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| Today, I’m pleased to introduce Ruth Abate! Ruth is a health coach for Healthline sister site Real Appeal, an evidence-based weight loss program that helps people adopt sustainable lifestyle changes. |
| In her role, Ruth likes to encourage members to view their behavior change as their own personal experiment. “Their discoveries become a wondrous, fun adventure of the human experience,” says Ruth. “I’m always amazed at what they are capable of.” |
| Today, Ruth is here to help us work smarter, not harder, when it comes to cooking dinner each night. |
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Enjoy!
Ginger Wojcik
Newsletter Editor, Healthline |
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Written by Ginger Wojcik
July 1, 2025 • 4 min read |
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| Q: |
It’s difficult for me to come up with nutritious meals to cook each night. Are there any tools or tricks I could use to spend less time on this chore? |
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| A: |
Do you remember the advertisements on the back cover of the Sunday newspaper magazine? I remember one in particular that showcased how you could make 24 outfits out of only 6 clothing items. I like to use this mix-and-match method when making simple, healthy meals in the kitchen. By using the same ingredients throughout the week in different ways, I save time on shopping, prepping, and thinking of what to cook.
Other tips and tricks I live by:
- Batch cook your grains and proteins: On Sunday, I prepare a large pot of whole grains, such as brown rice, quinoa, farro, barley, or millet, and a protein, such as chicken, beef, tofu, or fish.
- Use kitchen gadgets to your advantage: A mandoline slicer, a high quality chef knife, a food chopper, and a food processor are some of my favorite tools that make prepping faster.
- Freeze pre-cooked and portioned out meals: All you have to do is pop it in the microwave!
- Buy precut vegetables: Chopping can be very time consuming.
- Set it and forget it with a slow cooker or electric pressure cooker: This is one of my favorite low effort cooking hacks! They’re excellent for making batches of sauce, stews, chilies, or soups that can be divided into several meals and frozen for the future.
Keeping recipes simple helps reduce cooking time and thinking about what to cook. So my go-to weeknight meal is the grain bowl. There’s something comforting about holding a warm bowl of healthy, delicious food. Depending on the flavors I’m craving, I may throw together:
- a Mexican bowl with rice, shredded cabbage, beans, salsa, and avocado
- an Asian bowl with rice, broccoli, grilled chicken, and teriyaki sauce, topped with chopped peanuts
- a Mediterranean bowl with whole wheat pasta, tomato sauce, and frozen vegetables sautéed in olive oil
- a Thanksgiving bowl with mashed sweet potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, and turkey
Personalize your style in the kitchen and on your plate. You’ll be able to create a healthy, quick, and delicious meal!
If you’re looking for recipes that support specific goals, such as low carb, high protein, and gluten-free, Healthline’s recipe center can be a great resource to bookmark.
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| Want to learn more about food, diets, cooking, or some other nutrition subject? Let us know at nutritionedition@healthline.com and we'll look into it for you! (Heads up, we may use your response in an upcoming newsletter.)
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| Tonight’s menu |
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| Check Out Healthline’s Recipe Center |
| Looking for delicious recipes tailored to your unique tastes and health goals? Healthline’s recipe center has hundreds of options to choose from. Explore categories including anti-inflammatory, gluten-free, and low carb to find the perfect meal to cook tonight. |
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| Every product we recommend has gone through either Healthline’s or Optum Now’s vetting processes. If you buy through links on this page, we may receive a small commission or other tangible benefit. Healthline has sole editorial control over this newsletter. Potential uses for the products listed here are not health claims made by the manufacturers. Healthline and Optum Now are owned by RVO Health. |
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| What we’re digesting |
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