Eating nutritiously doesn't have to take a lot of effort. In the same amount of time it takes to pick up fast food or heat up processed, frozen snacks, you can put together a healthy meal. Keep your pantry and freezer stocked with healthful options so a nutritious meal is always possible.
Features
Nutritious meals include a number of selections from the various food groups outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid. Meals feature foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy and unsaturated fats. Whole foods are generally more nutritious than processed products containing refined flour, added sugar, sodium and saturated and trans fats.
Cooking Strategies
Stick to simple cooking techniques, like roasting, grilling, broiling and stir frying. These cooking methods are fast and do not involve adding a lot of extra fats to meals. Use just one cooking technique for each meal to streamline preparation and keep dishes to a minimum. For example, stir fry sliced pork tenderloin with broccoli and sliced carrots for a one-dish meal that includes protein, vegetables and a starch. Boil whole-wheat pasta and in the last few minutes add frozen shrimp and peas until heated through. Drain and add crumbled feta cheese and fresh chopped mint. Roast a chicken breast alongside a sweet potato and while they cook, toss together baby spinach, dried cranberries and chopped walnuts for a salad.
Types of Food
Stock your pantry with cans of low-sodium beans, water packed tuna, chicken broth, "instant" brown rice and quick-cooking whole-wheat couscous. Stash single portions of chicken breasts, turkey or veggie burgers and fish filets in the freezer. Buy frozen, steamable vegetables -- without butter and cheese sauce -- or prewashed, ready cut vegetables from the produce section. Have non-fat yogurt, cottage cheese and eggs on hand. With these few ingredients, you can put together a quick, nutritious meal, like a tuna salad with beans and cottage cheese, homemade soup with chicken broth, couscous, chopped chicken breasts and frozen broccoli or broiled fish with brown rice and a green salad.
Considerations
A quick, nutritious meal does not have to fit the typical parameters for the time of day it is served. Scramble eggs for dinner and have them with a whole-wheat English muffin and an orange. Eat leftover whole-wheat spaghetti or homemade chicken and vegetable stir fry for breakfast. A quick, nutritious meal can be made up of healthy snacks like 1 oz. of nuts, a yogurt and a banana.
Other Alternatives
Even if you do not have the ingredients or time to put together a meal, stop at the grocery store instead of a fast food restaurant. Pick up a rotisserie chicken, whole-wheat rolls and a prewashed salad mix to create a quick, nutritious meal -- especially if you remove the skin from the chicken and stick to a light, olive oil-based salad dressing. Another option is to buy natural turkey deli meat, whole-wheat pitas, fresh tomatoes, basil and low-fat mozzarella. Create an open faced sandwich with the ingredients and put it under the broiler for a quick, hot meal that contains protein, whole grains, vegetables and dairy. Have packaged hummus and baby carrots on the side.
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