Health Message from the
Cherokee County Health Department
Managing Healthy Meals
Between working, the kids’ ball games, and all of the other non-stop action in our lives, few people feel they have the time to plan and prepare home-cooked meals. In fact, less than one-third of Americans are making meals from scratch. This means more people are eating fast food or prepared, processed meals, which are filled with high calorie, high fat foods - and this, in turn, is leading to an obesity epidemic in our country. There are a number of benefits from preparing a homemade meal for the family aside from its nutritional benefits. First, it can also be good family time. It gives family members the opportunity to talk and be together. Getting everyone in the family involved in meal also helps children learn how to develop healthy eating habits. Want your kids to start liking vegetables? Let them select the vegetables they want to eat, and then help wash and cut them up. Children are more likely to eat the foods they help prepare.
The biggest roadblock to healthy eating is finding the time. Here are some helpful tips you can use to make sure you can squeeze home-cooked meals into your frantic schedule. First, sometimes it is too time-consuming or expensive to use fresh vegetables. Instead, try using canned and frozen vegetables - they have nutrients, too! While fresh is best, eating canned or frozen is better than not eating vegetables at all. Another tip is to make two meals at once. If you know tomorrow will be busy, prepare the meal the night before and just pop it in the microwave when you get home. You can even make a week’s worth of meals on a weekend and freeze them so you serve food quickly during the week. Finally, try finding a cookbook or search the Internet for healthy 20-minute recipes. Sit down with the kids and plan the menu for the week, make a shopping list, and then shop once for the whole week. And let the kids help you shop so they learn how to make healthier food choices. For more information on managing healthy meals, contact the Cherokee County Health Department at 456-3331.
If you would like to participate in a health and wellness program, fill out the forms on the links below and call the Health Department.