Ditch the TV Dinners

By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD

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