Family meal time offers a chance to connect and catch up on the events of the day, and choosing healthy meal options keeps the family eating well. Many healthy dinner options are easy to adapt so each person gets what she likes. Get the kids involved in cooking the meals to improve their math and cooking skills.
Stir Fry
Stir fry involves sauteing a combination of vegetables and meat before adding the stir fry sauce. Choose whatever ingredients you like and have in the refrigerator, such as carrots, peppers, onions, snow peas, asparagus, zucchini, chicken, beef or shrimp. If you don't want to cut up all the vegetables, look for a bag of already cut up fresh or frozen stir fry vegetables. Use either a wok or a heavy skillet to stir fry the ingredients. Most grocery stores sell a variety of stir fry sauces such as Szechuan, sweet and sour, peanut and sesame. Experiment with different sauces to find one your family likes best. Serve the stir fry over long-grain rice for a healthy meal.
Wraps
Wraps offer a customizable dinner idea for the family. Multigrain or whole wheat wraps provide the best health value. Each family member can fill his wrap with a variety of ingredients that might include meats, cheeses, sauces and vegetables. Healthy meat options include boneless, skinless chicken breast or cold cuts. Vegetables that go well in wraps include lettuce, tomato, onion, spinach and peppers. Sauces might include light ranch dressing, light mayonnaise or mustard. This option works well for picky eaters because they have control over what goes in their meal. A side of steamed vegetables or baked sweet potatoes rounds out the meal.
Salads
Like wraps, salads allow each family member to create a custom dinner option. Start with your family's favorite type of lettuce. Romaine is a mild lettuce that should suit most taste preferences. Try other types of lettuce for variety. Set out bowls of other salad vegetables, such as sliced radishes, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, onions and cucumber. Cooked chicken or turkey works well as meat options. Other toppings might include croutons, a sprinkling of cheese and a dressing. Serve the salads with whole wheat pasta and tomato sauce or a broth-based soup for a more filling dinner.
Pizza
A pizza swimming in greasy toppings and layered high with cheese doesn't fall under the healthy dinner category, but you can make a much healthier pizza at home. Start with a whole wheat crust; you can make it yourself or purchase it. Look for low-fat cheese to use on the pizza, and limit the amount you put on top to save fat and calories. Top the pizza with lots of vegetables to increase its health value. Go beyond the typical onions, mushrooms and peppers for variety. Try spinach, broccoli, fresh tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes or artichoke hearts. Each family member can make her own pizza with customized toppings.
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