'Cook Once' and have healthy food in a hurry

By Thayer Wine
Nashville Tennessean

In "Cook Once, Eat for a Week" (Perigee, $17.95), Jyl Steinback offers healthy make-ahead recipes to have available in the fridge or freezer. If you follow her basic concept — plan, prepare and cook ahead — you can have your refrigerator and freezer stocked with food to put on the table in minutes.

These recipes cover the bases, from breakfast to dinner and dessert. Each recipe has a shopping list of ingredients you might not have on hand, such as egg substitute, nonfat Cool Whip, frozen vegetables and a particular kind on lean beef.

While Steinback doesn't give preparation and cooking times for each recipe, she has a blurb at the top of each recipe that indicates how to plan it into your routine. Some, such as the baked seafood sandwich, require only preparation and chilling time. Others, including the Southwest chicken stew, need to be prepared, cooked and refrigerated or frozen.

Each recipe has a nutrition analysis that includes diabetic exchanges. Throughout the book, Steinback, a personal trainer and author of more than a dozen healthy lifestyle cookbooks, uses low-fat, low-sodium and low-cholesterol products.

Also, she gives tips on the best ways to save foods in the refrigerator or freezer. She explains, for instance, the importance of cooling soups and stews quickly in shallow containers without lids to reduce harmful bacterial growth.

Her menus give suggestions for using the recipes for healthful, low-fat eating. Make one batch of rice and black bean burritos that serves six and put them in the freezer. They're there, ready for a fast lunch anytime. For dinner another day, make turkey enchiladas from leftover turkey and freeze them according to the number you need for each meal. They're ready to go into the oven when you need a no-fuss supper.

For details about the book and author, visit www.americashealthiestmom.com.

Here's a recipe from the book — a healthful burrito mixture that can be made in advance and frozen or refrigerated.

Rice and Black Bean Burritos

• 3 1/2 cups canned black beans, drained
• 3/4 cup salsa
• 1/3 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped green chilis
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice
• 6 low fat flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat shredded cheddar cheese

Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add beans, salsa, tomatoes, and chilis to skillet; cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. Add rice and mix well. Divide filling among tortillas; top with cheese. Roll tortillas up burrito-style and place seam side down on plate. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm. Store burritos in individual Ziploc freezer bags. To reheat: place in microwave-safe dish and heat 1-2 minutes per burrito. Serve with additional salsa, nonfat sour cream, chopped green onions or other desired toppings

Serves: 6

Nutrition per serving: Calories: 338. Total fat: 2.4 g. Carbohydrate: 58 g. Cholesterol: 0 mg. Dietary fiber: 5g. Protein: 20 g. Sodium: 1034 mg.

Exchanges: 3 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 very lean meat. Carbohydrate choice: 4