Healthy Eating Suggestions

Audra, first off congratulations for taking the first step to leading a healthy life. I have a degree in Nutrition and worked for ever in restaurants. There are tons of short cuts and ways to batch cook healthy food that will make cooking easier and healthier. Here are a couple of suggestions. 1) plan your meals a week at a time. 2) cook ahead. For example if you are cooking chicken- make two servings per person, then the next night you can cut the chicken breasts and toss in a salad. 3) Read about nutrion and healthy lifestyles. It is really important to stay away from diets. Eating healthy is a life long habit. I would suggest a couple of books- You the owners manual by Dr. Oz Mehmet and Eat drink and be healthy ( I can't remember the author) Both of those books are very sensible and easy to read. 4) enjoy feeling more energetic! If you would like to talk further about this feel free to email me! Good Luck!

Good for you! My first suggestion is to plan all of your meals for the week in advance - like on a Saturday - and shop for everything you'll need in advance. I find that I eat much better when I cook for real, but I only cook for real if I have the right ingredients, and I don't have them unless I've planned.

The second suggestion is to make your meals vegetable-heavy. My current favorite cookbook - and one that I would *highly* recommend is "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone". You do not need to be vegetarian to enjoy this book and most of the recipes are very easy. I have not yet found one that I don't like, either.

Start the first week with whatever recipe source you choose (Cooking LIght magazine or a Rachel Ray book are also good suggestions) and pick one thing to make one night. Make sure you get everything you need to make it and make sure what you pick is a main dish but vegetable heavy.

The next week try making two things. Each time you will probbly have some leftovers which you or your husband can take for lunch.

The next week, try 3 things... etc. You will probably top out at 4-5 real meals and eat leftovers for the remaining meals each week.

If you are ever in the area, Stanley' Produce Market (North and Elston) is a *great* place for vegetables - extremely reasonably priced and a very good selection.

If you're looking for information on cooking techniques, aside from taking a cooking class (which I can't help you with but which would certainly be helpful) you might pick up a classic Betty Crocker Cookbook. It explains everything pretty well.

Kudos to you! Have you checked out Cooking Light Magazine? Also, there's lots of personal chefs that'll come to your house for a cooking class, designed especially for you. Rachel Ray 30 min meal books or her magazine?

Good luck!

Maybe you can try a community college in your area. Sometimes they have classes for the students that are non credit classes and maybe offer cooking classes. You should check out your local college. Good luck!

Audra,
One of the ways we have found to get veggies into our meals with little effort is to buy frozen veggies and steam them. It's fairly quick and very easy. You can get a steam basket at grocery stores, Target or a kitchen supply store. The veggies are frozen when they are at their most nutritious and you don't have to worry about them going bad in your fridge if you don't get to them right away. Congratulations on your decision and good luck continuing towards your goal!

I hear ya!
Last year I decided to learn something about cooking, and as much as I hate to be an ad for a Martha Stewart product, I found a great deal of luck with the Everyday Food magazines. The recipes are mostly very easy (much easier than anything in the Living magazine), and they offer suggestions for afterschool snacks and dinners that can be partially frozen for future consumption. They also give time estimates on how long it will take to make, most of which I find to be fairly accurate. Usually each month will focus on fruits and/or veggies in season, how to buy them, and what to make with them. On top of that, they are small and don't take up much room in our tiny kitchen!
If you're interested in classes, the Chopping Block in Lincoln Square has great ones. I'm not sure what their schedules are, but it might be worth checking out.
Hope that helps!
J.

You can find a lot of recipes on www.foodnetwork.com. I am actually a Personal Trainer, so if you have any specific questions about making food choices, I can definitely help you out there. If you are just looking at a quick and easy way to make vegetables, you can always just put them in a bowl with a little bit of water and steam them in the microwave. Fresh green beans are always easy. Just take off the stems, break in half. Boil them in a pot with water and then cook about 15 minutes. You can test one to see when they are ready (just like pasta). Drain, put a little bit of butter and salt and pepper for taste. Hope that helps!