Healthy Eating Tip: Stock your Fridge, Freezer and Pantry Right

In honor of National Nutrition Month®, my colleague Karen Ansel shares her tip to help you savor the flavor of eating right.

I always encourage people to cook more at home, but getting a healthy meal on the table on a busy weeknight can be a real challenge. For a meal that’s ready in less time than it takes to wait for pizza delivery, stock your fridge, freezer and pantry with a few non-perishable ingredients such as whole-wheat pasta and tomato sauce from a jar along with some frozen veggies. You’ll eat more healthfully and save money too!

If you’d like to eat more vegetables but don’t have time to cook them, stock up on raw vegetables. Grape tomatoes, baby carrots, sugar snap peas and sliced red bell peppers all count toward your daily vegetable quota. And feel free to dunk them in a little olive oil-based salad dressing. Olive oil’s healthy fats make raw veggies taste better and help you absorb more of their nutrients too.

Karen Ansel, MS, RDN is a freelance writer in Long Island, NY and co-author of Healthy in a Hurry: Easy, Good-for-You Recipes for Every Meal of the Day.