Home-Cooked Meals

Did you know that the typical American family eats out 3 times a week?  Spending anywhere from 200 to 400 dollars a month, just on eating out!  That's over 3,600 dollars a year!  Not only does eating out really hurt your budget, but it's also super unhealthy for you as well.

But as busy as our schedules are these days, it's no surprise that we all make those last minute fast-food-runs.  I'm here to tell you, that with just a little bit of extra planning, you can have healthy meals prepared in just 20 minutes.  

Tip: Always have chicken in your freezer.  Chicken is a very healthy meat because it is high in protein and low in fat.  For some quick recipes that you can do on the fly, check out the video below.

One Saturdays, I like to sit down and plan my meals for next week.  I make sure that I have all of the ingredients needed.  During the week my husband and I don't get home until 5 pm or later.  By this point we are starving and if dinner isn't ready soon, we may fall prey to the fast food dilemma.

It really helps if your meat is already thawed.  I usually take whatever meat I'm planning on cooking out of the freezer the previous night.  That way, by the time I get home, I can have a meal ready in 20 minutes.

Tip: When you find chicken on sale, stock up and freeze it.
Tip: If you forget to take your meat out of the freezer or if it hasn't quite finished thawing, just put it in the microwave for a few minutes.

There are many different tips and recipes that can help you create a healthy, home-cooked meal.  I'll be posting on this subject quite often since it is something everyone relates to.  It does take a little bit more work and planning to create healthy meals.  But remember it is worth it!  You'll save a lot more money and you will thank yourself later when you aren't trying to burn off all those calories.


Here are a couple of my favorite, quick and easy, chicken recipes...

Chicken Taco Salad

1 cup cornflakes (crushed)

1 cup parmesan cheese (the video said 1/2 cup. sorry it was a mistake!)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) 

Bread 2-4 chicken breasts in the mixture above.  
Put breaded chicken on a backing sheet (on aluminum foil for an easy clean up).  
Cook in the oven on 400 for 20-30 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, wash and shred some green leaf lettuce.  

Toss with lettuce:

1 can black beans

1 cup of corn

Cut your chicken into pieces and serve on top of salad.  
Top with Fat Free or Light Ranch.

Chicken Parmesan

1 cup cornflakes (crushed)

1 cup parmesan cheese

1-2 tablespoons italian seasoning 

First, get a pot of water on the stove so it can start to come to a boil.

Then, bread 2-4 chicken breasts in the mixture above.  

Put breaded chicken on a backing sheet (on aluminum foil for an easy clean up).  

Cook in the oven on 400 for 20-30 minutes.

When the water starts to boil, put your noodles in, cover, and turn off the heat.  

Leave for 20 minutes.

Heat up some spaghetti sauce and you'll be ready to go!

Top with:

mozzarella cheese (mozzarella is a low-fat cheese.  No guilt there!)

And don't forget a vegetable!  Chicken Parmesan goes great with any vegetable that you have on hand.  It is very important to eat a balanced diet, so you should always have a vegetable along with your main meal.

I have an amazing recipe for broccoli that I will be sharing shortly, so stay tuned!