How to Prepare a Meal in 5 Minutes or Less

Everyone is so busy these days there often seem to be no time to make a home-cooked meal. But you can prepare a meal in less than 5 minutes that your whole family will enjoy. All you need is some basic information on nutrition and a little leap of faith. Here's how to prepare a meal in 5 minutes or less.

Instructions

1. Make sure you have protein, grains and vegetables on hand. You can put any combination of these and some appropriate seasonings in a 9-by-12 inch baking pan and prepare a quick casserole meal.

2. Grab a can. Opening a can is the quickest way to prepare any meal. Some canned foods are a little boring but can be spruced up with high-flavor foods such as salsa to give them a boost. Try olives, corn and tomatoes, which seem to keep most of their flavor and texture.

3. Try couscous. Couscous is a small pasta-type pre-cooked grain that takes less than 2 minutes of preparation time to make. Just boil water, and pour it over the couscous. Add a bit of oil and let it sit for a few minutes. Here you have an instant side dish. For even less preparation, try pouring couscous and water in with some meat and vegetables and bake them all together. Couscous is very forgiving and will absorb the extra juices from the baking meat.

4. Ensure your protein is easy to prepare by buying individually frozen pieces of meat. For most types of meat, you can place them still frozen into your oven. Just be sure to increase the baking time and check their temperature before serving your meal. Chicken should be at 170 degrees and beef should register at 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Prepare healthy nachos. For those times when time is really tight, grab a bag of corn chips, salsa, a can of beans and a can of corn. Open the cans and dump everything onto the chips on individual plates. Cover with cheese and place under a broiler for about 5 minutes. Dinner is done.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be afraid to try new things. The beauty of being the house chef is that you get to experiment. If the recipe calls for one thing and you don't have it, prepare it with another. For instance, you can substitute one kind of vegetable for another in most meals, and it probably won't affect the end result that much. Your family may even like it better.

• Also remember cheese and yogurt are protein too and are excellent for making fast meals.