There’s no doubt about it, finding time to cook healthy meals has become a major challenge for most families.
Many people feel swamped with the immensity of their daily tasks, and often cooking is seen as a ‘luxury!’ The good news is that sitting down to a home cooked meal even on the busiest of days, isn’t impossible. With a little planning, you and your family can maintain a healthy diet while keeping your active schedule.
If simple, yet insanely easy ideas are what you’re after, read on!
- Preparation, preparation, preparation! I know, it sounds boring, but sitting down each week to create a menu plan can make a huge difference to the quality of your families meals, and actually save you time and money in the long-run.
- Stock up the supplies. Coming home to bare cupboards is a ‘great’ way to kill enthusiasm for cooking! Make sure you have plenty of rice, pasta, sugar, flour, tinned foods (peas, beans, lentils, tomatoes, fish) nuts, seeds, spices, seasoning, sauces, and oils. This way you’ll always be able to come up with something reasonably healthy.
- Weekend prep. Spend a few moments on the weekend washing and cutting up raw vegetables. Then store them in airtight containers so you can grab them and get cooking once the work week begins. You could also make a batch of soup, stew or casserole to freeze for lunches or dinner later in the week.
- Tidy your workspace. Don’t allow your kitchen to become the dumping ground for kids toys, homework, and old mail. It’s very difficult to be motivated if your first job is clearing up the kitchen mess, and it’s much less time-consuming if you tidy as you go!
- Find inspiration. If you find yourself lacking in the inspiration department, ask your friends for their favorite recipes. If you want something really simple and quick, try searching on the web for recipes with five ingredients or less.
- Delegate tasks. If your partner or kids get home first, ask them to start dinner for you. Maybe it’s just setting the table, getting recipe ingredients out on the counter for you to begin, or chopping vegetables, but every little helps!
- Easy up on time! If preparing vegetables and meats beforehand takes too much time, purchase pre-cut vegetables, salad bags, and diced meats to speed up the prep time.
- Try to enjoy cooking. If cooking’s not your thing, what can you do to make the experience better? Would listening to your favorite music or podcast help? Think about how you could create a more enjoyable cooking environment and try to implement these ideas over the coming weeks.
- Relax and enjoy your meal. If you normally eat in front of the TV or at your computer, set a new goal to sit down at the table at least once each day. You’ll benefit from the break in distractions and the chance to simply mull over the days events.
- Eat out occasionally. Sometimes our busy lives demand the convenience of fast food restaurants. If that’s the case, enjoy the ‘treat,’ but choose wisely where possible. Opt for lean meats, baked potatoes, and green salads, and try to limit your intake of high fatty foods, such as French fries, fried chicken or burgers.
The truth is if we don’t make time right now for our health, we’ll have to make time for sickness later in life!
What ways do you maintain a healthy lifestyle while keeping up with your busy schedule?
-Melanie
译文:
10大高招，搞定在家做饭的难题
于2008年5月19日 作者：梅勒妮·托马歇 Melanie Thomassian （http://www.dietriffic.com/获奖作者）
毫无疑问， 对大多数家庭来说花时间做饭，又要吃得健康，确实是个大难题。
大多数人的日常工作已经占据了很多时间，还忙着煮饭，似乎是种“奢侈”！但是有个好消息：即使在最忙的日子，安安心心做顿饭也会成为可能！只要一些计划，你们一家人就能保证完成日程工作的同时，吃上健康的饭菜。
如果你正在寻找极其简单的方法，就请继续阅读！
准备，准备，再准备！
我知道这听起来很老套，但是每周花点时间写好菜单能大大提高家庭用餐的质量，长久来看，也着实能解决时间。
贮备材料。
回到家看到空空如也的橱柜，煮饭的热情必定大大减退！务必准备好米饭，意面，糖，面粉，罐头食品（豌豆、蚕豆、扁豆、番茄、鱼类），坚果，菜籽，香料，调料，沙司，油等等。这样能保证家庭饮食健康。
双休日做好准备。
双休日花些时间洗菜切菜，然后放在密封容器内保存，这样你下周做饭的时候就能拿来直接用。还可以在冰箱里事先冷藏一些汤，炖品，或者砂锅菜，一周的后几天可以拿出来吃。
整理厨房台面。
别把厨房搞得乱糟糟的，到处是小孩玩具，作业和过期邮件。如果你做饭前还得清理一团糟的厨房，会让人很不想继续。如果你每次做完饭都清理的话，也会比较节省时间。
寻求灵感。
如果你发现自己缺少这方面灵感，不如问问朋友有什么菜谱推荐。如果想要简单快捷的菜单，试试上网找找只要五种或者更少食材就能做的菜。
分派任务。
如果你的丈夫/妻子或者孩子们先到家的话，让他们先动手做饭。可能只是准备一下桌子上的东西，把菜单上的食材拿出来，或者切切菜，但是这也能帮上忙！
轻松节约时间！
如果事先准备蔬菜和肉类要花太多时间的话，就选择半成品材料吧：切好的蔬菜，袋装沙拉，小方肉，这样能节约不少时间。
享受烹调过程。
如果你不是很拿手的话，怎样才能让烧饭时的感觉更好？一边听听喜欢的音乐或者播客会不好好些呢？想想怎样才能创造良好的烹饪环境，后面几周想想有什么好主意吧。
放松享用美食。
如果习惯在电视机前或者对着电脑吃饭的话，最好改变一下，一周在餐桌上至少吃一次饭。远离不时出现的纷扰，有很多好处，有时间能想想白天的事情。
偶尔出去吃。
有时生活快节奏，人们需要快捷方便的快餐店。既然如此，那就好好“享用”，但是要尽可能加以选择——瘦肉，烤土豆，蔬菜色拉，尽量少吃高热量的食物，比如薯条，炸鸡或者汉堡。
事实上，如果现在不花时间保持健康，今后就要花更多时间对付疾病。
完成紧张的工作安排又要保证健康生活方式，你有什么好方法？
——梅勒妮