• 1.You’ve heard it before—We’ll say it again: Plan. Make a grocery list and shop for 7 days’ worth of menus when you go to the store.
• 2. Keep the kitchen stocked. Make sure your kitchen has quick-cooking items, such as rice, pasta, tortillas, canned beans, low-fat cheese, canned or frozen vegetables, milk, tomato sauce, and canned fruits. With rice, pasta, and tortillas, We recommend you buy the whole-grain choices. Read the labels carefully.
• 3. Cook it once, but use it twice, or possibly three times. Double the amount of rice, pasta, or meat you cook. Tupperware and microwaves are our friend (i.e., take your leftover chicken breast, slice it up, and drop it on a ceasar salad for added protein eating satisfaction). Don’t forget that you can cook and freeze meals, as well.
• 4. Healthy grains can be cooked in 5 minutes. Wonderful whole grains like brown rice, Quinoa, barley, and couscous, can be cooked as fast as “minute rice.” Add water (or we prefer 98% fat-free chicken broth), bring to a boil, and you have a delicious side dish. These whole grains provide eating satisfaction without the need for big portions, which equals fewer calories.*
• 5. Spice it up! You don’t need cream or sauce to make chicken, turkey, salmon, or other meats tasty. Get to know your spices and herbs. Spices and herbs are quick, and absolutely mouth watering without adding fat or calories.
• 6.In the morning before you head out the door, set your table for your evening meal. This gives you one less thing to worry about when you get home. Seeing a set table upon your return home may serve as a reminder about the importance of eating together as a family. It may also decrease the amount of calls made to your local pizza joint.
• 7. Think “outside the box.” Eggs and low-fat cheese with an English muffin makes for a great dinner and can be prepared in next to no time. (And when eaten in appropriate portions, it’s a smart calorie choice.) Also, why not use your fat-free flavored yogurt with fruit as a side dish?
• 8. Pre-cooked and prepackaged is pretty darn good! Let’s hear it for quick and easy turkey strips that you can toss on a salad on a moment’s notice. We suggest you take 15 minutes one day and walk around your local grocery store to see all the precooked, prepackaged options. When you are looking solely for these items, you will be surprised to find the many choices available to you.
• 9. Substitute ingredients without substituting the taste. You may have a quick and easy recipe your family loves, but it may have a little too much fat or calories. If this is the case, give some substitutions a try. If you don’t know which substitutions to try, get online and type in the words “ingredient substitutions” and watch the magic begin.
• 10. Remember to make use of cooking aids like crock pots, electric grills, etc. Making stews, soups, or cooking meat in a crockpot not only saves time, but provides an easy alternative for great home-cooked meals. Don’t forget to add lots of vegetables to stews and soups to help ensure that the meal is nutritious.

* Plenty of research suggests that children don’t really know if they like or dislike a particular food until they have tried it 8-10 times. Be brave and try some new things! (Your kids might surprise you).