As the Keeper of our Castles, one of our responsibilities is to provide healthy meals for our families.  Soccer, football practice, dance, piano, science club, and all the other extracurricular activities can make us feel scattered and it may seem too much of a challenge to prepare something healthy.

Here is a list of ideas to include more fruits and vegetables into our diets.  I hope this helps inspire you.
1)  Try cooked pumpkin or winter squash for dinner.
2)  Make a quiche and include chopped bell peppers, onions, and spinach.
3)  Try applesauce on pancakes instead of syrup.
4)  Add lettuce and tomato to …read more

Betty Crocker always has some great recipes to share.  This time, they have 10 meals that you can prepare in 10 minutes.  It would be good to bookmark these recipes for evenings when you know you won’t have much time to prepare a meal.  This will help to avoid the fast food drive-thru. 

Ham and Cheese Tortilla Roll-Ups
Black Bean Bagel Sandwiches 
Greek Style Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Italian Vegetable Focaccia Sandwich
Dilled Shrimp and Egg Salad Sandwiches
Seafood Salad Sandwiches
Adobe Chicken Wraps
Roasted Turkey Sandwiches
Beef Fajita Pitas
Chicken Club Sandwiches
A few of these recipes sound pretty good and I may alter them to our liking.  Enjoy!
image: betty crocker

For me, one of the toughest parts of cooking is deciding on a menu.  My problem is that I’m not nearly as organized as I should be.  Preparing a menu in advance would certainly take a lot of stress from the issue.

The Charlotte Observer has an online menu planner. Plan your meals one week at a time or pick and choose your favorites. The Charlotte Observer food site has something for everyone. Choose from budget friendly meals, kid friendly meals, meatless meals, meals for entertaining, leftover ideas, entertaining ideas, recipes, and so much more. Here’s an example of one of …read more