How to Plan Prepare Nutritious Meals Quickly?



Do you feel that a lot of time is spent in kitchen preparing the food/ balanced diet for children?

With proper planning every evening and preparing menu for upcoming days, you can expedite the food preparation time. Planning speeds up the preparation time and also ensures nutritious food constantly.

When a menu is planned, and food is prepared as per plan, healthy food is always available automatically and also speedily.

Following are quick prep tips for meals:

Ideas for Pre - Planning Nutritious Meals:

  1. Plan and note down the menu for 3-4 days all meals i.e. breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks for each day – should take 20-30 mins.
  2. Get a stock of all items available in the house and identify possible variations of meals with these. This also gives an opportunity to prepare next shopping list. Communicate the menu to all the family members.
  3. Do not plan for laborious recipe meals. Those can be for festivals and special occasions. Plan for quick cooker/ pot meals with carbs, grains, proteins. Add fruits and soups which are quick and easy.
  4. Plan before cooking. Go over the menu and snacks. If all ingredients are not available, go for a replacement that you may have instore. E.g.: use masoor dal instead of toor dal or corn instead of green peas.
  5. Pre-prep the vegetables by having them cut; having the grains/ grams soaked overnight. Cook dal in bulk at once so that it can be used later.
  6. Get children to participate in helping to prepare the meals. Children upto 5 years can help in sorting/ clean-up.

Some Healthy Meals Suggestions:

 

  1. Soup: Select protein (e.g. grams, chicken, dals, etc), along with vegetables, spices, and vegetable/ chicken stock or water. The grams can be used in other dishes or like a side salad. Soups are quick and nutritious meal.

  2. Instant Pot / Cooker Meals: Cooker or instant pot can prepare meals quickly. Add grains, vegetables, spices and/ or meat and it’s all set. For example: Toor dal, peas, vegetables, spices, oil and water can make a nice khichadi.

Yummy and Quick Snack Ideas: Vegetable + fruit, or grams + Proteins

Make a combo that has vegetables, fruit, or grams along with nutritious proteins.

  • Apple and Cheese Slices
  • Carrot chopped and boiled eggs
  • Vegetables chopped, mashed kabuli chana and healthy biscuits/ crackers
  • Flavoured Curd with fruit 
  • Chicken slices and tomatoes 
  • Rajma Beans and chapatis/ rotis.

etc…

These easy ideas/ suggestions will help you plan for the whole week easily without much pressure. Plan for elaborate/ complex/ time taking dishes only on special days/ festivals/ occasions.

This will make your life easier and meals healthier!!