Guest Post: Running With Mascara

How to Cook Delicious & Healthy Microwavable Meals

-By Allison Evans from http://www.runningwithmascara.com/

Allison Evans is a writer and editor for Fit&Fab Living, a healthy & beauty website and
Running With Mascara, the Fit&Fab Living blog! Check out the site or the blog for tons
of nutrition, fitness, beauty tips and more!

We all experience days when laying out tons of ingredients, pulling out the pots and pans
and having to spend an hour or more at the stovetop seems anything but appealing. While
the easiest way to ensure that you’re eating a nutritious diet is to cook from whole foods
at home, it isn’t always a feasible option seven nights a week. Even when you’re strapped
for time, there are other quick options that are still relatively healthy – at least healthier
than eating out! Here are some tips on how to cook your food in minutes without
sacrificing nutrition.

Frozen Entrees – It seems that now-a-days the easiest way to prepare a meal is to buy
pre-packaged entrees and nuke them for a few minutes. Unfortunately, these meals are
double-sided. While there are plenty of brands that offer low-fat, low-calorie meals, they
are usually loaded with sodium. Many of these microwavable meals can contain 45% or
more of your daily sodium intake. The good news is that if you’re careful at other meals
and don’t make frozen entrees a daily habit, you’ll be fine.

Another downside to eating microwavable entrees is that while they’re low in calories,
there isn’t a lot of food. It’s easy chow down on a microwavable meal and then
continually snack throughout the night because you didn’t fill yourself up the first
time. Don’t let those mini-meals steal the show. Supplement the meal with fruits,
veggies, beans or a salad that combines all three of these foods! You can steam veggies in
the microwave or even toss them onto a salad raw.

The best thing to do when shopping for frozen entrees is to compare, compare, compare!
Just because it has the word "smart" or "lean" in the title doesn’t mean that’s it healthy.
Compare all the brands that seem healthy and stick to entrees that are low-fat, calories
and sodium with as much protein as you can find.

Storming the Kitchen – This strategy uses the microwave in a different way, but requires
at least one day with substantial free time. I love to do this when I’ve actually strategized
enough. Pick one day where you have at least half of the day free. Instead of cooking
each meal the night of dinner, cook your meals for the entire week at one time. Of course
this requires a bit of preparation, but if you’re organized, this cooking method can be
a huge time saver! Just make sure you have plenty of microwave- and freezer-safe
containers for storing and reheating.

Thanks for the tips Allison!!!

Want to do a guest post here at NHS? Email me 🙂

Question: Would you say you use your microwave or oven more?

For me it’s the oven. I rarely use the microwave.