Eating Healthier just got Easier and Cheaper!

Hello, friends,
Trying to make and serve nutritious meals for a pilot husband and a teen aged son can be exhausting! One wants to lose weight and the other, gain it! That one had chicken for lunch, or pasta at the cafeteria, etc.  In the past, they relied heavily on store-bought frozen meals to take to work, or eat when they came home late. (Just for fun, take a look at the ingredient lists for those "healthy" meals. Those larger, hungry-guy meals are even worse! Ewwww! And the prices!!) 
Well, gentlemen... enough of that! Now, I love to cook, but not knowing when anyone will be home to eat is a problem. The solution? I decided to make my OWN, healthy microwave meals. Here's how I did it:

• First, I went to the local super center and purchased some divided containers, with lids.  I verified they were microwave and dishwasher safe, first!  No point in healthy food becoming contaminated with hot plastic wastes! 
• Next, I got out our favorite recipes.
• I got online to this fantastic website and analyzed the nutritional values, calories and glycemic load of whatever recipes I was going to make. (This site even suggests healthier alternatives for your ingredients!)
• I created a shopping list which includes only whole grain products, lean cuts of meat, fish, fresh/frozen veggies, real unsalted butter, etc. No "white" products, i.e. breads, flour, or "fake" stuff like frozen whipped toppings or margarine. I'm a firm believer that if my grandmother wouldn't recognize something as food, DON'T EAT IT! Fortunately, science is now saying the same thing!
• Then, I cooked!  I made a couple recipes at a time over the course of a couple days. I divided the meals into single servings, placed them into the containers, printed out the nutrition labels available on this website and popped them into the freezer!  Now, when my husband catches a late flight or my son is hungry when he gets in at whatever time, there are several choices of meals just waiting to be popped into the microwave.  Salisbury steaks, seafood gumbos, mozzarella and basil stuffed chicken rolls, meatballs and pasta....drool. Only 4-5 minutes of heating is required! Can't get easier on them than that!

Maintaining the meals is simple. I either make an extra serving when the family IS home to eat and freeze it for later, or I make something up whenever I get the urge to cook.


I love this website because I know what everything is that goes into these meals. It's easy to use. I can save my recipes, add my own foods, track and compare.

I love these meals because they are OUR favorites! I can pronounce all the ingredients. I know that my family is getting the heart-healthy whole grains, vegetables and lean proteins recommended by the experts. I control the sodium, the fats, the calories, etc. 

Best of all, I have found these meals cost me 1/3 the amount of what I previously spent to buy their additive laden grocery store counterparts!

Here's the link to this great website!  http://nutritiondata.self.com/

And remember, life gets messy so wear your apron!
 If you are in need of one, we have them available on our website at http://hangingtreelodge.com/category.sc;jsessionid=BA32112F4553D76623B5DC7B42F7A8C6.qscstrfrnt02?categoryId=15