Cook Once, Eat Twice: A New Way to Cook & Save Time

Tomorrow is the start of the week 2 challenge for Nutrition Month!

It’s five o’clock and you are driving home from work and are thinking “What’s for dinner?”. You try to remember what might be in the fridge and how fast you can create a meal before you have to be out the door again.

Research indicates that we are spending less and less time preparing meals at home. Take a moment and think about how long it takes you to prepare a meal for your family? A recent study conducted by the Heart & Stroke Foundation indicated that this is an issue for lots of folks. Forty-one percent of people said healthy meals take too long to prepare. Another study suggested that we spend a mere 15 – 30 minutes preparing a meal, in comparison to 45 minutes just a decade ago and as much as 6 hours in the 1900’s. Clearly 6 hours is too much, but a little time spent preparing a tasty meal is a great investment in your family’s health and well-being.

March is Nutrition Month and this year dietitians across Canada are debunking nutrition myths such as “cooking healthy meals takes too much time”! If you are making one meal, why not make two? It doesn’t require additional time and it means you have a healthy meal ready in minutes the following week. Imagine the comfort of knowing what’s for dinner on your way home. A delicious meal made with wholesome, nutritious foods and all you have to do is reheat and eat.
Top 3 tips to cook once and eat twice:

• Make big batches of soups and casseroles. Cook on the weekends and freeze. Simply thaw, heat and eat!
• Make extra servings of cooked chicken, dice and freeze. Simply thaw and reheat to make 10-minute quesadillas or stir-fries or put on top of pizza.
• Cook and freeze brown rice in individual or family-sized portions. Great for a quick side to complete your meal.

Up for the challenge? One day this week when you have a little more time, dietitians challenge you to double one recipe and freeze half for an easy meal next week. Take the challenge today and check us out on Facebook® to share your results for your chance to win cool prizes. If you have food and nutrition questions you can also Ask A Dietitian by calling 1-800-905-0970.

For more Nutrition Month Myths and Facts visit www.dietitians.ca


Sources:
1.“Time Crunched is stealing years from Canadians” Report on Canadians Health, November 2011 Heart & Stroke Foundation (accessed online http://bit.ly/Agddy3 Dec 7, 2011)
2. Consumer Trend Reports: Chapter 9 Consumer Spending – Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) (accessed online http://bit.ly/wkcFRG Jan 29, 2012)

Happy cooking!

Steph (Wheler) Langdon, RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com