by Ashleigh Feltham
Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist

If you are a parent with children or a single person with activities outside of work, it is easy to choose unhealthy fast food as a quick dinner choice to save time. This may be an easy choice to make, but the result can lead to poor physical and mental health if this becomes a habit. Here are some easy ways you can keep your weekly dinners nutritious but still quick and convenient.

Prepare for the Week Ahead

Meal prep is not just for bodybuilders and by planning and meal prepping ahead you will not have to deal with starting dinner at 8:30 pm when you arrive back home. Making a food and commitments planner with days when you and/or your family arrive home late or at different times. This is the first step when you need to make dinners in advance.

You do not need to cook a new recipe for each meal and by cooking once and using leftovers for the next night can be a great strategy to save time. Try batch cooking several recipes at once to save time. For food safety, meals can be stored up to 3 days in the fridge and the rest can go into the freezer. Good choices for meal storage are:

• Pasta salads
• Curries
• Bolognaise
• Soups
• Roast meats
• Jacket potatoes

Remember Food Transport

Make sure you have enough microwave friendly portable containers or a thermos which is double insulated; this will keep your food hot for up to 7 hours.

Top Picks from the Seafood Experts

These are my 7 top recipes which can be easily reheated and enjoyed on the run:

Mild Tuna Curry	Tuna pasta tomato zucchini slice	Creamy salmon spirals
Thai sweet chilli tuna rice bowl	Tuna lunchbox pasta salad	Roast tomato tuna white bean soup
Tuna pizza jacket potatoes

Take home message

Save time, money, and your health by using these easy tips to keep dinner healthy during your week.