The road to health begins at the family table. Planning ahead by having healthy weekly menus saves time, money, and the temptation to hit the take out restaurants.
We know how it is. You come home from work, you’re tired and hungry and the last thing you feel like doing is preparing your family a meal! The urge to order take out, go to a restaurant or pop something in the microwave can be irresistible.
Tips For Making Healthy Dinners
Here are some tips to prevent that from happening.
Make Meals in Advance: When you are coming home from work, you’re exhausted and probably don’t feel like cooking. That’s why it’s a good idea to make your meals in advance. Take some time, maybe on the weekend, to make meals that can be stored during the week. It might not be as delicious as serving fresh food, but it may be worth your sanity and well-being!
Think of What You Are Going to Serve: Take some time to plan your meals in advance. Meatball Mondays, Taco Tuesdays, Wasabi Wednesdays… and so on. This way, you can be sure you have all your ingredients on hand for your meals and you don’t have to think too much about the dishes that need to be prepared.
Consider Health and Time: Of course, we want all our meals to be healthy, but we also want meals that can be made quickly and easily. It’s a good idea to scout out recipes in advance. When doing so, try to find ones that have healthy ingredients.
Keep Your Kitchen Organized: Keeping an organized kitchen is key to making dinner as easy and efficient as possible. If you have ingredients scattered all over the place and your cooking utensils aren't organized, you'll be scrambling to find items during cooking and stressing yourself out unnecessarily. Keep all of your utensils and ingredients organized. If you can separate them by recipe, even better.
Try To Give Yourself Enough Time: It can be hard to find enough time to cook when it's a particularly busy night. That's why it's important to plan ahead, as we mentioned above. By planning ahead, you'll be able to make easier recipes on busier nights. That way, you'll have plenty of time for tougher meals on nights when you don't have as much to do.
Other Things to Keep In Mind
Chicken and turkey are great lean meats, while vegetables are a good source of vitamins. Red meats and carbohydrates can be added in limited amounts. Be careful with red meat, as too much of it isn't great. To make it healthier, try finding the leanest red meat that you can in the store. For example, we recommend buying 93/7 ground beef or leaner.
Use the planned weekly meals we put together as they are, or substitute meals with other choices from ourHealthy Dinner Ideassection. It’s filled with even more family friendly healthy dinners you and your family are sure to love.
8 Weeks of Healthy Dinner Menus & Recipes
Use the free 8 weeks of meal plans we put together for a simple no-stress way to eat healthy dinners your family will love.
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six
Week Seven
Week Eight
Healthy Menus
The first full week of healthy dinner recipes; seven days of different meals your family will love!
* Lighter Beef Stroganoff
* Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
* Baked Ziti with Mushrooms
* BBQ Pork Tenderloin Kebabs
* Cheesy Chicken and Vegetable Skillet
* Beefy Deep Dish Pizza
* Diner-Style Turkey Burgers
The second week of healthy dinner recipes, with a variety of wonderfully spiced and flavored dishes.
* Chicken Pasta Pizza
* Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin
* Baked Crab Cakes
* Beef Fajitas
* Roasted Chicken with Roasted Garlic Parsley
* Sausage Lasagna
* Crock Pot Beef-Barley Stew
The third week of healthy dinner recipes, home cooked meals that are easy to make and taste great!
* Ham and Cheddar Pasta Casserole
* Beefy Enchiladas
* Cheese Stuffed Italian Chicken
* Eggplant Parmesan
* Pepper-crusted Flank Steak with Mushroom Sauce
* Creamy Chili Corn Chicken
* Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
The fourth week of healthy dinner recipes, including a comfort food favorite and aromatic sauces for chicken and pork.
* Beef Stir-Fry
*Pesto Chicken with Squash
* Pork Chops with Peach Sauce
* Pasta Primavera with Cheese
* South of the Border Meatloaf
* Chicken Cutlets with Ginger Sauce
* Little Italy Sausage Potato Skillet
The fifth full week of healthy dinner recipes, adds even more meal choices to your family's menu!
* Sweet and Sour Chicken
* Baked Smothered Steak
* Spaghetti Squash Pie
* Pork with Ginger-Pear Sauce
* Cucumber Chicken
* Balsamic Pork Chops
* Beef and Macaroni Skillet Supper
Our healthy dinner recipes for the sixth full week combine a touch of elegance and a hearty portion of home style cooking.
* Linguine with Shrimp and Scallops
* Molasses Glazed Pork Roast
* Chicken Pot Pie
* Veggie-Filled Burgers
* Dijon Roast Beef
* Tomatillo-Pineapple Chicken
* Fettuccine Alfredo
In the seventh week of healthy recipes you'll find a spicy favorite jerk chicken, peachy pork chops, and linguine with white clam sauce.
* Penne with Chicken and Broccoli
* Linguine with White Clam Sauce
* Lentil and Kielbasa Stew
* Pork with Peachy Salsa
* Spicy Sloppy Joes
* Jerk Chicken
* Flank Steak with Spicy Crust
The eighth week of healthy dinner recipes has everything from steak lover's tasty fare to Italian favorites like pasta and meatballs.
*Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
*Fusilli with Meatballs
*Pan Fried Pork Filets
*Fettuccine with Scallops, Asparagus, and Lemon
*Grilled Margarita Flank Steak
*Chipotle Chicken Corn Pizza
*Pork Chops with Apple Cream Sauce
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Joshua Resnick/Shutterstock.com.
