Q: I’d like to start preparing more healthy meals at home, but I’m always in a frenzy of “what’s for dinner.” Any hints on saving time in the kitchen?

A: Here are some suggestions to save time:

¢ Instead of cooking and serving a pound of spaghetti, cook 2 pounds and freeze 1 pound for later. All you have to do with a bag of frozen cooked spaghetti is microwave it with pasta sauce to reheat and serve. It doesn’t take any extra effort to cook 2 pounds of pasta versus 1. The same principle applies with rice. Serve it with chili, a veggie stir-fry, beans, lentils, baked fish or chicken.

¢ Keep the fruit drawer full of apples, pears, oranges (or better yet, clementines – they’re so easy to peel). Don’t be afraid to get them out for dinner – slices of fruit make a wonderful side dish.

¢ Bowls of freshly rinsed cherries and grapes are easy to grab and place on the table quickly.

¢ Sliced melons can be ready to go on plates – just slice them all at once so they’re ready to use.

¢ Take a bag of frozen blueberries or peaches out of the freezer. Rinse them under cold water. Drain. Place them in pretty individual bowls and sprinkle with just a hint of sugar, if needed. Put a small dollop of light whipped topping on top just to add a special touch.

¢ Make a large salad using dark greens without dressing and serve it for two days. Serve salad when everyone is waiting for dinner. A variety of “add it yourself” items like nuts, croutons, dried fruits, vinegars and dressings keeps everyone happy.

¢ Keep bags of baby carrots on hand for those before-dinner “I’m starving” snacks.

¢ Keep plenty of bags of frozen veggies on hand. They are easy to heat and serve from the microwave or to add into pasta and rice dishes.

¢ Cook extra chicken or fish or brown extra ground beef so you can put aside half of it to make a different meal the next night. Make sure you refrigerate extras promptly. As an example, serve rice and baked chicken one night. Make a chicken-rice main dish salad or chicken-vegetable stir-fry the next night. Serve baked fish one night. Use flaked fish the next night for tacos or use in a main dish salad the next night.

¢ Make a one-dish meal, such as Rosemary Bean Pasta:

Rosemary Bean Pasta

8 ounces fettuccine, preferably whole wheat

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 1/2 cups cooked white beans, drained

1/2 cup chopped tomato

2 cups tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic until golden brown. Add the beans and tomatoes. Cook briefly; then add the tomato sauce and the rosemary; cook and stir until heated. Add the pasta, mix well and serve hot.