modern age of stressful jobs that involve working long hours, so when you have to juggle work, kids, family responsibilities, and still find time to go to the gym, cooking a meal from scratch is probably the last thing on your mind. But as long as you plan your healthy meals in advance, cooking does not have to be a chore, and if you give it a go, not only will you feel healthier—you will also save money!

Healthy meals require planning and in order to eat well you need to think in advance which meals you are going to cook over the coming week. Shopping in a haphazard fashion and buying groceries on an ad hoc basis might be ok when you are cooking for one, but as soon as you have a family to feed, this kind of random approach to food only leads to unhealthy eating habits.

A lack of preparation means you have no food in when the kids are hungry after a day at soccer practice, so what happens? Yes, you guessed it—everyone heads off to the local pizza joint and fills up on calorific stuffed crust with pepperoni and garlic bread with extra cheese. It might taste good, but it is pure hell on your waistline.

So how can you start making healthy recipe choices?

Tip # 1 – use as many labor saving cooking appliances as you can. Small kitchen appliances should be your best friends when you have a busy life but still want to eat healthy food. In days gone by, cooking healthy recipes meant slaving over a hot stove for hours. Thankfully times have changed and modern cooks have access to all kinds of useful kitchen appliances that save a lot of time and effort.

Slow cookers are a great example of a seriously useful gadget for busy cooks—you can prepare a one-pot meal in the morning, leave it cooking slowly throughout the day while you are busy at work, and when you get home in the evening, your healthy stew is ready to eat and all you need to do is dish it up with some whole grain bread.

It is also useful to plan ahead for the week by preparing dishes over the weekend and then microwaving them when you are at your busiest during the week. Lots of vegetable dishes can be cooked in advance and then warmed up gently in the microwave. You can also cook a meat joint at the weekend and then use the leftovers for several meals during the week.

Tip #2 – encourage the whole family to join in with your healthy eating plan. Kids in particular like to feel involved, so ask them which meals they fancy over the coming week and as long as they don’t suggest outrageously unhealthy or expensive dishes, take note of their requests and accommodate them where possible.

It is also a good idea to utilize your kid’s talents when it comes to food preparation. Too many kids end up leaving home having had no experience preparing vegetables or doing mundane tasks such as setting the table or clearing the dirty dishes away. So instead of doing everything yourself, take charge and delegate some of the workload to the rest of the family.

Let your children help you chop and prepare the vegetables while you oversee their efforts and cook the healthy meal. Then once everyone has eaten, you can sit down and put your feet up while they clear the table and wash the dishes!

Tip # 3 – always cook more than you need when preparing healthy food. Cooking in bulk just as easy as cooking enough for one meal, so instead of preparing food for one night of the week, cook enough to give you some leftovers for another meal in a few weeks time. Or if you have the freezer space, cook lots of extra portions, label them up and keep them in the freezer for when time is short or you have not got the energy to go grocery shopping.

Smart shoppers also buy in bulk when healthy food is on special offer. No matter when you go grocery shopping, there are always bargains to be had, so instead to walking past the special offers because they do not fit your menu plan for the week ahead, be creative and innovative and utilize those extra ingredients into new recipes. Alternatively, just buy the extra food and freeze it until you DO need it for a healthy recipe.

Becoming a smart shopper means you will save money on your weekly grocery bill. Instead of buying random items because you are hungry and they look tempting, you can buy only the goods you actually need. That way you avoid the temptation of filling your cart with junk foods and snacks instead of healthy foods.

Tip #4 – keep your cupboards stocked with the basics of healthy home cooking. Maintaining a well stocked pantry will ensure there are always enough ingredients to prepare a healthy meal, any day of the week. Canned goods are a good example of staple store cupboard items worth buying in bulk. For example, tinned tomatoes can be used in many dishes, from pasta sauces to chili con carne, so keep a plentiful supply at all times. Other useful canned goods to keep in the pantry include baked beans, canned vegetables and canned fruit, and canned tuna and salmon.

There are also many other staple foods you should keep on standby for when you wish to cook a healthy meal from scratch. Pasta, rice, cereals, flour and baking ingredients, plus a basic selection of herbs and spices are all worth having in your pantry. There are probably many others, but as you experiment more with healthy cooking, you can find out for yourself which ingredients are most useful to you.