I’m wrapping up the family meal planning series with some expert tips. These are food and nutrition experts who spend a lot of (productive) time in the kitchen. The goal of this series was to help you overcome the “time” barrier to getting rewarding meals on the table, so I hope it succeeded.

It’s all about taking different ideas and finding your own way. Once the routine is set, the stress of family meals can be replaced with pleasure. I still have stressful weeks (usually when I don’t plan) but it’s gotten easier.

To keep the spirit of meal planning alive, I plan to feature rock star moms (or dads) who have a good system for preparing meals. So if that’s you, send me a note!

Sally Kuzemchak, MS, RD www.RealMomNutrition.com

1. Stock up when you can: When boneless/skinless chicken is on sale, I buy a bunch, boil it, shred it, then freeze it in baggies. Then it’s ready for casseroles, soups, and burritos/tacos.

2. Try batch cooking whenever possible: If I’m making a turkey meatloaf, I double the recipe and put one in the freezer. Same for lasagna and turkey meatballs (can be used with pasta and then I make small ones for soup).

3. Plan for weekends too: A lot of people plan their week’s meals but end up ordering out or going out all weekend because they didn’t have a plan.

4. Try “Pot-luck” nights: This is a much-needed break for me and can be just as healthy as a more elaborate meal. I’ll make PBJs on whole grain bread plus fruit and veggies for the kids, I’ll have a big salad, and my husband will have soup or leftovers. We still sit down and eat together and have that family mealtime experience, but it’s much quicker to prepare (and helps get rid of leftovers and odds and ends).

Janice Bissex MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD, authors of The Moms’ Guide to Meal Makeovers: Improving the Way Your Family Eats, One Meal at a Time!
www.mealmakeovermoms.com

5. Rely on convenience foods but choose wisely: Some of our favorite nutrient-packed convenience foods include frozen fruits and vegetables, canned beans, frozen ravioli and tortellini, pre-shredded reduced fat cheeses, and jarred pasta sauce and salsa. We recently posted a fast broccoli & bean soup recipe to our blog that busy moms can have on the table in minutes.

6. Turn to appliances that deliver fast meals: Two of our favorites are the slow cooker — it’s best to organize all ingredients the night before so in the morning, moms can load up the slow cooker before heading out the door — and the pressure cooker. Modern-day pressure cookers are safe to use and help to get nutritious meals on the table in minutes. Here’s a delicious risotto recipe using the pressure cooker.

7. Mise en place: This is a French term for “everything in its place.” We encourage busy parents to measure out and chop up all ingredients ahead of time so when dinner rolls around, they’re ready to go! Doing this the night before or any time parents have a few free minutes is a great strategy. And having a nonstick skillet in the kitchen is also great … because it means less mess and clean-up required.

Sandy Nissenberg, MS, RD, author of Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents: Wholesome Family Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less From Three Leading Child Nutrition Experts www.kidsliketoeat.com

8. Choose foods from each group of the food pyramid: Pyramid your pantry so you can easily select items that fit.

9. Combine homemade items with those that are prepared, like salads in bags, canned fruit, pasta/veggie combinations.

10. Have little ones help out: Make dinners that the family can help with, i.e., wrapping tortillas, quesadillas; packing a pita pocket; stuffing a baked potato.

11. Create combo meals: Try stir fries, casseroles and all-in-one skillet meals.

Kathleen Cuneo, PhD www.dinnertogether.com

12. Put a support system in place: Get help from older children, neighbors, your spouse or other parent friends. For more on how to do this see Putting a Support System in Place.

Feel free to add your own time-saving tips in the comments!

Previous: How to Spend Less Time Grocery Shopping

New to Raise Healthy Eaters? Subscribe to be alerted of new posts

In part 3 of this series we talked about planning a weeks’ worth of healthy meals to save time. But I think the most challenging part of the whole meal planning process is translating that plan into a readable grocery list — getting all the food you need and storing that food in an organized fashion.

I have been known, on occasion, to forget an ingredient or two and not discover it until it’s too late. My husband comes home, I cry, and he’s off to El Pollo Loco. Not fun.

Learning what leads to those bad weeks has helped me figure out what’s needed to make this process run smoothly. And I care because the better job I do meal planning and shopping, the better my whole week goes, and the less time I spend running back to the grocery store. So without further ado, here are some tips on how to maximize efficiency when grocery shopping:

1. Healthy Grocery Checklist: I’ve been using a pad of blank paper to write my grocery list on. The problem with this is food is listed randomly on the paper. So when I’m in the store, I’m more likely to miss something or have to backtrack to another department (not a good thing with kids in tow!).

So I devised a printable grocery list that also contains helpful nutrition tips. The idea is to hang it on your fridge and check off items as they run low so there are no fun surprises later. Then finish filling it out before your big shopping trip. This dowload is only available to subscribers so sign up today.

2. An organized kitchen: I often write about my lack of organization skills. But I know that having an organized kitchen is key to minimizing mistakes. Because when it comes time to write up your grocery list, you need to check and see if there’s anything you need. And if you have a pantry or fridge that looks like mine, that’s going to make life difficult (see “before” picture of cereal pantry below).

(I often blame my disorganized fridge on its small size but that’s just an excuse –even though a bigger fridge would help….)

To show you I’m serious about getting organized, I decided to revamp my food storage areas. So I cleaned out the pantry and fridge, labeling everything so even my husband knows where things go. I have decided to give it a touch up each week so it stays nice all week long. This blog is helping me to become accountable!

Before

After

After (sorry, accidently deleted the before pic)

3. Designate which ingredients are meal/recipe items: After figuring out which everyday items you need, you’ll have to list ingredients needed for your meals/recipes. I either highlight or circle them so they stand out from the other grocery items.

Why?

Because if you like how the week turns out, you can use the meal planning chart and grocery list again. Simply save the “good” weeks and soon you’ll have a collection to pull from. I’ve done this a couple of times and it was a lifesaver, especially for those super-busy weeks.

4. Going to The Grocery Store:I wish that there was one grocery store that had it all. I seem to need three of them (Trader Joe’s, Vons or Ralphs, Whole Foods), make that four if you count the farmer’s market. But going to each of them weekly is not realistic for a busy mom like me. So here’s what I do:

As I said in 5 Secrets to the Perfect Weekly Meal Plan, every Sunday is my big trip to get the bulk of groceries for the week. I do this big trip solo, during the kids nap, but sometimes my daughter will come with me if I do it earlier in the day.

I first go to Trader Joes and get all I can there and then head to the Ralphs next door to get the things Trader Joe’s doesn’t have. I usually have to go grocery shopping again sometime before the following weekend to get more fruits and veggies and little items for the weekend. This would also be the time I try and go to a farmers’ market, but I’m not always successful.

I also try to make it to Whole Foods once a month because there isn’t one near me. Whole Foods has some items the other stores don’t have like homemade baby food and frozen food items for kids (they have salmon fish sticks that are pretty good — too bad Anna won’t touch them!). I almost forgot about Costco. Luckily my husband works close to it so he gets the bulk items as we need them.

So what do you do? Any master grocery plan or do you just wing it? Do you think my fridge is small?

Next: 12 Tips for Getting Meals on the Table Fast.

Previous: Subscribe to be alerted of new posts

Okay, so far in this series we’ve covered meal planning barriers and how to collect easy & healthy family meals. But now we are getting to the most exciting part of the series – concocting your weekly meal plan.

(I understand that my newfound passion for meal planning is a sign that I’m not nearly as hip as I used to be. If you know me, please stop laughing.)

I don’t claim to have years of meal planning under my belt. Being organized and cooking are not natural talents of mine. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that getting nutritious and tasty meals on the table takes planning. It’s the only time-saver I know of. And because I’ve been doing this for a while now, you can benefit from my mistakes. So I’ll share with you my meal planning secrets. And I hope if you have some of your own, you’ll share them in the comments below.

1. Pick a day to get it done: I take one day to plan the meals for the week and do the big grocery trip. (I’ll cover the grocery list and shopping in next week’s post.) I currently only plan dinner meals but am going to start planning other meals and snacks. For me the best day of the week to meal plan and shop is Sunday. I’ve tried various days including Monday but have found Sunday is the best because it allows me to get stocked up for the week so Monday can be spent having fun with the kids.

2. Look at the week ahead: When it comes to picking meals for the week you’ll want to grab your calendar and consider what’s going on that week. I’m lucky that I have a regular schedule. For example, Wednesday and Thursday are workdays so I plan an 8-10 hour slow cooker meal for Wednesday. Thursdays are leftovers. Monday, Tuesday and Fridays I can make something in the oven or a slow cooker meal with a shorter cook time. Saturday we eat out and Sunday is dinner at my mother-in-law’s.

3. Let each family member have a say: My husband and I generally like the same things but I like to include his favorites (as well as mine!). My daughter’s favorite meal is Mexican food so we have that every Monday. There really aren’t a lot of dinner meals she’s guaranteed to eat, but meatballs and soup or stews with beans can be hits. When she’s older I’ll have her play a more active part in planning weekly meals. Recently when I asked her what she wanted for next week’s dinner and she said “cookies and apples.”

I also consider my 10-month-old boy who has recently started feeding himself (and will eat anything — gotta love babies!). A couple of our recent slow cooker meals have been soft enough for him to eat with a little mashing. I love that we are getting away from separate meals so early. He loves our food!

4. Ensure Balanced Nutrition: I think planning meals is the key to providing your family with a variety of nutritious foods. The three big picture nutrition items I look for are fish twice a week, beans 2-3 times a week (as entree or side) and at least one vitamin-A rich veggie and one vitamin-C rich fruit daily. For more details on nutrition for the week see 7 Must-Dos for Family Meal Planning.

5. Incorporate simplifying techniques: I have found that picking “theme nights” makes planning easier and more fun. For us, Mondays are Mexican night, Wednesdays are for the slow cooker and Fridays are fish. I leave Tuesdays and Thursdays open.

I try not to make too many complicated dishes at once – it stresses me out. If it’s a time-consuming entrée, for example, then the veggie has to be easy. A more complicated veggie or side has to be made with a slow cooker chicken or fish. When I first started cooking, I had my share of disasters. I think it’s progress that I haven’t had one in a while.

The last simplifying technique I use is pre-prep. Every night before bed I look at what’s for dinner and do pre-prep if needed. It’s either taking meat or fish out of the freezer, chopping fruit and vegetables, making salads or putting together slow cooker dishes for the morning. The key is to do most of the work ahead of time so the preparation part is easy.

Bonus Meal planning chart: Because I got tired of writing down my weeks-worth of meals on random pieces of paper, I made a handy meal planning chart. It has nutrition tips, boxes for every meal and snack during the week and boxes for the pre-prep that may be needed. Use it as you like, only plan dinners or plan the whole week.  It’s perfect to place on your fridge where you can see it. The chart is only available to subscribers so sign up today and start using this time-saving tool.

Let me know if you like it. Happy meal planning!

Next: How to Spend Less Time Grocery Shopping

Previous: How to Uncover Easy and Healthy Family Meals

New to Raise Healthy Eaters? Subscribe to be alerted of new posts

There are plenty of online services that provide family meal plans, recipes and grocery lists. And while I think this can work for some people, I just find it odd being told what meals to make and what ingredients to use. I mean, beef stroganoff on Wednesday — really?

I could devote this series to healthy family meals you “should” make but that would be of little help. Only you know your own cooking abilities, family’s taste preferences and comfort using certain ingredients. So when it comes to finding rewarding meals for your family, you are the best judge!

In part one of Raise Healthy Eaters’ family meal planning series, we talked about overcoming barriers to getting healthy meals on the table. In part 2, we are focusing on how to find meals that are perfect for your family.

-Create a home for recipes:Your most cherished recipes and meal ideas need a home. I’ve started to use this recipe book that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago. The idea is to try out a recipe and if it turns out well, add it to the recipe book. For example, if I add a recipe from a cookbook I write the page number down in my recipe book so it’s easy to find. And when I print recipes off the internet, I store them in a red folder and write “red folder” in the recipe book (see examples below – sorry about the second picture, I had the choice of retaking it or going to bed).

As parents, our brains are in overuse mode already. By putting all of your favorite meals in one spot, you won’t have to rely on yourself to remember what they are.

-Become a Recipe Collector: I recently spoke to a friend who doesn’t use recipes. She says she starts dinner sautéing garlic and olive oil and just throws in different items. I, on the other hand, need the framework of a recipe to function in the kitchen. The idea is to find recipes or meal ideas you feel comfortable making. If you are a beginner cook, for example, simple slow cooker recipes might be good for you. But if you are more advanced, you might only use a recipe for inspiration.

You can find recipes anywhere — cookbooks, the internet and magazines. The internet makes it so easy to find – and store — recipes. Some of my favorites are All Recipes, My Recipes, and Cooks which allow you to see how the meals are rated and the comments people have. You’ll also get your share of easy and healthy recipes here.

-Look for a variety of recipes that are nutritious and taste good: In my recipe book I separate recipes into categories such as Mexican, Italian, Meat, Beans, Veggies and Fish. So if you don’t have any fish meals, for example, look for recipes that sound good and try it one night. The key is to collect a variety of meals.

When it comes to nutrition, aim for meals that are made with unsaturated fats such as olive oil, canola oil, nuts and avocados. Also make sure to include lean meats, whole grains, fruit and vegetables. I use saturated fats less often but will sometimes cook with butter and we love cheese around here. It’s not about getting it perfect every time. Some of our meals are higher in fat but I’ll serve them less often. Others might be high in sodium, but again, this isn’t an every night occurrence. It’s all about balancing nutrition, taste and ease of preparation.

-Practice, practice, practice: I absolutely hate when a new meal is disappointing. I know when my husband asks, “where did you get this recipe?” I’m in trouble. But I’ve learned that the failures are part of discovering which meals work for my family.

How do you know when a new meal passes the test? If I waited for my daughter’s approval we’d be eating burritos, meatballs and bean soup every night. So the verdict falls on whether or not my husband and I like it and it’s kid-friendly. This means it’s easy to chew, has a nice flavor and isn’t super-spicy.

So if you haven’t been doing this already, make a nice home for your recipes and continually add to it. If you haven’t had much success you might be choosing the wrong types of recipes for you.

What are you doing right now? Do you have a system for storing recipes that works well? Any cookbooks or websites you recommend?

Next: 5 Secrets to the Perfect Weekly Meal Plan

Previous: Top 5 Barriers to Making Meals Happen

Wanted to be alerted of new posts? Subscribe to Raise Healthy Eaters

Nobody tells parents-to-be the commitment involved in feeding a family. Once my daughter started eating regular meals and snacks, I panicked because I realized I’d be doing this for the next 17 years. Three meals and two-to-three snacks, day in and day out.

So each week I’d tell myself I “should” get to meal planning but always put it off. I did such a poor job that I’d run back to the grocery store all week long. You see, even though I’m a dietitian I never learned how to cook for a family. Not only was I lacking confidence, I felt like I just wasn’t born with the gift of cooking.

Thankfully, I changed my attitude, got organized and now find great satisfaction in the whole process (although it’s nowhere near perfect). But nothing was going to work until I overcame my barriers.

Welcome to part I of Raise Healthy Eaters’ Meal Planning Series. Before digging into the mechanics of meal planning, take time to consider what may be holding you back from feeding your family the way you want to.

1) The time factor: In our recent survey, many parents said that time is a barrier to planning and preparing meals. Maybe you work long hours or have a high-needs child that doesn’t allow for free time. Or maybe it’s something else.

Whatever it is, dig a little deeper to see if time is really a red flag for something else. Maybe you don’t feel confident preparing meals for your family. Or maybe you’re less than thrilled with the way your dinners turn out. And if it is because of your busy schedule, stay tuned because this series will give you plenty ideas on how to make meals happen without taking a lot of time out of your day.

2) Expecting perfection: I’m not a food snob. I don’t expect parents to always use whole foods fresh from their garden. It’s a wonderful thing to work towards but if you currently rely on convenience foods, or eating out, changing overnight to making everything from scratch is not realistic.

So parents may put off making meals until they have more time to cook from scratch, instead of starting where they are now. As Ellyn Satter said in my interview with her, simply start by getting into the habit of eating together. In part 2 of this series you’ll learn easy ways to add tasty and healthy meals to your repertoire.

3) Wacky schedules: One parent works late so dinner doesn’t happen. If your kids are older they might play sports, making it hard to come home and prepare meals. Families are so busy today that dinner together can seem like an impossible feat.

Just know there are always solutions to schedule conflicts. If your husband works late, for example, see if he can come home early (and work from home if need be) one day a week and make sure the family eats together on weekends. We’ll talk more about this in part 3 of our series: Secrets to the Perfect Weekly Meal Plan.

4) Our culture: Several years ago my husband and I visited my family in Serbia. I was amazed at how my aunt and cousin cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner. I mean real, from scratch meals. In their culture, feeding yourself takes priority.

But in our culture it is acceptable to feed yourself poorly. I once talked with a woman who thought going into a store and buying a cheese stick was too much work. When I find myself complaining about going to the grocery, I remind myself that nothing is more important than feeding myself and my family well.

5) Kids won’t eat it: There’s no doubt that coming up with meals everyone likes is a major challenge. We’ll get into this later but don’t let your kid’s picky palate hold you back from making family meals.

It’s important to remember that the dinner table is where kids learn how to eat. You can’t expect them to come there already loving a variety of foods — it takes time. Sometimes changing your outlook is all that’s needed. For more on this see How to Make Dinners More Kid-Friendly.

I know there are all types of people reading this blog. Some of you are avid cooks and others are beginners. Many of you might be meal planning already while others haven’t even thought about it. But more than anything I hope we can learn from each other so we can raise children who make feeding themselves a priority.

So I leave you with one question that you can comment about or stew over. What is (or was) your biggest barrier to getting good-tasting, nutritious meals on the table?

Next: How to Uncover Easy & Healthy Family Meals

Want to be alerted of new posts? Subscribe to Raise Healthy Eaters