Healthy Meals: Survival Tips for Parents
Encouraging Healthy Eating with Limited Time

by Sarah Ball
Registered Dietitian
Member, Chapel Hill/Carrboro Mothers Club

How can we accomplish feeding our families nutritious meals with limited time in which to prepare them? See below for helpful tips and ideas. For more information regarding healthy families visit www.getkidsinaction.org.

Food Preparation and Shopping

• Make a shopping list and stick to it to avoid overbuying. Give each child a piece of the list and have them find and add these items to the cart - make it into a game.
• Stock your refrigerator with easy-to-prepare, single-serve items such as yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese, baby carrots, pre-washed salad greens, cut-up bagged vegetables, hummus, and whole grain English muffins and pita.
• Stock your freezer with frozen fruits and vegetables, and heat-and-serve items such as veggie burgers, pre-cooked chicken strips, whole grain waffles, and dinner rolls.
• Always prepare extras of a meal for leftovers the next day or to freeze.

Meals

• English muffin or pita pizzas - add spaghetti/pizza sauce, veggies, turkey pepperoni or canned beans.
• Omelets - add veggies, low-sodium deli ham, and a little low-fat cheese
• For an extra boost add grated or shredded veggies into casseroles and pasta dishes. This is especially handy if your child is picky about vegetables.
• Prepare large salads and use for several meals.
• Pre-cooked rotisserie chickens from your local supermarket.
• Quesadillas - canned refried beans (no lard), low-fat cheese, and shredded veggies between whole wheat tortillas.
• Fajitas - Quickly saut� onions, peppers (or any favorite veggie) and frozen chicken strips, add cheese and roll up in a whole-wheat tortilla.
• Crock-pot meals - cut up any variety of vegetables and meats, add to the crock-pot in the morning and dinner will be waiting for later.
• Set up the kitchen for breakfast the night before with bowls, spoons, and whole-grain cereals. Kids can serve themselves!

Snacks

• Healthy foods that are convenient and easily accessible are more likely to be eaten!
• Keep cut-up fruits and vegetables on the counter or on a low shelf in the refrigerator.
• Keep convenient snacks in pantry for kids to grab - whole-wheat crackers, rice cakes, microwave low-fat popcorn, and trail mix with nuts and dried fruit.
• Cut-up veggies dipped in salsa, hummus, peanut butter, or low-fat salad dressing.
• Baked sweet potato fries - cut up sweet potatoes, spray them with cooking spray, add garlic salt and pepper, and bake!

Posted September 2005