Meal Planning for Home Based Business Owners
Healthy Recipes and Meal Planning
Breakfast Ideas - Brunch Recipes - Dinner Ideas - Fruit Smoothies Fresh Juice Drinks - Healthy Snack Ideas - School Lunch Ideas
Eat a Variety of Nutritious Foods Daily
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"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" --Anon
Your Health Is Your Greatest Wealth
Enjoy Your "Healthy, Wealthy and Wise" Lifestyle
Stay Fit as You Work at Home
When you're trying to establish your home business and care for your family simultaneously, it's so easy to resort to "fast food" in an effort to save time. With a little meal planning beforehand, you can cut shopping and prep time in half. You can prepare quick, easy and healthful meals for your family and keep everyone in tip top condition.
I suggest planning the family meals, especially dinner, ahead of time. Plan menus as well as specific meals to ensure there's a variety of healthful foods and that all the necessary food groups are included.
- One week ahead, make a meal plan for a week of meals.
- Choose recipes. Write and compare to ensure a good variety.
- Go shopping for the ingredients no more than a day or two before you cook so they'll be fresh, flavorful and full of nutrients.
Don't forget that fruit and vegetables quickly lose nutrients after they're picked. So don't shop for these too far ahead. And try to get them from a neighborhood farmer's market if you can. They'll be fresher than what you'll get from the supermarket.
On the weekend prior, do as much "prep ahead" as you can, wrap tightly with plastic wrap or place in an airtight container, and freeze. Finish the cooking on the day of the week you want to serve that meal.
You'll find more on the recipe pages about make ahead meals and appliances to help you save time.
Just click the links below for :-
- Breakfast Ideas for busy mornings
- Brunch Recipes for lazy weekends
- Dinner Ideas and Recipes
- Lunch Ideas for you
- School Lunch Ideas for the kids
- Healthy Snack Ideas for their lunch boxes and after school
- Fresh Juice Drinks for everyone
- Refreshing Fruit Smoothies
Or click the "Free Online Recipes" link to go to the Recipe Index for healthy recipes that you, as a home business owner, can use to prepare quick, easy and nourishing meals without taking too much time away from your home business activities.
The links to healthy recipes, meal ideas, and weight management products you'll find on this page will help you with your meal planning. Prepare healthy "fast food" for your family. Manage your weight if this is an issue.
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Breakfast Ideas Brunch Recipes - Meals and Drinks Lunch Ideas Children's School Lunch Ideas Dinner Ideas Healthy Snack Ideas
Fine Beverages for your Breakfasts and Brunches
Related Pages:
Nutrition Basics Free Online Recipe Index Breakfast Recipes Lunch Recipes Dinner Recipes
Vegetable Recipes Salad Recipes Jamaican Recipes Healthful Juice Drinks Hot Drinks Smoothies
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Breakfast Ideas 
You've probably heard it said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yes. It is.
You've been asleep for at least 8 hours (ideally). Your body's metabolism has slowed down to allow you to rest. Now you have to get it started for the day so your brain can function.
Eating a substantial breakfast is also your best ally when you're trying to control your weight. Just make sure to keep the protein foods' fat content at a sensible level, and the complex carbohydrates as natural and unprocessed as possible. You want to give your body a continuous supply of high quality fuel to burn for energy - especially if you're building a home business and raising a family at the same time.
Breakfast should consist of --
- Fresh Fruit and/or Juice
- Protein
- Starchy, energy-producing Carbohydrates and
- Something warm
I'm old fashioned. I believe in starting the day with something warm -- cooked cereal or a hot drink.
Try it and see if you don't feel better for it.
If you're a stay-at-home-Mom and can manage fresh juice, do it. It's the best thing for you and your family. Drinking freshly made juice provides all the vitamins, phytonutrients and antioxidant enzymes - active and viable, ready to nourish and energize you.
Most of the foods we eat are acidic, but the body functions best when your pH is more alkaline than acid. Fresh fruit and vegetables (especially leafy greens) help to keep your body's pH in the slightly alkaline range. This is very important for good health and normal weight.
Be creative with the fruit and vegetable combinations so you get a variety of nutrients each day.
- Go easy on the eggs and bacon. Limit them to two or three meals per week.
- Opt for whole grain breads.
- Fortify pancakes with wheat germ, cornmeal, oatmeal and flaxseed.
- Use real maple syrup, honey or your own homemade brown sugar fruit syrup. Not to worry. I'll tell you how to make it.
Breakfast is often seen as a challenging meal and frequently skipped. Not because the items are difficult to prepare, but because there is usually a time crunch involved. Lots to do and limited time in which to do it.
So here are some quick fix breakfast ideas - Some healthy recipes that are both nutritious and delicious. High in protein, minerals and fiber. Low in fat. Encourage the children to have juice, fresh if possible, or 2% milk if they can tolerate dairy products. In the winter months, warming the milk with honey and vanilla and a sprinkle of fresh nutmeg is a delicious option. Try not to indulge them with chocolate milk too often and preferably not in the morning. There are elements in chocolate that induce sleep.
Quick Breakfast Ideas
- Pancakes with fruit toppings. Juice. Hot Ovaltine or a glass of 2% milk. Coffee or Tea.
- Hot oatmeal porridge with raisins or fresh fruit. Juice.
- Creamy Scrambled Eggs with Cheddar Cheese, Green Onions, Mushrooms and Peppers. Whole grain toast.
Fresh squeezed orange juice.
- Whole grain toast spread with Peanut Butter, topped with Raisins and drizzled with Honey. Juice.
- Cold whole grain cereal. Wheat Germ. Fresh Fruit. Non-fat, 1% or 2% milk.
- Half a cantaloupe, seeded. Fill with Vanilla, Lemon or Plain Yogurt. Sprinkle with toasted wheat germ. Drizzle with Honey if desired.
- Fruit plate. (Any fruit or berries you like.) Hard cheese such as Cheddar or Gruyere drizzled with Honey. Coffee or Tea.
- Yogurt, Blueberries, Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries
sprinkled with ground flaxseed, chopped walnuts and wheat germ.
Drizzle with honey. This also makes a great topping for whole grain pancakes or waffles.
Weekend Breakfast Ideas
Brunch Recipes and Menus
Some of these menu ideas are typical Jamaican fare with my own quirky little twists thrown in. I'm quite adventurous with food and I encourage you to be so as well. Be creative. Your meals will never be boring.
I know my mother and Grandma would protest a bit, but trust me... you'll like these recipes even if you are a diehard Ackee and Saltfish fan.
In Jamaica, breakfast, lunch and dinner are almost always accompanied by the ever-present fried ripe plantain, so feel free to add this to your menu. Plantains are ripe and sweet when they are firm and the skin is bordering on black.
Rub peeled, halved or quartered plantain pieces with butter and bake at 375° F until soft and golden brown. Or slice plantains into medallions or at an angle and fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
A word of caution: Don't leave plantain unattended when frying. The natural sugars in this vegetable (actually it's a fruit) caramelize quickly and cause it to burn easily.
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Brunch Beverages 
The two best coffees, in my opinion, and worthy of leisurely sipping on a lazy weekend morning, are --
- Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
- Hawaiian Kona Coffee
Take a break from home business activities and enjoy these family favourites.
Family Favorites
Back in the day when we bought our eggs fresh from someone who raised chickens (my Dad had a chicken farm in Jamaica), we would add a fresh raw egg to the milk shake or Sunrise Punch for some extra nutrition. If you can purchase eggs that you are confident are fresh and salmonella free, go ahead and do this. If you have the slightest doubt...don't. Eggs are very nutritious and contain natural lecithin which emulsifies the fat in the yolk so you don't really have to worry about it increasing your cholesterol levels if you're healthy.
Smoothies
- Grapefruit and Condensed Milk, OJ, vanilla, nutmeg, rum optional
- Mango Colada - mango purée, coconut, pineapple, heavy cream, simple syrup
- Peach, Pear, Apricot, Orange juice
- Berries and Vanilla Silk Soy Milk
- "Banana Milk" - according to my then 6 year old nephew who is now a grown up chef.
Something a bit more daring
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Lunch Ideas 
This meal is your greatest asset when weight control is an issue.
When I went to the office every day, a salad, soup and a sandwich proved very satisfying and -- joy of joys!... I lost a ton of weight... well not literally since I didn't actually weigh a ton, but you get my drift.
Some days, if the salad has shrimp, chicken or tuna, omit the sandwich. Other days, you could have just the soup and sandwich - always on whole grain bread. Or perhaps a slice of quiche along with your salad.
Working at home makes it easier to stay on target with meals and weight management. Easily prepared healthy recipes greatly contribute to your success when making your meal plans. Prepare everything fresh. Fresh, nutrient dense foods are more satisfying so you eat less.
I particularly enjoy my "Skinny Vegetable Soup" and Green Salad with Orange or Grapefruit Sections or whatever other fruit I might have on hand. Try it. I think you will too.
Dressings are homemade. 
Lunch Salads
These don't have to have anything special in them. Be creative.
As long as you put in something dark green and leafy, something with protein - nuts or beans, hardboiled egg, seafood, chicken - some fruit for a little pizzazz - your salad lunch will never be boring.
Make your own dressings with fresh herbs, lemon juice or your favorite vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Just keep the ratio of oil to acid at 2 to 1 or 3 to 1, and add any other ingredients you wish for a fresh delicious salad.
Salads and Salad Dressings
Orange Vinaigrette
Mango Vinaigrette
Classic Vinaigrette
Soups
Lunch Sandwich Ideas
Sandwiches can be boring or they can be fun. Find some new bread options in your supermarket bakery and jazz up your lunch sandwich with delicious homemade spreads, nuts and dried fruit.
When I went to pastry school, I discovered some very interesting breads - we made them in class - and my favorite of all is Ciabatta. (say chi.batta). Ciabatta means slipper, so it's Italian "Slipper" bread, and it's crispy and delicious. Buy it fresh from your baker and use it for some of the sandwiches below. You might also want to try a sandwich on a freshly made whole grain baguette or focaccia.
Using different breads will give your sandwiches a new dimension. No more boring lunch.
Chicken Salad
Tuna Salad
Creamy Egg Salad
Grilled Cheese and Chicken
Turkey Breast, Avocado, Tomato, Red Onion, Romaine, Swiss Cheese, with Mustard and Mayonnaise on Rye
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School Lunch Ideas For The Children
When my children were in pre-school, kindergarten, elementary and middle school, unfortunately, I had to go out to work every day. I didn't trust the school lunches to be as wholesome and health-building as I wanted their food to be, so I "brown-bagged" their lunches. I made sure they had an item from the major food groups in each meal -
- Protein
- Dairy
- Fruit, and
- Whole Grain Carbs for energy.
Occasionally, a cookie (preferably homemade) would sneak its way into the lunch box, much to the kids' delight, but keep the sugary snacks to a minimum, especially when they're in pre-school. You'll find, if you do this, that they will regulate themselves when they are older. Your grade schoolers and teens will eat more vegetables and fewer sweets. But if they absolutely love sweets, tempt them with these healthy snacks and treats that will satisfy both their sweet tooth and your nutrition requirements.
Here are some of the items I included. Use your own creativity and dream up some new ideas for sandwich filling recipes, based upon your children's preferences and your knowledge of nutrition basics. Add fruit and a wholesome beverage to provide them with a well-balanced school lunch each day.
Remember, however, that kids being kids, the nutritious lunch you so lovingly pack every day is going to get switched from time to time for something that may not be quite so wholesome, so supplement with vitamins obtained from natural ingredients to ensure that they are getting their daily requirements.
"Lunch Box" Fruit
Strawberries
Grapes
Apples
Cherries
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Individual raisin boxes
Individually wrapped prunes
Boxed Single Serving Milk and/or Juices - The 100% pure fruit juices are preferable. Check the labels for sugar content and additives like high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oil. Avoid any that have these ingredients.
Yogurt - Look for yogurt that is not heat treated (pasteurized) after culturing. This kills the beneficial live cultures. Buy yogurt that contains only milk, live active yogurt cultures, fruit and flavourings. All the other stuff - food starch, coloring, etc. etc. are unnecessary and do not contribute to your children's health. My guideline? - the fewer ingredients in the list, the better.
When I lived in Jamaica, I made my own yogurt. I had more free time then, and it seemed like a good thing to do. You might want to try it.
Yogurt makers are not very expensive and you'll know the product is wholesome because you made it yourself. You can buy the yogurt starters where you purchase the machine.
The quality and taste of yogurt is dependent upon the quality and cream content of the milk you use. Whole milk was the milk of choice back when I made mine, so that's what I used, and the yogurt was rich and creamy. However, knowing what we now know about saturated animal fat, 1% or 2% - not fat free - is recommended for kids. If you can possibly get organic milk that has not been homogenized, do that. The cream rises to the top and you can remove as much or as little of it as you wish.
Children need some fat in their diet in order for their bodies to utilize certain fat soluble vitamins - A, D, and E. Vitamin D is produced by the body as a result of exposure to sunlight but it needs fats in order to be properly assimilated.
Another reason to use non homogenized organic milk is that the growth hormones or other chemicals added to the feed of commercially raised cows seem to concentrate in the fat -- not only in the meat, but also in the milk. Some of these additives have been found to be harmful to humans.**
**Information from "Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About" by Kevin Trudeau, and "Let's Have Healthy Children" by Adelle Davis.
Cheese - Hard cheese is best - Cheddar, Gruyere, Swiss - and preferably natural, without dyes or food coloring. The processed "cheese food" product in the supermarket is so full of additives and preservatives that it isn't worth serving to your family if your primary aim is to build health.
Sandwiches - Have fun with these. Use multi-grain breads. Avoid cold cuts as much as possible, they have too much salt, nitrates and preservatives. Leftover roast beef, chicken or turkey are wonderful in sandwiches.
Make your own sandwich spreads with various combinations of mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, different kinds of mustard, and relishes of any kind - try Onion and Bell Pepper Relish. And if the sandwich has mayonnaise, make sure the lunch box is one that has the insert you can freeze to keep things cold.
Here are some tasty ideas for sandwiches:
Peanut Butter and Raisins
Shredded Cheese Spread with Mustard and Relish
Roast Beef with Monterey Jack Pepper Cheese and 1000 Island Dressing
Turkey and Swiss or Gruyère Cheese
Tomato and Shredded Cheese mixed with Parmesan Salad Dressing and Basil
Turkey Salad
Tuna Salad
Egg Salad
Chicken Salad
Chicken, Cheese and Tomato
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Dinner Ideas 
Think of dinner as family time. It's the end of the day and whether you still work outside the home or you run a home business, everyone wants and needs to unwind. It can be chaotic, but it can be fun too.
Write down your menu ideas about a week ahead of time so you have time to shop for the ingredients you need beforehand. Pick up the fruit and vegetables at a Farmer's Market no earlier than the day before, preferably the same day they're needed. They will taste amazing if they're fresh and the nutrient content will still be pretty high.
Dinner can be the meal where you can be the most creative. Dinner Ideas and recipes abound in cookbooks, on the 'Net, in this website. Take them and make them your own by using different flavourings or meats or food combinations.
This meal is where you can shine creatively with amazingly healthy recipes that look and taste wonderful.
You can produce yummy stuff for the entire family, and hide some vegetable nutrition in the gravy or the casserole or whatever. V-8 vegetable juice was one of my favorite ingredients for this. Use it in sauces, casseroles and gravies.
You can let the kids help with the preparation if they're old enough. Great learning and bonding experience. Furthermore, research has proven that children from families who take their meals together regularly, excel academically and are more emotionally grounded. Adolescents and young adults from such families are more likely to continue to eat healthfully once "out of the nest" because they will have learned the tenets of good nutrition and the enjoyment of good food early in life. It's good to know that your efforts in the kitchen will have longterm effects in your chidren's lives.
Casseroles and One Pot Meals are excellent because you can prepare or make these ahead to save time, and you can add all kinds of vegetables that children probably wouldn't eat if they were cooked separately. Because all the elements of the meal are cooked together, you just get a wonderful melding of flavors. Even those who don't like vegetables will be happy with these meals. And you'll be happy because you'll get them to eat their veggies.
Click here for dinner ideas and recipes.
New Ways with Vegetables
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Healthy Snack Ideas
If you use fruit - fresh or dried - and unsalted raw nuts as your base for snacks you can't go wrong. They provide instant energy -- fruits - immediate -- nuts more long lasting -- PLUS they're wholesome and delicious.
100 Healthy Raw Snacks and Treats
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"Each of the 100 recipes in my book are guaranteed mouth-watering. Plus there are no chemicals and no added sugar. What's more, these treats are so easy to make that even your children can whip some up for their school lunch every day!"
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& National Champion Bodybuilder
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You can make healthful, satisfying snacks like --
- Fruit Juice/Fruit Popsicles
- Jello with fruit mixed in. Don't use fresh pineapple or papaya. Their natural enzymes keep the gelatin from setting. Cooking the pineapple or using the canned product eliminates this problem.
- Cupcakes such as carrot, pumpkin and zucchini, sometimes with lemon-cream cheese frosting.
- Baked French "Fries" instead of fried.
- Pizza with vegetable toppings was a great favorite in my household - homemade or store bought pizza crust - or sometimes from the pizzeria. My daughter made hers with whole grain pita, pizza sauce, cheese and a vegetable of her choosing.
- Yogurt with fruit and nuts.
- Trail Mix made with their favorite dried fruit and nuts, not the pre-packaged product.**
- Frozen Yogurt Fruit Smoothies
Kosher hot dogs, turkey or chicken with no additives are a better choice for your kids if you're going to make these a part of their diet. However, saving these for a party or ball game treat is highly recommended. Most are cured with nitrates and nitrites which are not health building and can, in fact, cause life threatening conditions such as cancer.
To make them a bit safer, serve them with yellow mustard. The curcumin in mustard stops the nitrates/nitrites from turning into carcinogens. Research has shown that it blocks the carcinogenic conversion. For your own peace of mind, serve them only occasionally - once or twice a year at the ball park or the beach - if your children really enjoy them.
**I just want to make an observation here. There are a good many healthy snack products on the market today. Organic markets like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Wild Oats, or the organic section of your supermarket will provide a variety of healthy choices.
You can also buy them online and make some of the delicious new recipes you'll find on this website - Nuts on the Net. The dried fruit and nuts sold here are organic and superior in quality. Always get the best you can possibly find for your family and for your parties. Nuts on the Net delivers superior quality, fruit and nut recipe ideas and FREE SHIPPING! All orders shipped via UPS Ground for FREE! No minimum orders, no handling fees and no hidden fees!
If you're short on time or don't have the inclination to make your own fruit and nut snack mixtures, read the lables carefully and buy those with no additional sugar, high fructose corn syrup, salt (sea or Kosher salt are OK), preservatives, sulphur, coloring or chemicals.
Related Pages:
Free Recipes Breakfast Recipes Lunch Recipes Dinner Recipes Vegetable Dishes Salads Jamaican Comfort Food Smoothies
Nutrition Basics
Time Management
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