Getting back into the swing of things in the fall can have its challenges. Learning how to plan and prepare healthy meals that are fast and easy can help end mealtime chaos. Here are four tips to get dinner on the table faster, without having to spend hours in the kitchen.
1. Make a meal plan. Create a master list of recipes you and your family enjoy. Choose three or four recipes per week and stock your house with all the ingredients you’ll need for the week.
2. Prepare meals in batches. Make extra servings for later in the week, or freeze and reheat them for use on busy weeknights. For example, make two lasagne dishes and save one for a rainy day.
3. Plan to use leftovers. Think beyond your next meal by planning how to cook extra food. For example, you can reinvent a recipe for chicken tacos as chicken quesadillas, or a southwest chicken salad.
4. Use pre-cooked meal components. Work smarter, not harder, and stock your freezer with packages of pre-cooked rice, pasta, and quinoa. You can even pre-cook meats like ground beef, chicken, and pork.
For example, you can make a lot of meals from pre-cooked chicken breasts, like chicken quesadillas, chicken salad sandwiches or wraps, chicken pasta casserole, barbecue chicken pita pizza, chicken pasta alfredo, and chicken noodle soup. Beef pot roast can be transformed into beef fajitas, barbecue beef sandwiches, steak salads, beef enchiladas, beef and vegetable stews, and shepherd’s pie. With ground beef or turkey, you can prepare lasagne, spaghetti, beef stroganoff, taco salad, chili mac and cheese, and sloppy Joes.
Cashew Chicken Recipe
Try this quick and easy (and healthy) recipe for cashew chicken. The recipe makes six one-cup servings and comes together in ten minutes if you’ve prepared the ingredients in advance.
4 six-ounce raw chicken breasts, cubed
3 cups of bell peppers, any colour, sliced
2 cups of celery, raw, chopped
1 large onion, large, diced
1 tbsp. of olive oil
1 cup of cashews
Cooked brown rice
2 cups of chicken broth (low sodium)
3 tbsp. of soy sauce (low sodium)
1 tbsp. of honey
2 tsp. of ginger root, raw (minced, paste, or powder)
1 tsp. of sesame oil
3 tbsp. of corn starch
1/2 tbsp. of rice wine vinegar
Add olive oil to a frying pan. Heat to medium high. Sauté onions and chicken in a frying pan first, then add vegetables.
For the sauce, add chicken broth, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and ginger root in a large measuring cup, and whisk in the corn starch. Once the vegetables are tender, add the sauce to the frying pan. Once the sauce has thickened (about two minutes), stir in the cashews. Serve this dish with cooked brown rice, quinoa, or whole grain pasta.
Time-saver tip: cut up veggies and make the sauce the night before and store it in the fridge. Store leftover cooked brown rice in the freezer or fridge. Pack up leftovers and take it to work for lunch.
