Having a busy schedule can contribute to poor eating habits. After a long day, no one looks forward to coming home and cooking a healthy homemade recipe. It seems much easier to stop at the local fast food drive-through restaurant for dinner. Though this option may be convenient, neither your wallet nor your body can sustain such routine on a daily basis. Having a busy schedule that keeps you away from home most of the day, should not prevent you from enjoying a healthy homemade recipe. An added benefit of cooking a healthy homemade recipe is that you can have leftovers for lunch the next day.

You can enjoy a healthy homemade recipe by keeping a few tips in mind, such as seasoning your meat ahead of time. Pick meats that have relatively short cooking times, and cut the meats into small pieces. Cutting your meats into pieces helps shorten the cooking time. I also favor products made with whole wheat or sprouted flour, because they are healthy. For example, bleached flour has less protein than unbleached flour. An essential part of a healthy homemade recipe is its grain content. The healthiest types of grains are whole grains. Whole grain does not have its bran and germ removed by milling; hence, whole grain is unrefined and very healthy. Whole grain is a great source of fiber and other important nutrients such as selenium, potassium, and magnesium. Brown rice and popcorn are good sources of whole grain. White rice does not provide the nutritional value your body needs, because white rice lacks many important minerals such as niacin, iron, potassium, and magnesium. White rice is also deficient in crucial vitamins such as vitamin B, B3, B6, and E. Brown rice on the other hand can contribute to weight loss, and it helps slow the aging process.

To make your healthy homemade recipe even more digestible, make enough room for vegetables. Vegetables have relatively short cooking times. Raw vegetable has the most nutritional value. However, if you decide to cook your vegetables, cook them for a very short time. Furthermore, do not drench the vegetables in butter, oil, or salt. Below, I have provided a healthy homemade recipe for chicken and pasta, served with raw baby spinach and sauce.

Healthy Homemade Recipe: Chicken and Pasta

Ingredients for the Chicken and Pasta Recipe

• 2 seasoned chicken cutlets, sliced in pieces
• 5 grains of minced garlic
• ½ large chopped onion
• 2 diced tomatoes
• ½ cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of salt-free seasoning blend
• ½ tablespoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of basil
• 1½ cup of tomato sauce
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup of grated mozzarella cheese (optional)
• 1 baby bell pepper
• Few branches of rosemary
• Whole wheat pasta
• Baby spinach

Instructions for the Chicken and Pasta Recipe

To make this healthy homemade recipe, combine the basil with the seasoning blend and the flour in a small bowl. Add the egg content in a separate bowl. Dip the chicken slices into the egg, and then coat them with the flour mixture. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan on medium fire, and cook the chicken slices until they turn brown. Make sure you marinate the chicken ahead of time.

Heat a few drops of extra virgin olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Add onions, garlic, and baby bell pepper to the heated olive oil. Reduce the heat after a few moments, add some tomato sauce, and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chickens and the bay leaf to the sauce. Cover up the sauce pan and let it cook for 7 to 10 minutes on low fire; make sure to stir occasionally. Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese on the sauce when the chicken is almost done cooking; Add few rosemary branches as well.

Boil some water, add a tablespoon of olive oil and salt to it, and add the whole wheat pasta. Cook the whole wheat pasta until it is firm. Remove it from the stove and strain it.

Serve the chicken and sauce with the whole wheat pasta, topped with the remaining grated mozzarella cheese; add some baby spinach as a side dish.

You can cook this healthy homemade recipe in less than 30 minutes. Good luck!