NUTRITION HOTLINE
BY SUZANNE HAVALA HOBBS DrPH, MS, RD
QUESTION: I'd like to prepare more meals at home but don't have time to make many foods from scratch. What do you suggest?
ANSWER: Eating more meals at home — rather than out — usually results in fewer calories and better nutrition. But home cooking doesn't mean you have to soak beans and make sauces from scratch. Shortcuts are OK if you use high-quality ingredients.
And, let's face it, convenience foods are a necessity for most of us. I know few people who have the time to press and fill fresh ravioli and then clean and chop vegetables for a green salad to go with it. Therefore, carefully chosen, ready-to-use products can save time and make home-cooked meals possible.
So, what makes a product "high-quality?" Generally, the best foods are as close to their natural state as possible. They contain few — if any — artificial flavorings or colorings, minimal sodium and added sugar, and no partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, the biggest source of trans fat. If the product is a bread or a cereal, it is made with the whole grain. Preferably, the ingredients are organic. Here are some examples:
- Ready-to-eat vegetables. For instance, grab some prewashed salad greens, chopped vegetables for a stir-fry, a coleslaw mix, or peeled baby carrots. Do you lose nutrients when vegetables are cut up and left to sit on supermarket shelves? Sure, but what's left is still full of what's good for you. Also, you will pay more if someone else peels your carrots for you. But if these items save you lots of prep time and help you to eat more vegetables, they're worth it.
- Canned beans. Cans of black beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, and kidney beans are staples found in many vegetarian homes. One reason is because they're so quick to prepare. Just open a can, rinse the beans in a colander, and add them to salads, soups, chili, casseroles, burritos, or rice. Do canned beans contain more sodium than soaked, dried beans? Yes, but rinsing removes most of the added sodium.
- Pasta sauce. Bottled tomato sauces are higher in sodium than those you would make from scratch with fresh tomatoes. Served over whole wheat linguine with steamed vegetables and a salad, though, they can be part of an overall nutritious meal. Look for brands made with organic tomatoes, such as Muir Glen.
- Seasoning short-cuts. Buy bottled, minced garlic and use it by the spoonful. It tastes nearly as good as fresh, and it beats garlic powder for flavor. Also good are fresh (refrigerated) basil pesto and bottled sun-dried tomatoes. I buy mine at large warehouse clubs.
- Soup starters. Several companies make ready-to-eat soups that can also be used as a base for other dishes. Try organic vegetable or mushroom broth by Pacific Natural Foods, sold in aseptic quart boxes. Trader Joe's carries a similar product, also organic and packaged in aseptic quart boxes. Their Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup, for example, can be cooked with whole wheat elbow macaroni or barley and your choice of minced vegetables. Pick up the low-sodium varieties of these products when at all possible.
- Staple grains. I keep Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Veggie Rotini and Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Rotelle Pasta in my pantry at all times. Cooked, whole grain pasta tossed with pesto and toasted pine nuts or with olive oil and minced garlic is a quick and healthful main course. Also try Near East whole grain blends, such as brown rice with roasted pecans and garlic or Mediterranean Curry couscous. Cooked rice is good mixed with rinsed canned beans for burrito filling.
There are many other ready-to-eat convenience products out there. In the grocery store, study nutrition labels and ingredient lists, giving bonus points to packaged foods with short lists of wholesome ingredients. Then, use those products to help you get through busy days with health-sustaining, home-cooked meals.
