With food prices climbing, healthy meals at home are more cost conscious than eating out multiple times a week. Planning, cooking, eating, and appreciating home-cooked meals can help in achieving dietary goals that support weight management, heart health and maintenance of chronic diseases.
By planning and cooking meals at home, you can better balance macronutrient intake — carbs, proteins and healthy fats — and increase your intake of essential micronutrients — vitamins and minerals — that can only truly come from consuming a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and animal and nonanimal protein.
It’s not just healthier and can save money, it’s also a great way to bring together family and friends. Here are a few tips to streamline meal planning, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as it and the rest of the U.S. celebrate National Nutrition Month.
SHOP SMART AND KEEP A WELL-STOCKED PANTRY.
A well-stocked pantry of shelf-stable foods makes planning meals and creating quick meals on the fly a snap.
Canned or dry beans, peas, lentils, and whole grains provide protein and fiber. Paired with pasta or rice, they provide a solid base for a bowl. In addition to vitamins and minerals, you also get protein and fiber which helps with keeping our bodies regular, keeps us feeling full and can help manage blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
Canned tuna, chicken or sardines provide the based for protein rich salads. Low sodium or no added salt canned vegetables can be added to soups, casseroles, or pastas.
For the freezer, frozen vegetables are minimally processed and you can take out just what you need and return the rest to the freezer.
MIX AND MATCH TO KEEP THINGS INTERESTING
Most ingredients can do double duty. Canned beans and corn can fit into soups and salads or serve as sides to meat, fish, or poultry.
Season chicken thighs two ways before baking, then mix and match the sides during the week. Use it as a main one day and shred it into a salad the next. Cook a pork shoulder or pork butt and use part in pasta and freeze some later for tacos and pulled pork sandwiches. Cook dried beans and serve with rice and greens one day, then the next stuff into a tortilla with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes.
PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER.
Some folks excel at cooking with seeming little effort. They are goals personified. But home-cooked meals don’t need to be TikTok perfect to fuel your body and please your palate.
Start with a protein (a quarter of your plate or bowl), add one to two servings of vegetables (half the plate or bowl), and a starch such as potatoes, rice, pasta, or quinoa (the last quarter).
Bake or grill fish and serve with steamed veggies and minute rice.
Stuff a tortilla, or two depending on size, with black beans and vegetables, for a healthy burrito. Top with cheese and your favorite salsa for extra flavor.
Toss cooked pasta with spinach, jarred pasta sauce, canned mushrooms, and ground beef/ground turkey/canned kidney beans. Pasta but no sauce? Toss with canned tomatoes and a little olive oil and herbs instead.
Dinner doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be fun, fast, and fanciful with a little pantry prep, a deep breath, and an open mind.
