Sit down and think of the menus that you already like and serve often. Try to think up at least two or three weeks’ worth. Now think of the fast food meals that you tend to buy most often. Write all of these menus down, with homemade variations of the fast food meals, if possible, on index cards. You don’t have to write down recipes yet, just the menus. Go to the library and check out the South Beach Diet, or something similar to it. Examine this cookbook for more menu and recipe ideas. If you have access to Peg Bracken’s I Hate to Cook Book or I Hate to Housekeep Book, then they will have some quick, easy meals in them. Some of the recipes are quite dated, but some of them are old standards now, for instance, the “pour a can of mushroom soup on a roast” pot roast, which is still pretty darned good for something that takes so very little effort.
Make up recipes and shopping lists for each menu. If you like fast food fried chicken, for instance, try baked chicken with a breadcrumb coating*, some low fat cole slaw, green beans, and (frozen or fresh) corn cobs, half a cob per person. Fast food burgers get converted to home made burgers, with oven or skillet fries, and with some fresh fruit added to the meal. It’s OK to have one fast food meal scheduled on your errand/chores day. Each time you make up a new menu, or fix an old favorite, or go out for a fast food meal that’s not in your plan, add it in. Try to get a variety of both ingredients and cooking methods. For instance, use your slow cooker at least once a week. When you come home from grocery shopping, put a chunk of meat in the crock, cover with sliced fresh or minced dried onions, and refrigerate it until tomorrow morning. Then put the crock in the pot and set it on low…and that day’s dinner is mostly prepared.
Try to add another serving of a non-starchy vegetable to every meal. Frozen vegetables are quite acceptable, and might be more nutritious than fresh. Also, add a fruit serving to dinner.
If you want to add more fish, chicken, and meatless meals into your rotation, now is the time. I suggest at least one meatless meal every other week, and more often if you have several that you like. Also, you should try at least one new recipe a month. Don’t make a new recipe oftener than every three or four weeks, as it’s easy to get bored with it when it’s not already an old standby.
Be sure to have some sort of backup pantry meals. For instance, I have several cans of tuna in the house at all times, and I can make tuna salad or a tuna loaf. I also have peanut butter. My husband likes to have a can of chili in the pantry. When the snowstorm hits, we are ready with at least a couple of days’ worth of food, a great deal of which doesn’t require anything more than opening a can or spreading peanut butter on bread or crackers.
*Lightly coat skinless chicken pieces with melted butter and/or olive oil, coat with seasoned bread crumbs, bake in 375 F oven until done.