Valerie Bertinelli's Tips For Cooking Easier & Healthier Meals At Home

Valerie BertinelliPhoto byDia Dipasupil/WireImage/Getty Images

We all strive to be our healthiest! Valerie Bertinelli shares some great tips and benefits of cooking at home. Here are some really good strategies to get you on the road to eating well and feeling better about your choices. Holistic health coach Sam Ciavarella from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition is featured on Valerie's website and talks about how to make better, healthier choices and save money by cooking more meals at home.

Let's start with Using Better Fats in your diet. This is an important one, especially if you already have health issues. “Throw away generic vegetable oils and use olive oil, avocado oil and coconut oil when cooking. Vegetable oils contain linoleic acid and when oxidized—that is, heated—release polyunsaturated fatty acids or PUFAs. PUFAs have been linked to heart disease, obesity, and other chronic illnesses,” instructs Ciavarella.

You can also Incorporate Meal Planning into your lifestyle “Knowing what you are going to eat ahead of time helps create a routine for you that centers around food as fuel, not as a punishment or reward,” says Ciavarella, who recommends planning two or three meals for the week whose leftovers can also create additional meals, along a “cook once, eat twice” principle.

And be sure to keep you favorite recipes on hand. You can always create your own meal plans and Keep Staples on Hand. Especially for those long work days and busy weekends, when your time and energy is sparse “I recommend having a few 30-minute meals on hand for those days where you are less interested in cooking but want a nutritious meal,” says Ciavarella.

Another great tip, Make Healthy Swaps. “If there is something you enjoy eating, such as pasta, and can’t imagine life without it, figure out ways to make it healthier,” offers Ciavarella. “For pasta, switch from regular noodles to chickpea or lentil based pasta. If you love sandwiches, make lettuce wraps instead of using bread. Love burgers? Great! Get a burger without the bun and cheese and instead of ketchup and mayo opt for mustard.”

Last great tip, Make Time to Cook and Prep your ingredients for easy meals ahead of time. Make the time to plan ahead and prepare your meals (ex. a weeks worth of work lunches) and stick to the plan so that you are not tempted to call for takeout ''Utilize time on the weekends after shopping to chop vegetables, wash lettuces and herbs, or pre-portion proteins to save yourself time during the week. Get some dedicated meal-prep containers too so that you have individual meals ready whenever you need them.''