Healthy Time Management

Effective management is the key to saving time during food preparation. To see how well you manage your time, think about your usual food preparation practices. With your typical evening meal in mind, answer the following questions using the Answer Key below:

A= ALWAYS

F= FREQUENTLY

S= SOMETIMES

N= NEVER

1. How often do you plan meals in advance? ___

2. How often do you prepare portions of a meal in advance? ___

3. How often do you spend 30 minutes or less preparing meals? ___

4. How often do you use leftovers as the basis for another meal? ___

5. How often do you use frozen vegetables, and healthy organic canned goods in your meals? ___

6. If there are others in your household, how often do they help fix meals and clean up? ___

7. Is your pantry always well stocked with healthy vegan items? ___

8. How often do you use a shopping list? ____

9. When you go into a grocery store do you have a plan. ___

What does this quiz say about you:

If you answered 4 or more as...

Always: You manage time effectively and efficiently. You understand that time is of the essence and you cherish every moment of it. You have learned how to make quick cooking healthy and therefore it is time well spent in the kitchen.

Frequently: You probably manage your time very well. Yet even if you're great at preparing meals quickly, you may be dissatisfied with their quality, nutritional value, or variety. In taking shortcuts to prepare quick meals, are you using products likely to be high in fat, sugars, and sodium?

If your answers to the questions in the quiz are mostly "Sometimes" and "Never," don't be discouraged. Perhaps the quiz helped you identify some easy ways to make more efficient use of your time.