Healthy Family Meals

What's for dinner?

Do you ever get tired of hearing that?  I know I do! 

Another thing I get tired of . . . trying to come up with healthy meals that everyone in my family will eat.  With two growing girls in the house, I want to teach them smart food choices.  I'm not with them all the time, so I like to make sure that the meals we do spend together are well-chosen.  Every night can't be chicken nuggets and pizza.  Even though that would really be an easy fix to my meal planning issues. 

When twittermoms gave me the opportunity to participate in a blogging program where I could share my recipes and tips and read other people's recipes as well, I couldn't turn it down.  I am always looking for a few good recipes, and those tried and true ones that will come from fellow bloggers seem like a great place to start.  (Unfortunately for those of you trying to take my ideas, consider yourself warned that they aren't that grand.)  Blogger or not, I'd love to hear your recipes and tips for planning healthy family meals that taste great too.  I'll start by sharing a couple of mine.

Tips & Recipes:

1. Reduce the quantity of sodium, sugar, etc in the recipes you already have.  If you reduce the amount little by little, it is likely your family won't even notice.  For example, I always put 1/2 cup of sugar in their Kool-Aid rather than a full cup.  I started by decreasing the amount to 3/4 cup, then slowly worked down to 1/2.  While it still isn't the healthiest option, it is at least a little better.
2. When possible, instead of using salt in a recipe, find a good sodium free option, like Mrs. Dash.  I personally love to use Tomato Basil Garlic in many of my soups and stews.  It adds great flavor without the sodium.  One of the easiest recipes I make using Tomato Basil Garlic is my Leftover Soup.  You start by taking all of the leftover veggies that you have throughout the month and continuously add them to one container that you keep in the freezer.  Once the container is full, you can add some Sodium Free Broth or Vegetable Juice, a little seasoning, then simmer for a quick easy delicious meal.  If you feel like it, you can even add some meat or pasta to thicken it up a bit.  I especially love it in the fall and winter with some homemade bread.  YUM!

Disclaimer:  I wrote this blog post while participating in the Mrs. Dash and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here .