10 Make-it-Quick Family Meals

Do YOU have any idea what are you serving for dinner tonight? Any ideas on lunch or brunch this coming weekend? It can be a very discouraging task to come up with meal ideas each and every day, especially if you have kids who are picky eaters. Here are ten quick ideas for family meals. Why not reduce the stress and try one tonight?

1.    Spaghetti – It’s so easy to throw some noodles in a pot of boiling water and simmer some spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti sauce is also very nutritious and versatile: ground beef or turkey, diced vegetables and a variety of herbs and seasonings and you can make it all your own. For a low calorie meal, use spaghetti squash in place of traditional noodles.

2.    Tacos – If your family happens to likes Mexican food, whip up a batch of tacos for dinner. You can easily mix up a batch, providing hard and/or soft shells for variety. For family menu planning, slice and dice your preferred toppings ahead of time so you can just pull them out on taco night. If you’re into bulk cooking, it’s easy to cook up a large batch of taco meat and spices, freezing it for a later date.

3.    Macaroni and cheese – What kid doesn’t like this as a dinner main dish? Spice it up with diced tomatoes, crumbled turkey or chicken bacon, or hamburger.

4.    Pizza – and I don’t mean store-bought or delivery. Keep several prepared pizza crusts on hand, or make your own with whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose. On pizza night, let the entire family choose which of their favorite toppings they want on their pizza. Preparation time is fun, and because of this you can get supper in the oven in no time flat. Wait about 20 minutes to cook and you’re ready to eat!

5.    Skewers – you can create tasty chicken, seafood or beef kebabs quickly. Skewer the meat and your favorite vegetables, placing them in a sealed container until meal day. This is the benefit of meal planning – getting prep work done early. Cook your tasty kebabs on the bbq, or use a grill pan indoors.

6.    Hot dogs – You can find turkey or chicken wieners (check and make sure it ‘real’ or ’100%’ poultry) in most grocery stores, and there are even some ‘light’ varieties. Boil or grill them, add your favorite toppings and you’re done! Thank you Oscar Mayer!

7.    Chef salad – Salads are always quick to fix but they usually lack something in the taste department. With a chef salad you get your portion of protein from lean chicken or turkey. The taste comes from the add-ins: turkey or chicken bacon crumbles parmesan cheese, tomatoes, shredded cheese, black beans and cucumbers. Use other ingredients that your family likes.

8.    Grilled cheese sandwich – Dinner doesn’t need to be a four-course meal. For a new taste, add a few slices of a juicy tomato or side this with soup.

9.    Tortilla wraps – Create quick and yummy sandwiches with your favorite flavor of tortilla. Glaze with mustard or low calorie mayonnaise. Add crunchy veggies and diced chicken, fish or beef.

10.    Leftover creations– Use leftovers to create salads, casseroles, sandwiches and soups. Don’t let anything go to waste if it can be used for new meals.

I hope these ideas help spark some of your own creative ones which will not only save you time and money, but allow you to enjoy time with your family as well.

Tele-Conference – Eat Right w/ Yaqutullah Ibraheem MS, RD, LD

Eat Right with Yaqutullah Ibraheem MS, RD, LD

Has a masters in Health Sciences and Bachelors in Nutrition. Currently works with Dekalb Medical Center as a Clinical Dietitian and also provides nutrition education for patients with various disease states including Diabetes, Heart disease, renal failure, and the need for wt management.

A brief outline of the call that consists of:
1. Making smart choices from everyday food groups
2. Finding a balance between food and physical activity
3. Getting the most out of your calories

Listen to Your Audio By Clicking Below

(January 14, 2010)Eat Right w/ Yaqutullah Ibraheem MS, RD, LD

Losing Weight as a Family – Getting Everyone Involved

It’s not always the easiest task to get your family interested and willing to participate in weight loss and healthy eating. But once you do get them involved, they can be the best support you’ll find when you’re working on losing weight and getting healthy together. nrashow.typepad.com Before starting any new diet plan for yourself and your family, it’s important to talk to your physician. Not only do you need to be sure it’s a good choice for you, but that it suits your family’s needs as well. Of course your husband will require larger portion sizes than you, and you have to take into consideration the nutritional needs of your children as well. A good place to start for many people wanting to begin eating a healthier diet is to go through the fridge and pantry. This is a project you might want to do with some extra back-up. Your job is to clear the house of all the “junk” food. No more potato chips, ice cream, chocolate…you get the picture. Once everything is out of the house, take a family trip to the grocery store so you can all stock up on healthier foods and snacks like fruits and vegetables, low-fat desserts, and even baked chips instead of those old fried ones. This whole process is going to take some getting used to. If your family is used to McDonald’s and I-hop every week, getting them into the habit of eating foods that are better for them is not likely to happen overnight. However, if you stick with it, you’ll notice soon enough they don’t mind snacking on carrots, or eating homemade food instead of fast food all the time. Turn menu planning into a game. You can put healthy meal choices on pieces of paper and have each member pick one out of a hat or box one at a time until all of your choices for the week are filled in. Sit together and have each person choose the healthy main course, while everyone else helps choose side dishes and a dessert which go well with it. You can even try and come up with low calorie versions of your family’s high calorie favorites. It can be a challenge to find healthy foods that the whole family will like. But this is also a great opportunity to teach them about good nutritional habits, and how the food pyramid works. Starting when your children are young will help them to make the right choices in the future.  But remember, it’s never too late to start a healthy eating plan. Start where you are and keep with it. And just to add the perfect ending to your new healthy eating plan, why not add family exercise to the whole experience? There’s nothing like some quality family time, and this can easily be achieved by taking a walk while the dinner dishes soak. It’s a lot better for you, both physically and emotionally as a family unit than fast food and television, that’s for sure!