3 Ideas for Cooking Healthier Meals At Home

8/30/2022

|When it comes to eating at home we can often have the best of intentions for cooking healthy meals, but when a busy life and responsibilities get in the way, it can be a lot harder to accomplish this task.

Eating out or ordering food delivery service can have serious health consequences in the long run, so finding easy ways of cooking at home can increase our overall health and well-being. Plus it can be a ton of fun to find new recipes to try out. Let's explore three ideas for cooking healthier meals at home.

Please note: This collaborative article does not contain healthcare or therapeutic advice. If you are concerned about your health or well-being, speak with a health professional or visit your nearest medical facility in an emergency. The links in this article may be affiliate links that I will be compensated for at no additional cost to you.

1. Plan Ahead

There are moments when looking in your pantry or fridge and creating a meal out of the miscellaneous ingredients you find is the only option that you have. Although it may be adventurous to create new meals without using a recipe, it's not usually the healthiest. Instead, finding recipes and stocking your kitchen with wholesome ingredients is key to healthy eating.

Meal planning can also be beneficial for stocking up on meals for your freezer. If you have never used a crockpot or Instant Pot in your life, this will be a game changer! Freezer meals are one of the easiest ways to ensure that you always have healthy meal options on hand rather than having to reach for the delivery menu or app on a Friday night.

If you find a recipe you and your family love to eat, you can also stock up on the ingredients if you have the pantry space, like buying bulk or a flat of cans, for example. That way you will always have the items on hand when you want to make your favourite dish.

2. Discover New Recipes

There are an incredible amount of resources online for finding new recipes to expand your culinary adventures in the kitchen. However, have you ever considered heading to your local thrift store or library to find used or vintage cookbooks? You can find so many interesting recipes that you may not be able to find online. In particular, cookbooks that focus on Mediterranean-inspired dishes are fantastic for cooking healthy meals at home.

However, sometimes you may find a cookbook that does not have the units that correspond to your local area. For example, the recipe may list milliliters (mL) or fluid ounces (fl oz) but you need it converted into Cups. Using an online ingredient conversation to find the exact measurement you need for your recipe. Getting your recipe right the first time can encourage you to continue cooking fun, new recipes at home.

It can also be very helpful to have some reminders for eating healthier or being physically active at home. When it comes to weight loss, one of the first steps should be to talk to your doctor or health practitioner (eg. nutritionist, naturopath, etc) in order to explore any specific concerns and treatment plans that are right for you. Having specific goals in mind when it comes to eating healthier or achieving a healthy weight can be a great motivator on your wellness quest.

3. Use the Right Containers

This may sound silly, but not all kitchen containers are the same! There are an endless variety of containers choose from and depending on the type of food you are storing it can be so important to use the right container to ensure that your food is kept fresh for longer. There is nothing worse than having to throw out a meal after only a day of being in the fridge because it wasn't stored properly.

Glass containers can also be useful for showing exactly what is being stored inside, and this can increase the chances of it being eaten, especially for leftovers. If food is kept 'out of sight' it might also end up in the 'out of mind' category, and this can increase your grocery bill and lead to unhealthy food options from having to eat out more. Having multiple containers of the same type can also be helpful for food portioning and meal prepping.

All the best on your quest to eat healthier at home!

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