3 Ways To Make Weeknight Dinners Easier And Less Stressful

Dinner time, especially after having kids, is one of the most hectic times of day. Dinner in my home is the meal that typically takes the longest to prep. This is the time of day where I spend more time and effort putting together a meal.

In order to reach your health and wellness goals things have to be doable. If a habit like home cooking isn’t attainable then you just won’t do it or you will take the wrong short cuts to make it happen. Healthy eating starts with healthy home cooking BUT it cannot be a stressful or complicated task or it won’t happen.

Below I am sharing 3 tips to help make weeknight dinners as easy as possible. These tips will help make the task of creating weeknight dinners easier, simpler and quicker.

Take healthy short cuts

Not everything has to be from scratch to be healthy. Things like pre cut frozen vegetables, pre washed greens, pre cut and washed vegetables, healthy sauces and marinades, canned beans, pre cooked and frozen grains, healthy canned soups, etc. can be massive time savers. Utilizing healthy short cuts can help make dinner time so much easier. Just make sure to do your research and read the ingredient list to make sure it doesn’t contain unhealthy ingredients. Try to avoid added sugars, processed seed oils and any ingredients you don’t recognize.

Meal prep a few essentials at the start of the week

Having a few key items prepared and ready to reheat can be a massive game changer for make weeknights smoother. An example of this is having a protein and grain like quinoa or rice ready to reheat and toss into a meal. You can also pre wash and chop veggies to easily toss onto a sheet pan or in a stir fry. It might be an extra step at the beginning of the week but after doing it a few times each week you will notice just how much time and effort it saves you later on in the week.

Have 3 one pot meal and 3 ready in under 20 minute recipes in your toolkit

This is a tip I have sworn by for years. It is something I get my health coaching clients on board with as well. First you begin with searching and saving 3 recipes that can be made in one pot, ideally in a slow cooker or pressure cooker to save time. Then save 3 recipes that can be prepped and served in 20 minutes or less. You can search on google, in cook books, blogs or Pinterest for these recipes. Save these recipe ideas for the busiest nights of the week. Whenever I have a night where I need something in less than 20 minutes I cook my go to meal: sautéed broccoli, quinoa or a quick to cook rice and salmon.  Having these types of recipes has saved me on many occasions as well as my clients.

Let me know what healthy cooking strategies you integrate into your routine to make weeknights smoother in the comments below.