Home-Cooked Meals are Best
by Karen Bakies RD LD FAND
After a busy day of work, school, errands and practices, the question often becomes “What’s for dinner tonight?”
While it may seem easy to run through the drive thru or order take out, do you know what you’re missing?
Home-cooked meals, especially those prepared from scratch, have benefits you may not be aware of:
- Helps with weight control – look for healthy recipes and control how much goes on your plate and in your glass.
- Saves time and money – stretch your food dollars farther by making larger family “batches” and use the extra food for future meals. “Planned-overs” are the new leftovers!
- Contains less salt and trans fat – control and modify ingredients to meet your needs.
- Provides more balanced – easily add the food groups that are missing to your meal, like adding a glass of milk!
- Cuts down on food waste – use what’s already in your fridge, freeze meals or take leftovers for lunch the next day. Try using ingredients that pull double-duty to save you time and reduce possible food waste, like these 5 easy weeknight meals.
- Creates family bonding time – get everyone involved in the preparation and enjoy sitting down to a family meal!
Try some of these recipes and find your family’s new favorites.
Karen Bakies RD LD FAND
Karen is a registered dietitian and is the Nutrition Affairs Director for the American Dairy Association Mideast. A scientist at heart, she seeks out quality nutrition research to share with others in a profession she is passionate about. Karen is a mother of three and enjoys cooking, gardening, running and traveling.
