Liz Weiss gives us some hints on how to go about cooking more at home.



Host: Gloria Tsang, RD

Guest: Liz Weiss, MS, RD



Eating healthy is usually one of the top 3 new year's resolutions. And yet, it's hard to eat healthy if you don't start cooking more at home. Dietitian Liz Weiss just released her family cookbook No Whine with Dinner. She is here to give us some hints on how to go about cooking more at home.







 

Transcript:

Gloria Tsang, RD: Welcome to the Nutrition Tidbits podcast. This is Gloria Tsang, Editor-in-Chief for HealthCastle.com. Eating healthy is usually one of the top 3 New Year’s resolutions.  And yet, it's hard to eat healthy if you don't start cooking more at home.  Joining me today is dietitian Liz Weiss. She just released her family cookbook No Whine with Dinner. She is here today to give us some tips on how to go about cooking more at home. Thank you for joining me Liz.



Liz Weiss, MS, RD: It’s good to be here. Happy New Year.



Gloria Tsang, RD: Happy New Year. I often hear from readers “I want to eat no packaged foods so I should learn cooking” or “I should cook more at home.” Why does it seem so hard for so many people to cook at home.



Liz Weiss, MS, RD: Well people think. And I want to say think, that cooking at home require lots of time, lots of energy, lots of money and advanced cooking skills. It really doesn’t if you make a plan. If you find a few recipes that you like, write down a shopping list, hit the grocery store and come home. Keep it simple. You don’t have to go with the most gourmet recipes, just keep it simple. If you have plans, you can come home and cook healthy meals for yourself and for your family. In the end, you save a lot of money because it cost a lot of money to eat out. And you also end up, and as a dietitian, this is what I love, you end up eating a much healthier diet. Because restaurant meals tend to be high in sodium and saturated fat and calories. You don’t know what you are eating! When you cook at home, you have much more control. You can get more fruits and veggies on the table; more whole grains. The opportunities are really endless when you cook at home.



Gloria Tsang, RD: What exactly do you mean when you say “have a plan”. I think that is the hardest to grasp for most people. What do I do? What is step 1 to make a plan?



Liz Weiss, MS, RD: Right. And I was not born with the organizing gene, my husband will tell you that. But if you can try to get even a little organized… here is one thing. Say you go to a grocery store typically on a Sunday, sit down and plan out what you are going to make that week. And then make a grocery list. Actually, on my website mealmakeovermoms.com, we have a free downloadable supermarket shopping list. You can just fill that out or make your own list. And then go to the grocery store knowing what you are going to buy and what your plan of attack is. And then when you get home, you can start cooking. Some people like to do all their cooking on a weekend, other people don’t mind doing a little bit of cooking everyday of the week. But find those recipes, make that grocery list, go to the store and also have a well stocked pantry. Because for people who are not planners and want to do the last minute thing, if you have a well stocked pantry, you are more likely to be able to whip up quick meals at home.



Gloria Tsang, RD: So what do you say to those that say they don’t have time to cook. I think time is the number 1 reason that people tend to go out and grab take out. It seems to be less to do that than to try to cook something, serve and wash dishes. So what do you say to those people who say they don’t have time to cook?



Liz Weiss, MS, RD: Well, I actually think it takes more time to order from a restaurant or order take out.