Integrating Easy Dinner Recipes Into Your Life

Cooking is often the last thing you want to do when you finally get home from work. It’s so much easier sometimes to just pick up some food for yourself at a nearby fast food restaurant, order a pizza, or get some takeout from your favorite Chinese restaurant.  The problem is that fast food is bad for you. Pizza from big-name pizza delivery chains isn’t necessarily nutritious. And getting Chinese takeout can overload your body with MSG and end up costing you a lot of money over time.

So, you know you should cook dinner at home more often. But you may be afraid that you won’t be able to muster up enough energy at the end of the day to get to work in the kitchen. Fortunately, there are methods you can use that will help you start preparing easy dinner recipes. Here are a few of them:

I. Discover new recipes

If you aren’t used to cooking at home, you probably don’t know how to make a lot of different dishes. You can look for healthy, easy recipes online. Try to find ones that take around 30 minutes to make. Although ones that take less than 30 minutes are ideal too. Ask your family members and friends for recipes as well. Your parents will be able to give you the recipes to all the meals you loved eating at home as a kid. Cooking those recipes could be a fun, delicious trip down memory lane.

II. Make a grocery list

 

Once you have some recipes to use for the week, make a grocery list. You can take this grocery list with you to the store when you go shopping over the weekend. It will allow you to buy everything you need for dinner throughout the week. This will help you avoid multiple trips to the store over the course of the week to pick up things you forgot to get at the store.

III. Get a panini grill, crock-pot, and wok

These lovely appliances will save you time and work in the kitchen. You can make yummy, hot panini sandwiches in ten minutes with a panini grill. A wok allows you to make vegetable and meat stir-fries in a little under 30 minutes. And a crock-pot can cook a delicious stew for you all day while you’re out of the house.

IV. Make an easy dessert for yourself once a week

Eating healthier and cooking at home more often requires some effort on your part. If you put forth that effort, you deserve a reward every now and then. Treat yourself to some low-fat yogurt and fruit or even a slice of chocolate cake once a week. This will help encourage you to keep up the good work.

V. Do the dishes every single day

Dishes have a mysterious way of piling up in the sink when you begin to cook at home more often. Don’t let this happen. You can reserve ten minutes each evening for rinsing off dishes and loading the dishwasher. This will save you from having to spend a couple of hours at the end of the week on dishes.

So, put on that apron and get to work in the kitchen! You’ll be glad you did when you’re eating healthier and have some extra change in your pocket!

James Kim is a guest writer for foodonthetable.com.  Food on the Table is a company that provides online budget meal planning services.  Their goal is to help families eat better and save money.