My favorite healthy short cuts...

​We all know it: everyone is busy. Some people just love talking about it more. Our household like many others has a lot going on but that increased this year. We added hockey and lacrosse. I was less able to control the times and days the activities were on. We also had the dreaded dinner killing 5:15-6:15 pm twice a week hockey practise time slot. I like to cook and I like to spend the time doing it, but I was less able to make it work on a nightly basis. I did not want to resort to take out and fast food (especially twice a week), so I came up with some strategies to help us eat home cooked (mostly from scratch) meals together.
I usually work 3-4 days a week, with most Mondays off. Mondays have become my food days. I drop off my two oldest boys at school and then head straight to the grocery store with my youngest son. He knows the drill now. My goal most Mondays is to cook or prep (to almost ready to eat) at least two meals. I usually kind of wing it at the grocery store when it comes to what I want to make based on a sale or what looks good. Sometimes I have a recipe or two in mind. I do have a little bit of a criteria to make things a easier:

• I usually use the same meat or protein in both meals so I can just buy a big pack or thaw out a slab of fish and use it for both
• I choose two different cooking methods so I can have them both going at once (so I am not spending the whole day cooking); something in the InstantPot, Slow-cooker, oven, stove top
• Bulk prep ingredients like chopping onions, celery, etc.
• I make a big amount of both meals so I can either cool and freeze half for another week or it can feed us all twice in the week. So really I am cooking four meals in one go.
• Have containers or large zip top bags to store the food (let it cool first) and don’t forget to label the contents and date
• Soups, stews, curries, lasagna, casseroles all work well to make ahead and freeze or serve later

This has worked wonders for our family. I actually feel like I am cooking less and am way less stressed in that after work window. We come home, reheat on the stove or microwave, and eat within minutes. Plus I love having leftovers for my lunch the next day. 

I am also on a huge frozen and prepped vegetable kick. I grew up eating what felt like an endless supply of mixed, diced frozen veg. I wasn’t a fan, and it actually steered me away from frozen veg. There has been an explosion of frozen vegetables available in the stores so I have been a little more intrigued. Frozen fruit and veg are a great choice from a nutrition perspective as well. They are picked at peak ripeness and usually flash frozen on site. The freezing process affects the nutrients less than any other preservation method (canning, drying, dehydrating, etc.).
I also love that frozen veg is ready to go, no chopping, washing, peeling. And I can use the amount I need, I can just grab a handful and leave the rest in the freezer for another day (not going bad in the fridge crisper drawer). Now, not all frozen veg are created equal in my opinion. I am not a fan of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, the texture is no beuno. I am a fan of frozen:

• Corn, Superstore carries a blend of corn and chopped jalapeño that is amazing and great for Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes like quesadillas, burrito bowls and chili
• Green peas. I add to risotto, soups, strews
• Chopped greens like spinach and kale (the ones that you grab handfuls of and not the one frozen in a block). I find this super versatile and add to: smoothies, soups, stir fry, curries, pasta, eggs
• Shelled edamame. I use on salads, stir fry and soup
• Diced butternut squash. I use it almost exclusively to make my favorite Thai coconut curried butternut squash soup. I am sure it would be great in other ways but I am not a huge squash lover.
• I love Save On Foods frozen fajita mix (blend of sliced peppers and onion). I threw a bag into a skillet with a few handfuls of the frozen jalapeno corn mix and a can of rinsed black beans with a few glugs of salsa and fajitas were on the table in 10 minuets. You have to love that.
• On my list to try is Brussel sprouts (I don’t have high hopes), diced avocado (again seems weird to me)  

My favorite InstantPot coconut curry butternut squash soup.

I also use some prepped veggies at times:

• Salad mixes (I hate washing lettuce)
• Steamed and peeled beets, my favorite for salads. I am the only one in my family that likes beets so making them and dying my whole life pink is not high on my list of things to do
• We also usually have mini-cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes and snap peas on hand because I can toss them out real quick to get the boys to eat more veggies
• I occasionally buy cauliflower rice in the bag because that’s not fun to make

There are a few other things I often buy instead of make from scratch:

• Hummus
• Frozen chicken or lean beef meatballs
• Frozen pot stickers (my kids love them and I serve with stir-fried veggies)
• Whole roasted deli chicken to use for a million things
• Whole grain pancake mix
• Salsa (including mango salsa for fish tacos)
• Tuna poke from the Thrifty Foods deli

 
Things I always make from scratch:

• Salad dressings (so easy and a way to use healthy fats like olive oil)
• Soups. I find they are easy to make and so much better tasting than canned soups
• Popcorn. I love making it on the stove in a pot. Popcorn might be my favorite food.

That’s what gets my family through the week. My husband is also more than capable of putting dinner on the table, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Let me know if you have any tips that work for you.