Healthy, convenient meals on the go: Yes, you can

The change of seasons brings little change to the hectic schedules at our house. Summer, for example, ushered in the non-stop activities of kids home from school. Now with autumn, it’s a return to the jam-packed calendars of kids back in school. It leaves little time for family meals together, and even less time for cooking. And when your child is late for practice, packaged and prepared foods suddenly don’t seem so unhealthy. But is there such a thing as a nutritious convenience food? “Yes, there are some healthy options out there, but you really have to look at the ingredient lists and the Nutrition Facts labels,” says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Typical convenience foods Packaged prepared foods come in several forms: boxed dry goods, such as quick-cook pasta and rice mixes canned foods, such as soup or ravioli frozen foods, such as a single-serve frozen dinner or a “family-sized” lasagna All of these are usually loaded with calories, salt, saturated and trans fats, sugar, refined carbohydrates, additives, and preservatives. “It’s not the worst thing if you eat this kind of fast food once in a great while, but if you start eating a lot of it, it can lead to weight gain and the health risks that come with it, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease,” says McManus. And don’t think that take-out food is the answer, eithe...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Healthy Eating Source Type: news