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Susan M. Morgan, CFCS
County Extension Agent
Family and Consumer Education
Bolivia, NC 28422
January 1999

It's 5:30 p.m. and your stomach announces that dinner time has arrived. . . not to mention the kids are asking, "what's for dinner, mom?" If only you had not worked overtime! But, what would you have prepared? Should you go the fast-food-route again? Maybe you could pop several T.V. dinners in the oven or maybe fix hot dogs. . .

STOP! Before you go the T.V. dinner route, read this! Dinner, (breakfast and lunch, too) from this moment on can have a different meaning. It doesn't have to be a production, and it doesn't have to take time, just a little forethought and planning.

Here are some ideas that are helpful in reducing time in the kitchen.

• Cleaning and chopping vegetables can be a time consuming task. I prefer to do whole packages at one time and refrigerate in sealed plastic bags. However, you can purchase cleaned and cut vegetables which may be worth it if you cannot, or will not, take the time to prepare the fresh vegetables. You can even buy cleaned and chopped lettuce for salads. Check grocery stores and delis for these. If this is the only way you will include fresh vegetables in your diet, do it!
• One of the lowest calorie, best tasting, and quickest ways of preparing vegetables is to cook them in your microwave (without any sauces). You don't need a detailed recipe, just consult your microwave cookbook for cooking times.
• A salad spinner makes cleaning lettuce a quick task. Try doing a whole head of lettuce and store it in sealed plastic bags.
• Buy packages of cleaned stir-fry vegetables, and meat or poultry already cut for stir- frying.
• You can buy low fat grated cheese in most grocery stores but the cost is about twice as much as the brick form. Grating cheese is easy in a food processor, but only worth it if you are doing a large amount. Grate one to two pounds at a time and freeze for future use. Home grated cheese can be lighter than the store bought grated cheese and goes further as a topping in a recipe. As a result you get less fat and less calories when topping the same area with home-grated cheese. General Rule:
  

• Keep staple foods on hand so that you always have the ingredients for several meals.
• Find a convenient place in your kitchen for a grocery list that family members can add to. Encourage them to add items when they are low and not empty.
• Plan meals for the next week and add items needed to the grocery list before shopping.
• Grocery shop from your list once a week and avoid stops at the grocery store after work.
• Double a recipe and freeze for future meals.
• Buy skinned and boned chicken breasts in the family pack and freeze. Ask your butcher to package lean meats in a family pack since this usually means less cost to you. Of course, you'll have to divide the package into meal size portions and freeze.
• Look for packages of frozen lean meats and poultry that are already portioned.
• Buy a turkey breast and have the butcher slice it into steaks for use in place of chicken breasts. Freeze with two pieces of wax paper between slices for easy removal.
• To skin chicken parts, place a paper towel on the skin and pull.
• Purchase chopped garlic and substitute it for the fresh.
• Use dried onion instead of chopping fresh. See the label for reconstituting for certain recipes.

• Spread a thin layer of old-fashioned peanut butter on whole wheat toast.
• Top a bagel with light or fat-free cream cheese, or Light Cheese.
• Make a breakfast yogurt by mixing nonfat yogurt with fresh fruit and a cereal such as Grapenuts.
• Make pancakes with Lite Complete Pancake Mix.
• Use non-stick cooking spray for cooking pancakes, French toast, and eggs.
• Try low sugar jam on toast, pancakes, or French toast to replace the margarine and/or syrup. Applesauce is also good on pancakes.
• Serve low fat cottage cheese with fruit.
• Make a breakfast pizza by toasting an English muffin half and topping with pizza sauce and « ounce of part skim mozzarella cheese. Broil until cheese melts.
• Make an omelet with egg substitute and top with salsa. Also try it with mushrooms or other vegetables.
• Serve a whole grain cereal, with less than 3 grams of fat per serving, with skim milk and fresh fruit.

• Fill pita bread with raw vegetables and tuna salad or lean sliced turkey.
• Spread Melba toast with Light or fat free Cheese.
• Top a rice cake with low fat Ricotta cheese and salsa, or omit the salsa and sprinkle with cinnamon and sweetener.
• Use whole, canned green chilies in turkey sandwiches, omitting mayonnaise or margarine.
• Spread a thin layer of Light or fat free Cheese or cream cheese (light or fat-free) on whole wheat bread or a bagel instead of using margarine or mayonnaise. Melt in microwave if desired. Add a thin slice of smoked turkey.
• Fill pita bread with a stir-fry recipe or a fajita recipe.
• Microwave (or cook in a skillet with non-stick cooking spray) a skinned and boned chicken breast and serve on a bun. Top with lettuce and a tomato slice or with barbecue sauce.
• Try tuna salad made with water packed tuna and reduced calorie mayonnaise. For more flavor add 1 tablespoon of pickle relish or diced green chilies. Celery can also be added for crunch. Chopped apple is a good addition to add sweetness and a crunch.
• Make tuna salad with low calorie ranch dressing.
• Make a submarine sandwich using lean meats and chopped lettuce. Drizzle with nonfat or reduced calorie Italian dressing.
• Add well drained coleslaw to a sandwich for crunch.
• Make a Reuben sandwich using whole wheat toast, smoked turkey, part-skim mozzarella cheese, and rinsed sauerkraut. Heat under broiler until cheese is melted.
• Use lettuce and tomato in sandwiches for moisture and to replace mayonnaise or margarine.
• Make a French dip using Deli roast beef or turkey, French rolls, and au jus gravy mix (dilute with more water to reduce the sodium).
• Try alfalfa sprouts in place of lettuce. You don't have to wash them and they don't get soggy.

• Make a cold plate in the summer of sliced fresh fruit with low fat cottage cheese or sliced lean meats, low fat cheese, and vegetables.
• Top tossed salads with kidney or garbanzo beans.
• Fill heated tortillas with vegetarian refried beans, no fat refried beans, or black beans and top with salsa. Serve with nonfat yogurt, chopped lettuce and tomatoes.
• Fill a baked potato with low fat cottage cheese and chopped green onion or black beans and salsa.
• Top a baked potato with a low-fat canned chili. Add chopped onion but be cautious when adding cheese or use the low fat or fat free varieties.
• Serve a low fat canned chili. Top with sliced green onion and serve with French bread and carrot sticks.
• Make a shish-ka-bob of green peppers, onion, and partially cooked new potato quarters. Skewer with cubes of lean meat, poultry, or shrimp. Broil or barbecue until done.
• Serve spaghetti using eggless noodles and spaghetti sauce (with less than 4 grams of fat per 4 ounces).
• Use a broth-based canned soup (not cream) and skim off the fat. To reduce the sodium, add additional water, or purchase those that indicate they are 30% less salt, or mix with a low sodium soup. When selecting a thicker soup, choose those with less than 30% of the calories from fat.
• Dress up green beans with mushrooms and and a few slivered almonds.
• Make a stir-fry using lean meat, seafood or poultry and add a couple of fresh vegetables.
• When serving meat, poultry or seafood, complete the meal with a roll and either canned, frozen or a fresh vegetable. Using the microwave makes this especially fast.

The information presented is for educational purposes only. References to trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service is implied.

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Date Created 2/25/99
Last Revised 2/25/99