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26 April 2015

The Reality Of Healthy 30 Minute Meals

By Toni Vang


With the busy lives everyone has these days it sounds exciting to be able to quickly prepare a meal for the family. Unfortunately, this is not as realistic as it may sound. Folks cannot just get home from work and throw together healthy 30 minute meals without some preparation ahead of time. This is an awesome concept however real life does not always cooperate.

To be able to have dinner served thirty minutes after arriving home every day, you will need to do some preparations ahead of time. You can make preparations over the weekend and store everything in the freezer or refrigerator until you need them for your weekly menus. Although this sounds like a simple task, in the real world it may not be possible.

You need to be flexible and have alternatives since it is more likely to take 40 minutes to get food served. Every time you make a recipe you will get faster at putting it together. Decide which ingredients you can prep before hand that will reduce your time in the kitchen. Choose recipes that have few ingredients and are practical.

There are a few tips you should know that will help you put a nutritious dinner on the table quickly. So many folks are working with such hectic calendars that it is necessary for them to have ways to get food served in short time each night. Following a certain plan can reduce the stress of mealtime preparation.

As an example, you can take some time over the weekend to roast, chop, or blanch vegetables. You can also make any sauces you will need for the week. When you plan your weekly menus you already know the ingredients you will need. There are a lot of meals that take more time for preparation than the actual cook time. Preparing what you can ahead will save time.

You should also plan meals around leftovers. For instance if you make enough for a dinner on Monday, you can use what is left over for a meal on Wednesday. You can serve the dinner as it was originally cooked or get creative and just remake the meal. Leftover chicken and vegetables can be used to create a one skillet dinner. Stews and soups can also be made with left over foods.

Pressure cookers and crock pots can help speed things up when putting food on the table. You can prepare freezer bags of slow cooker ingredients and stock them in the freezer. Before leaving for work, just empty a bag into the slow cooker, set the temperature and hours, and dinner will be ready to eat when you get home in the evening. Pressure cookers can prepare meats so quickly that you will be astonished, and wonder how you got along without one.

Keep in mind that it is alright to get takeout dinners every so often. You can also get a dinner that is already prepared from your neighborhood grocer. When you want a break from cooking, bring home a fully cooked hot meal that can be served right away. If you can afford to, treat yourself and go out for dinner now and then.




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