The trick to a successful family diet is making low-cal foods attractive. Children -- and often adults -- may shun nonfat yogurt and a piece of fruit for breakfast, but they'll accept a smoothie based on the same ingredients. Another way to help the family stay on a diet is to serve familiar dishes made with healthier ingredients.
Breakfast
Start the day with a satisfying, low-calorie breakfast. For pleasing texture and a burst of flavor, prepare blueberry pancakes with rolled oats, low-fat cottage cheese and eggs. Smoothies are filled with vitamins and protein when you use ingredients such as frozen berries and peaches, apple or orange juice and nonfat yogurt. You can also make a low-cal breakfast sandwich for egg lovers. Simply grill an egg and a piece of Canadian bacon and put them in a toasted whole-wheat English muffin.
Lunch
Tacos and pizza are popular lunch fare with all generations, but they're usually not considered diet foods. You can still enjoy the crunch and flavor of tacos by using a little lean meat and reduced-fat cheese and plenty of shredded lettuce, diced tomato and salsa. If your family prefers pizza, prepare it on a tortilla with a little sauce, pepperoni and part-skim mozzarella.
Dinner
Use the idea of a BLT sandwich to create a tasty wrap for dinner. Start with a whole-wheat or spinach tortilla, and fill it with chopped tomatoes, two slices of turkey bacon and spinach leaves. If the kids balk at spinach, have some lettuce on hand for a quick substitution. Sprinkle on a little low-calorie dressing and roll the tortilla into a wrap. If your family members love chicken nuggets, make a healthy variation: Coat pieces of chicken in a mixture of whole-wheat flour and ground almonds, and bake rather than fry them.
Snacks
Don't let snack time be your family's downfall. Keep healthy foods on hand, and offer these snacks that have less than 200 calories a serving. Try a cup of grapes for sweetness with about a dozen almonds for crunch, or fill four celery sticks with peanut butter. For something a little different, make frozen hot chocolate by blending nonfat evaporated milk, a little chocolate syrup, vanilla extract and ice cubes.
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