Fabulous food fillers: Keys to making prepared/frozen foods healthier for your family
Quick & Easy - That’s the key!
After a hard day, cooking a tasty, healthy meal just isn’t high on our priority list. Soccer practice, homework help, laundry, business meetings, all occupy our minds. In this ever increasing pace, it is simply becoming harder and harder to find the time to cook a meal, let alone sit at the table to savor it. We swing our carts to the frozen food section & grab what looks appealing on the cover and quick & easy to make. Yet, with a few modifications to your selections, you can have a fabulous meal with a healthy twist! It’s easier than one might think to start with a ’template’ and simply make it better!
Tasty filler tips for that main course!
- If you grab that frozen pizza, why not skip the pre-topped pizza and add it yourself? Some fresh fruits and yummy veggies like pineapple, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and red peppers offer wonderful health benefits from vitamin A to calcium, lycopene to vitamin C, creating a colorful and scrumptious meal.
- Picking up frozen fish? How about grilled instead of fried? Just before baking, top each piece with thinly sliced or chopped zucchini, onion and tomato, providing vitamin A, calcium, fiber, lycopene, and potassium!
- Looking for something different? How about Vegetable surprise? With a bag of frozen veggies, some cooked brown rice and some sliced almonds, you have an amazing meal that is so satisfying, and so nutritious with loads of phosphorus, potassium, selenium, vitamins A and C, calcium and biotin.
- Beans! Excellent source of fiber, protein and phosphorus, beans can be mashed into almost any meal to add huge amounts of nutritional goodness for you and your family! For more picky eaters, try starting with Great Northern Beans.
Secrets of Sensational Sides
What about the sides? That bag of chips is cheap, fast and ready to go. Yet, there are so many fabulous alternatives to greasy chips! A healthier you starts with the sides…
- Instead of those frozen fries, how about sweet potato “fries” instead? So easy and oh so yummy, it’s a must have treat that provides bountiful vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, calcium and potassium. Thinly slice sweet potatoes and place on a pan sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Spray the tops with a light coating of cooking spray and then sprinkle with salt, sugar, and cinnamon to taste. Bake until crisp! So good!!
- How about a tasty twist on an old salad? By adding fruits (packed in juice not heavy syrup) such as peaches, or citrus, you not only add flavor, but create a visually beautiful and enticing side dish that is now rich in vitamin A, C, calcium, and potassium.
- Picking up prepackaged instant or microwaveable rice? No problem! Why not toss in some raisins after cooking? Just remember to cover and let stand for a couple of minutes. So delicious, so pretty to look at and so rich in phosphorus and potassium!
What About Dessert?
So the meal is fabulous, what’s left? Dessert!
It is so easy to pick up that cake, pie or pastry and drop it into the cart on the way to the cash out isle. But with a couple of ingredients in your fridge, pantry, and freezer, dessert is quick easy and oh so good!
- Try some frozen raspberries mixed with slivered almonds and a dollop of light whipped cream.
- Halve some peaches or apples and place, sliced side up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with shredded coconut, a little cinnamon and sugar or maple syrup and bake until desired softness for a dessert sensation. Add a dollop of light whipped cream for an extra taste treat!
Precious moments…
There is no doubt that time is precious, and becoming more hard to find. As a result, out of necessity, mealtime has suffered as more and more families are choosing the ready made. Yet, with some careful adjustments and just a few short minutes, those basic prepackaged choices, can become more healthy, tasty and visually pleasing meals. All it takes is knowing which fabulous food fillers for an enhanced and exciting meal!