Healthy and Easy Meals

August 2011

Image CaptionWhile eating healthy at home may seem like it would require extra effort, many healthy meals are easy to prepare.

Elmwood Fitness Center nutritionist Elesha Kelleher said more healthy options become available every day.

“There are so many good options that are found in the freezer section that you can just microwave or heat up on the grill,” Kelleher said.  “You can get vegetables that steam in the bag and salad greens that are already washed and ready to grab.”

Kelleher said the key to healthy eating is having many healthy and easy options at hand. Variety is important in a healthy diet, but that doesn’t mean meals have to be bland.

 “You can get a bunch of different proteins – lean meats, chicken, fresh fish and anything with ‘round or lean’ in the name,” she advised.  A bag of frozen chicken breasts or frozen salmon filets offers an almost unlimited variety of healthy choices.

But the main course isn’t the only place you can play a healthy game of mix and match.

“You can also throw things like canned black beans into a vegetable soup, or you can put black beans or edamame on top of a salad,” Kelleher said.

If you’re looking for an even quicker meal or snack, Kelleher recommends other healthy ideas.

“There are high protein cereals that make good meals,” she said.  “Things like Weight Control oatmeal are really easy. If all else fails, peanut butter and a little jelly can be a quick and nutritious meal that you can make at home in no time at all.”

To find easy, healthy recipes, visit choose-healthy.org.

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