As U.S. health agencies continue to urge Americans to eat well to prevent heart disease, diabetes and obesity — three common health disorders directly linked to nutrition — cooking healthy meals has become increasingly important. Unfortunately, convenient foods that can save you time during the busy work week often pack a high level of sodium and lack the nutrients of fresh, whole foods that require time to prepare. Advanced planning and choosing moderately easy recipes can help you eat healthily throughout the week.
Staple Foods
Grocery shopping once each week is the best way to purchase fresh foods and plan a weekly menu. Figure out each day's meals and make your grocery list accordingly before heading to the supermarket. Pick up items you can keep for longer periods, such as flour, spices, butter, pasta, rice, quinoa, cheese and frozen vegetables. When you have these items on hand, in the pantry or the freezer, making a dash to the supermarket to acquire the foods for the week becomes easier
Seafood
Seafood provides terrific options for weekday dinners because it's quick, easy to prepare and healthful. The American Heart Association recommends eating it twice each week to prevent heart disease. Purchase fresh and frozen, wild-caught fish filets, mollusks and crustaceans and serve them grilled, sauteed or baked with herbs and spices. Some convenient, flavorful seafood dishes include shrimp, tarragon, and shallots sauteed in olive oil and tossed with lemon juice and linguini; corn tortillas with grilled or flame-cooked cod or halibut, thinly sliced cabbage, onions, cilantro, lime juice and pico de gallo; and clam chowder with fresh or canned clams, potatoes, onions, cream or milk, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper, corn and tomatoes.
Casseroles
Complex carbohydrates are the backbone of a balanced diet because the human body uses them as its principal energy source. An efficienct method for preparing them, and also obtaining nutrients from vegetables and lean meats, is a casserole, which includes all ingredients in a one-dish meal. Egg noodles, crimini or button mushrooms, milk, tarragon and reduced-fat sour cream combine to make a low-fat mushroom stroganoff. Make a healthful paella in a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet with short-grain arborio rice, red peppers, frozen peas, onions, seafood or chicken, chicken stock and saffron or turmeric. Prepare a slow-cooked risotto with rice, stock, mushrooms and Italian pancetta.
Salads
A salad topped with lean meat or seafood provides vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and lean protein for a balanced diet. The base for the salad may be lettuce or wilted spinach topped with particular groupings of foods that complement one another. For example, a chicken salad may include couscous, currants, cashews and curry powder. A taco salad may consist of baked tortilla chips, lean ground turkey, paprika, chili powder, oregano, onions, black olives and low-fat cheddar or cotija cheese.
Theme Nights
A process that you may find helpful for organizing meals throughout the week is establishing theme nights, which feature the same meal category served on a particular night each week. For example, you may decide to serve pasta on Monday night, seafood on Tuesday night and so forth.
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