Health and Wellness Blog

Summer is in full swing and many of us are thinking about improving our lifestyles including eating healthier at home. Home cooked meals tend to be healthier because we know exactly what ingredients are in our food.

With all the lovely fresh local fruits and vegetables in grocery stores and farmers markets right now, it would be beneficial for everyone to learn how to cook with these ingredients in an efficient way at home, pleasing friends and family and keep them coming over!

But how to go about making home-cooking as easy and enjoyable as possible?

Here are some tips from a Toronto Star article on "5 ways to make home-cooking more convenient"

• clean your kitchen and keep only those appliances and utensils you actually need/use
• plan your meals ahead of time so you are not scrambling to figure out what to prepare next and what items to purchase. (Some very organized people I know are putting the schedule for the week on the fridge and sticking to it!)
• make shopping lists and only purchase those items that are on your list
• when you come home from the grocery store wash and chop veggies/fruits making it easier to work with them later on
• make larger batches and use them as leftovers or freeze them for future quick meals
• ask friends and family over to help with cooking and have a cooking party
• cook with your kids!

Also,  have a look at some great books on home cooking tips at the library, and find many more by typing "home cooking" in the searchbox on the library website http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/

Enjoy your home cooking and entertaining this summer!