by Pamela Kay

Created on: May 25, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

Meeting the many demands of family life often leaves little time for shopping wisely and preparing healthy meals, which in turn leads to the traps of prepackaged or fast food. However, there is another choice; bring them to the table at breakfast and dinner with these healthy and affordable family eating tips that will save you time as well as money.

#1-Make Your Cooking Time Count

*It takes about the same time to bake two casseroles or two meatloaves as it does to bake one, so do an extra one, freeze it and serve it the next week.

*Bake cakes in tube or bunt pans to allow room in the oven for two. Frost or glaze one and freeze one to be served later in the week with sliced fruit.

*Boil or bake twice the potatoes you need and use the extras for potato salad or twice baked potatoes the next night.

*Make a double batch of chili, spaghetti sauce, soup, cookies, biscuits, and even zucchini bread and freeze one. All of these freeze well so you have just-cooked flavor right from the freezer in a snap.

*If Monday is baked potato night, fry up some extra bacon on Sunday morning and save it for a potato topping, have a salad for lunch Sunday and steam extra broccoli or grate extra cheese for the potatoes on Monday.

*Bake two chickens instead of one and save one for chicken fajitas, a salad or casserole later in the week.

#2-Cook Casseroles And One-Dish Meals

*Breakfast is the perfect time for a casserole, which you prep the night before. Use low fat cheese, whole wheat bread cubes and turkey sausage for a really healthy casserole.

*Add grilled or baked chicken to a broccoli, cheese and rice casserole for a complete meal.

*Make goulash with whole-wheat macaroni, lean ground turkey and tomatoes. Add some onions and garlic to make it even healthier.

*Bake chicken or a roast with Brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, garlic, bell peppers, onions and a little butter.

*Other one-pan favorites are chili, cheeseburger goulash, chicken and dumplings, corn beef and cabbage, quiche, tuna casserole, shepherds pie and spicy stir-fry.

#3-Plan Ahead And Shop Smart

*Compile a collection of inexpensive, healthy recipes that your family likes best and use these and the sale papers to make out a menu.

*Make a shopping list from the menu and take your children shopping with you so they learn how to shop.

*Eating a good meal before you go to the grocery store helps curb those impulsive purchases.

*Stock up on sale items, buy the generic or store brands and use coupons

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