Fast and Fresh Meals That Bring Families Together

Whip up a healthy and delicious meal for the family when you're seriously strapped for time

By The LifeMinute Team

October 6, 2016

What to do on those busy weeknights when you don't have time to cook? How can you put a healthy, nutritious meal on the table for your family? Here, a few solutions from registered dietician and author of The Slim Down South Cookbook, Carolyn O'Neil.

Don't Forget Your Freezer

"Have you thought about using your freezer a few nights a week as your personal chef?," asks O'Neill. " I'm working with the good people at Stouffer's and we have a Balance Your Plate nutrition education campaign, with delicious options like Stouffer's Lasagna with Meat & Sauce." This great go-to meal has eighteen grams of protein and is only 300 calories per serving. Simply take it out of the freezer--it's ready when you are--and pop it in the oven while you're helping kids with their homework and getting settled in for the night.

"So you can see we have such delicious and nutritious examples of balancing your plate on a busy weeknight, which is even better since the personal chefs in your freezer have done the work for you--helping you balance your life," she adds.

Salad Shake-Up

Unfortunately a lot of Americans are not getting the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. How about making an exciting salad to serve with the lasagna?

O'Neill suggests a delicious apple salad: "What I've done is cut up a red apple and a green apple and put it with some greens like baby kale, although you can use any greens you like. I also have golden raisins in here and the salad dressing that I paired with this is a sweet and spicy dressing. It's a little bit of sweet--that's honey--and a little bit of spicy--hot sauce, just a little bit, plus lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil." Another option: Use grapes instead of apples.

Imagine it's another night and you're having lasagna again. "Let's do a different salad. Cut up the grapes, add them to avocados and add grapefruit segments. And then add sunflower seeds for a little crunch and of course good nutrition."

Smart Side Dish

Grab frozen peas out of your freezer. "While the lasagna is baking you put them in a food processor, a little bit of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper and you've made a green-pea hummus. I have it here with cucumber wheels but you can use whole-grain crackers."

Get Fresh, Fast

"Frozen foods are nature's pause button," says O'Neill. " The dietitians and chefs at Stouffer's work together in the kitchen to come up with that win-win of taste and health." To illustrate this they've updated and simplified the label. "Don't worry, it's the same delicious lasagna. But the label reads more like a recipe. You see vine-ripened tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, freshly-made pasta." Still the same delicious recipe for a healthy meal that brings families together.

For more information please visit nestleusa/balance.

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