Ditch the TV Dinners
By WLR Dietitian
After years of being bombarded with TV cookery
programmes like Ready, Steady, Cook and Masterchef Goes
Large, a new survey reveals we’re finally beginning to
take notice and dust off our pots and pans. According to
this year’s Consumer Attitudes to Food Survey, published
by the Food Standards Agency, more than half of us now
claim to prepare meals from scratch at least once a day.
At the same time, 28 percent of us now say we never eat
ready-made meals – that’s a big difference from 2000 when
only 17 percent avoided them.
We’re also more likely to look at nutrition information
on food packaging, particularly when it comes to
identifying the salt and sugars content of products. But
best of all, more of us than ever are aware that we should
be eating five servings of fruit and veg a day – although
there are still a third of people out there who don’t know
this!
WLR says:
It’s encouraging to see that more and more of us are
eventually getting the message that creating healthy meals
from scratch doesn’t have to be time consuming, expensive
or require weird and wonderful ingredients. Although many
manufacturers now produce healthier versions of
pre-prepared foods, ready meals or jars of cooking sauce,
for example, can still be loaded with calories, fat and
salt. That’s not to say they can’t be included as part of
a healthy, balanced diet from time to time – especially if
you serve meals with salad or vegetables.
In the meantime, if you fancy getting back to basics in
the kitchen, try some of these healthy and nutritious
homemade dinners that are quick to prepare and cook…
- grilled chicken breast with a jacket potato and
salad
- pasta with homemade tomato sauce and salad
- pork and vegetable stir fry with wholewheat noodles
- mushroom omelette with salad and wholegrain bread
- turkey and pepper fajitas with salad
- jacket potatoes with prawns and salad
- grilled rump steak with potato wedges and grilled
tomatoes and onions
- vegetable pasta bake with salad or vegetables
- lamb and pepper kebabs with basmati rice, salad and
tzatziki
- grilled salmon steak with new potatoes and
vegetables
- chilli con carne with brown rice and salad
- cottage pie with vegetables
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