Healthy Dinners: The Cooking Conundrum

As dorky as the title comes across sounding, it is fitting. But seriously, what’s up with supper?

Well, I think we all get stumped by mealtimes now and then, so maybe if we can pool ideas it can be slightly less stressful for all of us. I am happy to share some of my ideas with the web-ether:
WHAT’S FOR DINNER? I like to start by picking my protein. Now, in my house we are omnivores, so this usually entails sticking my head in the freezer and seeing what we’ve got. Once I know what we’re dealing with, I look for a few of my favorite recipes and see which one most closely resembles the rest of the ingredients that I have in my fridge and cupboards.

If I have food that needs to be eaten, I try to find a recipe that calls for it, or one that will nicely accept it as an addition or substitute. I love substituting and do it all the time. You can substitute for just about anything.This allows you to take a viciously unhealthy recipe and turn it into a healthy feast.

HERE’S THE CONUNDRUM: So then how do you manage to cook a healthy dinner during the hour of the “melt downs” that so often happens with small children? My advice there is that you don’t!

Get yourself a CROCK POT or dust off the one you got for your wedding. Anything can be made in a Crock Pot. Because it is cooked for a long period of time at a low temperature the flavors are enhanced, you won’t overcook or burn food, and you get the best possible nutrition from your food. It is also low maintenance because lifting the lid released the heat and impairs the cooking process, so there is rarely a need to stir until near the end.

You can prepare your dinner at your convenience. I prepare the crock pot the night before when the kids are in bed and then refrigerate until it’s time to cook. Dinner cooks itself while you take the kids for a nice distracting walk or trip to the park during melt-down-danger-zone time. Quite often this makes all the difference between a good day and a bad day in our house. And did I mention that “kitchen disaster cleanup” Instead of doing dishes and scrubbing stove top until 10:00 PM, I am sitting here writing a post for Healthy Green Moms. I’m smiling!

A COUPLE TIPS:

CROCK POT RECIPES: I recommend getting a recipe book for Crock Pots or Slow Cookers. I like the Company’s Coming cook books because they call for “easily on hand” ingredients and it’s easy to substitute the undesirables. Having a book will help you to get used to the way a crock pot works and give you confidence to use any recipe.

USING REGULAR RECIPES: When using regular recipes, I choose my cooking temperature and time (usually 4 or 6 hours on high, or 8 or 10 hours on low). Spice flavors will be enhanced so you won’t need as much in the Pot as will be called for in a regular recipe, and because there is no evaporation, you may need to use less liquid.

FINALLY: Make a salad! This is a fantastic way to get a healthy variety of veggies all in one go – and raw! Grated carrot, beets, cheese, zucchini, add garbanzo beans, avacado, sprouts etc and this salad becomes meal in itself.

PUT YOUR FEET UP: I feel blessed and grateful most nights for managing to pull together another healthy dinner for my family. Healthy living does take some consideration but the crock pot has been a huge help in our home.

How do other Mom’s pull together healthy dinners? Share your secrets in the comments below!