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Family time is a precious commodity these days it seems, especially since everyone has something to do or places to go. Still as a mom who cares for the wellbeing of her family, you want to provide at least one healthy and solid meal during the day for your family.

The evening meal is probably the best time to provide a quick and healthy meal for busy families. All it takes is just enough time to gather ingredients together for either a salad, casserole or crockpot meal. If deciding on a casserole or crockpot meal, these can be set to go earlier in the day so either will be ready to eat at supper time.

Any of these three meal choices can provide a balanced meal for your family. The time spent cleaning up is lessened, giving you what hours are left in the day to spend with your family. Now all you need to do is decide which casseroles, salads or crockpot meals will be good for your family. You can always scour for healthy meal plans within the pages of cookbooks or you might consider a few of these suggestions.

Salads are super quick and with only a few healthy ingredients a well balanced meal is prepared. Try creating a Broccoli Salad. Combine in a bowl, fresh broccoli tops, walnuts, sliced grapes, dice red onions and a lite poppyseed dressing. You can eat this right away or allow it to sit overnight melding the flavors together. If you don't like walnuts, sunflower seeds can be a great substitute.

A delicious and nutritious casserole meal is a "Vegetable Lasagna". Slice zucchini and yellow squash long ways into about a 1/4 of an inch thick. Layer the bottom of a 9 X 11 dish (lightly sprayed with oil) with zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, bell peppers and sliced tomatoes. Be sure you season the vegetables with your favorite seasonings. Then add a layer of low fat ricotta cheese and cottage cheese. Repeat the layering until the pan is 1/2 inch from the top. When all the layering is done, top it off with a salsa. Let cook for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the vegetables are all tender and the cheese is melted.

Crockpot meals are dishes which can simmer all day long and be ready to eat at the end of the day. One great crockpot meal is "Turkey Meatballs with Spinach and Rice". Combine in a bowl, one pound of ground turkey, one drained box of spinach, one cup of dry rice, diced onions and bell peppers. This can be doubled if feeding more than four. Form your mixture into meatballs and place into the crockpot. Add two cups of chicken broth or vegetable broth into the crockpot as well. Set on low and let simmer for the day. A delicious and healthy meal ready to go at the end of the day.

Eating a healthy and nutritious meal should never be sacrificed due to no time. Nutritious meals, even on the run, will give your family the right fuel to keep them healthy. Busy lifestyles might mean you forgo a few meals, but with these quick and easy meal ideas at least one meal of the day can be healthy with little time spent in preparing it.

Learn more about this author, Melissa R. Bickel.
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