Thursday, October 4, 2007

Martha Stewart Living Magazine: Healthy Advice


The October issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine includes transcripts of questions from her radio show (on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 112, visit marthastewart.com/radio for showtimes). I found one of these Q&As contained a particularly interesting and helpful piece of advice.

When asked for suggestions on how to improve time management skills, Martha replied with some fairly straightforward recommendations. First and foremost, she said, you need more energy, which can be gained through exercise and eating well. One guideline she offered, which I though was quite succinctly put, was “I try never to open a can, and that includes cans of soda.”

We all know that fresh foods are better for us, and trying to follow this piece of advice can help us move from intention to action. So many things we buy pre-made can be made in large batches and frozen—tomato sauce, broth or stock, pesto, or even something like cookie dough, could all be made ahead and frozen, and then taken out when needed. Now that Fall is here, a rainy weekend afternoon could be spent tending a simmering pot of chicken stock. Once the initial prep is done, this requires little more than and occasional skim and stir. The payoff in delicious food and better health is well worth it!

3 comments:

Truffle said...

I love homemade stock and couldn't agree more about the importance of avoiding pre-prepared foods. Great advice!

KellytheCulinarian said...

That dish looks delicious. If you have the time and technique, fresh is always worth it. Even so, I'd use prepared food items to bake things at home if the alternative is packaged meals or fast food, though.

TD said...

Kelly--I totally agree. When the choice is between using canned beans, or canned broth, and something that comes already made and frozen, I would absolutely use canned broth to make something "fresh." Personally, I try to do the best I can. If I have time to make it from scratch, I do. If I don't, well, a good bakery scone is far better than a Pop Tart!! :)