Many people mistakenly believe that it takes several hours to prepare a healthy meal for their family, but if we factor in the time we spend traveling to a restaurant, waiting for a table, waiting for the check and traveling back home, we probably spend more time eating out.

Being prepared is the key to successful family meals.

Here are some helpful tips that I use for planning a weekly menu:

1. Download and print our Menu Planner and Grocery List form.
2. Involve the family in selecting foods or meals that they would like to have for the week.
3. Consider your schedule for the week ahead, and plan only to purchase foods for the meals you will be cooking at home. If you will be spending an evening at home working on a project, you might want to choose a meal that you can pop into the oven and work while it cooks.
4. Start planning the menu by choosing a combination of colorful foods from a variety of foods groups.
   • Choose the main entree (protein source) for the meal.
   • Choose a starchy vegetable or whole grain.
   • Choose a non-starchy vegetable.
   • Choose a fruit.
   • Choose a garnish - something that might provide extra flavor or color to the meal. In the photo above, I included fresh tomato and basil to the salmon to enhance the color and flavor of the dish.
5. On the same form, you can now make a grocery list from the menus you created above.
6. Don't forget to bring your list along to the grocery store. It's helpful if you need to make a last-minute substitution. For instance, if the asparagus that I planned for the meal above didn't look fresh, I could choose another green non-starchy
vegetable to replace it such as broccoli, spinach or mixed baby greens.
7. Once you return home, consider what prep work you can do ahead of time. While putting away groceries, you may be able to slice, chop and prepare some of the ingredients for the coming week. This will save you time during the hectic work week.

A new style of eating is gaining popularity in Europe - eating while blindfolded. This practice, which also enhances the eating experience by heightening the sense of smell and taste, is being used primarily as a means for losing weight. The idea is that you will be more in tune with your fullness level, leaving you less inclined to "clean your plate" just because you have food left on it.

While this approach seems quite dramatic, its basic premise is reasonable. Learning to listen to your body's hunger and fullness signals can certainly impact the amount of food you allow yourself to eat. With our fast paced lifestyles and tendency to eat on the run, many of us are no longer receptive to those cues, which leaves us at risk for eating more calories than we need - and at risk for gaining weight.