Tips for Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals :)

[thriftybargainmom]

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...d_healthy.html

Tips for Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals #1: Keep Frozen Chicken Breasts on Hand

In the freezer section you can find frozen chicken breasts. These are perfect for a quick and healthy meal. All you need to do is throw them in the oven and bake them for 30-40 minutes. While they are baking, you could prepare a salad for them to go on, or you could get the ingredients together for a wrap, etc

Tips for Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals #2: Prep Produce When You Get Home

If you want to prepare a quick meal, you should prep your produce when you get home. This means you should wash all of your produce before you put it away. If I'm going to have salads, I'll go so far as to rinse and then chop my lettuce. This cuts down on the time it takes to prepare quick and healthy meals.

Tips for Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals #3: Use a Slow Cooker

Yes, a slow cooker can be used to prepare quick and healthy meals. To use a slow cooker to prepare quick and healthy meals, simply take 5 minutes before you leave for work to place some ingredients into the slow cooker. For example, you could place a sirloin roast on a bed of carrots and onions and set it on low. When you get home your roast will be ready.

Tips for Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals #4: Cut Vegetables and Freeze

Healthy meals usually involve vegetables, but if you want a quick meal you usually spend most of your time chopping the vegetables and sacrifice the rest of the meal to keep things on time. You can avoid this by cutting your vegetables and freezing them. This works really well with onions and bell peppers. The only downside is these vegetables will need to be used in dishes that are cooked because when they thaw, they will no longer be crisp.

Tips for Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals #5: Try Frozen Vegetables

Do you have no time at all to prep vegetables? Then your best bet is frozen vegetables. I highly suggest Bird's Eye Steam Fresh which will cook in only 5 minutes in your microwave. The best part about this product is that the vegetables keep their crispness rather that turning mushy.

Tips for Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals #6: Choose Lean Meats

Lean meats cook faster. This means you could have a quick and healthy meal in no time. Cuts such as sirloin will cook in just a few minutes, where cuts like chuck will take longer because of their fat content. It's a win, win situation when you choose lean meats.

Tips for Preparing Quick and Healthy Meals #7: Choose Easy Recipes

This may sound like common sense, but it needs to be mentioned. Don't choose recipes that have 20 ingredients and take hours to prepare. Instead choose a recipe that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. If you need any help finding recipes like that, check out Rachael Ray's cookbooks.

[MarshHen]

Great tips!