Easy Healthy Recipes

Not too long ago, the average homemaker, overworked and in a rush, had plenty of options for feeding the family in a hurry. Today's economic woes have added to the burden of the family cook. We're all trying to hold on to some of our disposable income, looking for ways to save, even for every day expenses. Most people have cut back on take-out and restaurant dining. It's just too hard to calculate what tomorrow might bring.

The smart homemaker is more than ready to deploy a new spending strategy, which doesn't include a lot of budgetary frills. Here we've got some suggestions on fast and easy healthy recipes you can whip up at home. Most take no more time than it takes to stop by the pizza place or fast food drive-through and keeps a little more gas money in your pocket.

You may have admired those super-Mom types in the past, who can feed a family of four on $400 a month. While you probably thought they spent all day baking homemade bread and clipping coupons, a reduced food budget is now a reality for the majority. Let's see how you can juggle that hectic schedule and save money without working yourself into a state of exhaustion.

At the core of a money saving food plan is organization. Menu planning, taking advantage of the weekly supermarket sales and clipping coupons give you a big edge. However, when you're short on time as well, you also need a repertoire of easy healthy recipes to make the most of your food dollars.

Changing your shopping habits can stretch your budget significantly. This strategy goes hand in hand with menu planning. When you shop, don't buy more than you'll use in a week. You'll avoid waste. Serve foods that are on sale this week. Stock up on sale-priced canned goods, which don't spoil and provide ready ingredients for a quick, impromptu meal based on your pantry contents.

Easy healthy recipes start with fresh or frozen, top quality foods. Shop your local farmer's market, where you'll typically find better prices, fresher produce and organically grown foods. If you don't think you can live without a cookbook, think again. Easy healthy recipes can spring right from your imagination!

With whole-grain pastas, meat or fish and a few veggies, you can serve delicious, nutritious meals, made with the ingredients your family enjoys, on the cheap, in 30 minutes or less!

So what are the guidelines for producing such easy healthy recipes, without the help of a cook book? First, choose simple combinations. Rice and pasta are the basis of many a delectable entree. Add whatever type of meat, fowl or fish that sounds good. You'll use far less chicken in a pasta based dish than you will in a fried chicken dinner. Throw in a mix of colorful veggies and you've got dinner. For an extra filling meal, just add a can of cream of chicken or mushroom soup.

All-in-one dishes, such as casseroles, saving electricity and prep time without a 'stingy' result. A case in point is our modified meatloaf, truly a fast, easy healthy recipe without the cookbook. Make your meatloaf as usual. Pack it in a 9 x 9 inch baking pan. A can of Spanish-style corn, drained and seasoned with taco spices, is layered on top. Top it off with a couple of cups of instant mashed potatoes and bake. Ten minutes before it's done, sprinkle generously with grated pepper jack or cheddar. This easy healthy recipe hits all the nutritional requirements and serves up six generous portions.

This brings us to do-ahead meals. If you're making one meatloaf, you might as well make two. One effort and one set of dishes to clean up. One less dinner prep. Freeze and save!

Homemade soups are great dinners for cold fall and winter nights. These easy healthy recipes practically cook themselves and grant a good deal of artistic license to the cook. Put a whole chicken in the stock pot and simmer slowly. Remove the meat and strip off fat and bones. An onion, a few stalks of celery, carrots, corn or bell pepper and you've got an original, easy healthy recipe. Put your chicken back in the pot just before serving. Salad and a loaf of bread as accompaniments makes an inexpensive, nutritious, but very tasty dinner.

The take-out subways are always family favorites. Create your own for big savings and family appeal. Subways made with whole grain breads, Kaiser rolls or pita bread are not only cheap, but nutritious. Pack these with a bunch of greens, sprouts, jalapenos, bell peppers – or whatever good looking produce is at the market today. You don't need a great deal of meat. Add some calcium with a couple of slices of cheese. Dress the sandwich with your favorite dressing and you've got happy campers at the dinner table, courtesy of an easy healthy recipe and your imagination.

Most of us eat far more protein than we need and far too few veggies. Switch this around with chef's salads, composed of an abundance of greens and veggies your family likes, with a small mound of shrimp, chicken, tuna or whatever strikes your fancy. Another dozen easy healthy recipes at your disposal!

It's clear, we're all going to have to sharpen our skills and imagination, with a strategy that produces nutritious, easy healthy recipes that leave our food budget breathing! You can still get kick-back time, perhaps more than afforded in the take-out scenario. You can enjoy restaurant quality meals on a shoestring, as you save time and money!