With planning and staples, dinner need not be a chore

By Elizabeth M. Ward, Globe Correspondent, 10/9/2003

Mary Hart has fond memories of family dinners.

"I was one of five and my mother cooked every night," said the Reading resident and mother of two, who works part-time. "Dinner was a good time."

She is intent on recreating her childhood dinnertime experiences for her two young children. "I love to cook and I actually look forward to making dinner," she said.

Alice Kelly of Newton feels differently.

"I like to cook, but making dinner every night is one of the hardest things I do as a parent," she said. Kelly juggles a full-time job with mothering two boys. "It's overwhelming to constantly consider everyone's food preferences and nutritional needs."

Kelly's feelings are typical of many parents, according to Evelyn Tribole, registered dietitian and author of several books, including "Healthy Homestyle Cooking" (Rodale Press).

"People are often too wiped out from the day to devote enough energy to dinner," she said.

Whether you dread dinner or relish the thought of cooking, mustering the motivation to put together a meal every night can be a challenge. For some, take-out is the norm. However, Nancy Cohen, professor of nutrition at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, believes prepared food is costlier and higher in calories and fat than home cooking.

"Lots of entrees can be prepared in the time it takes to order take-out and wait for delivery," she said. Pasta with marinara sauce, omelets, and stir-fried chicken, beef, or tofu with pre-cut vegetables qualify as the beginnings of quick and healthy meals.

Still, you can't create a meal without ingredients. This is where it helps to be organized.

Weekly trips to the supermarket keep dinnertime on track, Hart and Kelly said. Before you go, make a plan so you buy what you need. Tribole recommends coming up with at least three entrees for the week ahead, as simple as grilled chicken or baked pork chops. In the Kelly household, Sunday is always spaghetti with homemade sauce and Friday nights mean burgers and french fries. Indeed, repetition has advantages.

"Being familiar with recipes cuts down on prep time and reduces time spent hunting for unfamiliar ingredients in the supermarket," Cohen said. "Leave the complicated entrees for when you have more time."

Make food do double duty. Prepare a large lasagna and freeze half; roast a whole chicken or small turkey and save leftovers; make extra chili; hard-boil eggs for salads and sandwiches. It's possible for one entree to be used in two meals without serving typical leftovers. Roast or grilled chicken is turned into chicken salad with chopped grapes and celery and served on salad greens. Make a barbecued chicken pizza with last night's rotisserie chicken (purchased from the supermarket) and a store-bought crust.

Get help. Depending on their age, children can help with a variety of tasks. Little ones can help set and clear the table, while older children can pour beverages and load the dishwasher.

"My husband cooks two days a week, and that greatly reduces my stress level," Tribole said.

Take time off from dinner duty to avoid burn-out. "By Saturday night, I have completely given up on making dinner, so we have take-out Chinese," Kelly said.

Serve fruits and vegetables, even if you order a pizza.

Buy convenience items at the supermarket. Rotisserie chicken, sushi, even frozen whole-grain waffles serve as the beginnings of a fast meal. Select small amounts of a variety of fruits and vegetables from the grocery salad bar, especially when cooking for just one or two. Prewashed baby carrots, salad greens, and cherry tomatoes are suitable side dishes that require no preparation. Chopped butternut squash and potatoes go from bag to table in minutes when microwaved. Make quick-cooking grains such as couscous and rice serve as the cornerstones of satisfying meals. Prepared marinara sauce gets a protein boost when you add cooked ground turkey, chopped cooked leftover chicken, or garbanzo beans. Also, frozen fruits and vegetables are good when a small portion is all you need. In some cases, they provide better taste and nutritional value than their fresh counterparts, especially during the winter months.

Redefine "dinner," which "does not have to be elaborate to be healthy," Cohen said. It also doesn't have to be traditional to be nutritional. Breakfast foods such as omelets, scrambled eggs, French toast, and pancakes make a healthy dinner when paired with fruits or vegetables and milk or yogurt. Having breakfast for dinner feels like fun and typically involves minimal cleanup.

In the end, Hart said, dinner makes her day: "It just doesn't feel right to miss it."