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All too often in our workaday world, many of us find ourselves eating dinner out of a sack. This tends to happen when we forget to take something out of the freezer, fail to plan in advance or are just too plain tired to cook. While take-out meals are certainly acceptable once in a while, enjoy them too much and they will add inches to a waistline rapidly and drain a bank account even faster. Fortunately, there are some excellent options for creating dinner on the fly without having to sacrifice too much time, effort, money or even flavor in the process.

Being prepared for creating dinner on the fly is the first step in avoiding sack meals on a regular basis. This means learning how to shop for the right ingredients in advance of the need. Some of the things to keep on hand for fast suppers that are both tasty and healthy include:

• Thin sliced, lean meats. Pork, chicken and even Spanish cut sirloin tips are excellent to have on hand when time is a factor. Even if they are frozen, these can defrost in no time at all when a microwave is used properly. The lean, thin cuts are easy to work with and they tend to offer just the right portion sizes to keep health and diet on track. Cook these fast in a frying pan filled with broth or lined lightly with olive oil. Add spices to taste and serve them over or with a grain side dish.

• Whole grain instant rice, fast-cook macaroni, and ready-to-mix stuffing. These fast side dishes only take minutes to make, especially if a microwave is brought into play. In most cases, these dishes can be prepared in the time it takes to cook the meat and heat up some vegetables to go along with it.

• Frozen or canned vegetables. These can heat up perfectly on the stove while the grain-based side dish cooks in the microwave and the meat cooks on another burner.

• Ready-to-bake rolls. If having rolls and butter at dinner is a must, this option takes the time out of the effort and keeps the mold, so often associated with fresh-baked, out of the equation. Just preheat the oven while defrosting the main entrée and pop the rolls in while the meat and side dishes cook.

When the right ingredients are kept on hand, even a fully unprepared cook can whip up a healthy, balanced dinner in no time at all. In fact, it is possible to put together a smart meal in less time than it takes to drive to the local fast-food joint, wait in line and order. The effort involved in fast home cooking is minimal and the resulting flavors can beat sack dinners hands down.

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Concerned about how healthy your child's lunch program is? Find out what you can do to improve it. Or click here for more cooking healthy info.