I do these things mostly for convenience and time. While I do cook from scratch when I have the time, that days it happens less and less.

1. Quick snack, I take a packet of Cup-of-soup chicken noodle, put it in 3-4 oz of boiling water. Then heat minute brown-rice. Mix and it makes a quick snack.

2. Doctored spaghetti sauce. I cook onions until translucent. Add garlic. Set aside. brown beef, add a few tablespoons of tomato paste, add onions/garlic back in. Add Salt-free Italian seasoning blend. Add jarred tomato sauce, heat until hot, serve over pasta. Although I know that it's easy to make tomato sauce from tomatoes, it takes time that I don't want to spend. This works for us and saves me a lot of time.

3. Beef Gravy. Make a roux of whole wheat flour and butter. Add 1 packet of Beefy Onion soup mix and 1-3 tsp of Better than Bouillon beef flavored. Add water/milk/canned beef broth to get the consistency of gravy that you want.

4. Hot Sandwich rolls. Take a roll of refrigerator pizza crust. Unroll and layer lunchmeat and cheese of choice, Roll into a log and bake according to the package instructions. Slice disks. Optional, you can spread a thin layer of tomato sauce/mustard or condiment-of-choice on the pizza crust before rolling. I just recently started using the Pillsbury Artisan whole wheat pizza crust. Still works great. We get lower-fat lunch meats and for the kids, I get the nitrate-free turkey-based lunchmeats.

5. I make Zatarain's Jambalaya and doctor it up. Brown meat of choice (I usually get some sort of flavored sausage like a chorizo or andouille), then brown other meats (chicken and shrimp frequently) in the flavored fat. Meat is optional here, FYI. I take out the meat and then add the package of zatarain's, a cup of brown rice, and a little cajun seasoning, and brown the rice slightly. Add a can of diced tomatoes. Then I add the water suggested on the package, plus 2 cups and cook as directed. When the rice is close to finished cooking, I add the meats back in. I've been told by several people that this is the best Jambalay they've ever had. Once upon a time, I used to make Jambalaya from scratch, but since the reception from friends and family to this is so good, I just do the easy way now.

6. Easy shepherd's pie or pot pie. Brown beef with Beefy Onion soup mix. Add in frozen veggies of choice. Toss in oven-safe pan. Cook refrigerator mash potatoes (from the deli section at the local supermarket) about 75% of the suggested times, then add to top of pan. Brown in the oven. You can also make this into beef pot pie. Brown beef with Beefy Onion soup mix, make a little of the gravy above (#3), add frozen veggies of choice. Either get a refrigerator/freezer pie crust or I make a boxed crust (Betty Crocker pie crust works well) and pre-bake the bottom crust about 75%, then top with the filling and then the second crust and bake.

Just a few ideas. While I agree that it would be good to avoid the processed food, it's hard to do with two WOH parents, and a busy weeknight schedule, so I cook from scratch on weekends and fill with these types of easy meals during the week.

OP here. Thanks! I should also add that my DH & I eat a large green salad with practically every meal so that helps a lot.

Agree OP. Perhaps this board is just made up of self-selected healthy eaters, but a lot of what people report here sounds aspirational to me.

If I'm doing some kind of frozen food for dinner, I try to serve it with two fresh vegetables on the side. I also really like the whole wheat wheat couscous from Trader Joes-cooks fast, tastes good, and you can throw some fresh veg on top of it after you add the boiling water and the veg will steam while the couscous cooks.

OP here. Thanks for all the criticism. Anyone have any actual tips? I don't believe that everyone on this board prepares every meal from scratch.

Anonymous wrote:Sandra Lee has built an entire empire around this concept.

Ha! Thinking the same thing. Except hers isn't about making it healthier. I always wonder how that woman got her own show.

Sandra Lee has built an entire empire around this concept.

Anonymous wrote:I don't enjoy cooking, but I do enjoy eating and try to make healthy foods for my family. My "specialty" has become turning processed/ prepared foods into something a little healthier. For example, I always have cooked brown rice on hand and add it to Lipton flavored rice pouches. I add fresh tomatoes and carrots to jarred tomato sauce. I would love to hear tips from others on how you do tho to make meals a little healthier without too much effort. This is also a good way to save money. Please share your tips and ideas!

OP those things have tons of sodium and chemicals including MSG! I would not feed those to kids....

Those Lipton pouches have like 20 different chemicals in them. Sad, they are tasty and fast, but definitely you can't really build something healthy around them.

Instead of getting those pouches, which are like $1.50 each, get a $2 liter of organic chicken broth. Then cook your brown rice in that and add pepper, paprika, celery salt, oregano, garlic powder, and any other spices you like. Then freeze the brown rice (it keeps GREAT in the freezer).

Jarred tomato sauce can be pretty healthy already -- Whole Foods sells their organic 365 tomato sauce for like $2.50 a jar and you can add veggies to that. A great tip is to saute tomato sauce or canned tomatoes (BPA-free) with oil, beans, garlic, and frozen spinach for a super-tasty and healthy side dish. You can also roast a chicken (use the side dish with this as the meal), then simmer the carcass and bones for 2-3 hours and make your own chicken stock (for cooking your brown rice). You can also use the stock to make soups like potato soup or corn chowder. Thicken the broth with a little microwave roux (melt butter in the microwave and mix in a little flour, then add some broth to make it liquidy and stir it into your soup).

I use a lot of frozen veggies and whole ingredients (like brown rice) and it's not much harder than what you're doing. What you're doing is where I started, too! Try our different ways to avoid the processed food altogether.

I don't enjoy cooking, but I do enjoy eating and try to make healthy foods for my family. My "specialty" has become turning processed/ prepared foods into something a little healthier. For example, I always have cooked brown rice on hand and add it to Lipton flavored rice pouches. I add fresh tomatoes and carrots to jarred tomato sauce. I would love to hear tips from others on how you do tho to make meals a little healthier without too much effort. This is also a good way to save money. Please share your tips and ideas!