#23. Learn to cook (healthy meals)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 by wannabe runner

I've decided the best way to start learning how to cook is to start cooking. So, I'm making the commitment to cook a healthy dinner once a week.

Goal Break-down

Specific: Learn to cook healthy meals*
*I will know they are healthy by picking good ingredients and researching recipies
Measurable: Cook dinner at least once a week (I will look back at the end of the week and note how many times I cooked a healthy dinner)
Achievable: Once a week is realistic
Relevant: :Learning to cook healthy meals with natural ingredients will help in living a better lifestyle
Time-Bound: I will cook at least once a week till my 24th birthday

Tonight I am making a gluten-free casserole. I got the idea from The Gluten-Free Homemaker.
I picked a protein, starch, vegetables, sauce and topping and layered them into a casserole.

Layer 1: 1 cup cooked Quinoa
Layer 2: 2 cups sauteed vegetables (mushrooms, peas, onion, garlic)
Layer 3: 16 oz. Red Kidney Beans
Layer 4: 2 cups Organic Traditional Pasta Sauce
Layer 5: 1/2 cup topping of low fat mozzarella cheese

Bake 350 degrees for 30 min. Add topping for the last 10 min.


Entire casserole Nutrition:

Calories Fat Cholesterol Sodium Carbs Sugar Fiber Protein
1,663 18g 20mg 3,520mg 290g 78g 50g 89g

I will eat 1/4 for dinner making a serving about 415 calories.

I give this meal a 3 out of 4. Very healthy and colorful, but needs more spices or seasoning next time.

3 comments:

MJ said...
March 17, 2010 at 7:09 PM

wow!! that looks yummy!!
I was not a natural 'cook' when I first got married, and it took me a long time to find my 'groove'. What I've found works is to sit down every Sunday morning with my cookbooks and plan out my menu & make my shopping list from the ingredient lists. I plan out what we'll have for dinner each night for the following week. It helps! Btw...where in the grocery store do you find the quinoa?? I've looked everywhere in my local grocer.

wannabe runner said...
March 18, 2010 at 11:05 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
wannabe runner said...
March 18, 2010 at 11:06 AM

Thanks for the advice! I need to start looking online and through cookbooks for recipes to try each week. I like the idea of taking time on the weekend to plan meals for the week. This was the first time I tried quinoa and it was a little tricky to find at the store. I shop at Giant and found it in their "natural" and "organic" section.

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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

#23. Learn to cook (healthy meals)

I've decided the best way to start learning how to cook is to start cooking. So, I'm making the commitment to cook a healthy dinner once a week.

Goal Break-down

Specific: Learn to cook healthy meals*
*I will know they are healthy by picking good ingredients and researching recipies
Measurable: Cook dinner at least once a week (I will look back at the end of the week and note how many times I cooked a healthy dinner)
Achievable: Once a week is realistic
Relevant: :Learning to cook healthy meals with natural ingredients will help in living a better lifestyle
Time-Bound: I will cook at least once a week till my 24th birthday

Tonight I am making a gluten-free casserole. I got the idea from The Gluten-Free Homemaker.
I picked a protein, starch, vegetables, sauce and topping and layered them into a casserole.

Layer 1: 1 cup cooked Quinoa
Layer 2: 2 cups sauteed vegetables (mushrooms, peas, onion, garlic)
Layer 3: 16 oz. Red Kidney Beans
Layer 4: 2 cups Organic Traditional Pasta Sauce
Layer 5: 1/2 cup topping of low fat mozzarella cheese

Bake 350 degrees for 30 min. Add topping for the last 10 min.


Entire casserole Nutrition:

Calories Fat Cholesterol Sodium Carbs Sugar Fiber Protein
1,663 18g 20mg 3,520mg 290g 78g 50g 89g

I will eat 1/4 for dinner making a serving about 415 calories.

I give this meal a 3 out of 4. Very healthy and colorful, but needs more spices or seasoning next time.
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3 comments:

  1. MJMarch 17, 2010 at 7:09 PM

    wow!! that looks yummy!!
    I was not a natural 'cook' when I first got married, and it took me a long time to find my 'groove'. What I've found works is to sit down every Sunday morning with my cookbooks and plan out my menu & make my shopping list from the ingredient lists. I plan out what we'll have for dinner each night for the following week. It helps! Btw...where in the grocery store do you find the quinoa?? I've looked everywhere in my local grocer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. wannabe runnerMarch 18, 2010 at 11:05 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. wannabe runnerMarch 18, 2010 at 11:06 AM

    Thanks for the advice! I need to start looking online and through cookbooks for recipes to try each week. I like the idea of taking time on the weekend to plan meals for the week. This was the first time I tried quinoa and it was a little tricky to find at the store. I shop at Giant and found it in their "natural" and "organic" section.

    ReplyDelete

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