It’s no secret that eating healthy has been a struggle for me, personally.

As a child I was a picky eater and as a young adult I maintained a picky attitude when it came to food. If it looked different, smelled different or was at all unfamiliar I turned my nose up. What can I say? I’m not the adventurous type.

After I became a mother though, I realized nutrition was vital to the health of my body as well as my children’s and for the first time in my life, healthy eating became a topic that hovered in the forefront of my mind on a regular basis.

What is healthy nutrition? There are so many opinions and studies out there saying what is healthy and what is not, that we could go for days and days trying to find out the ideal diet. One central theme among experts though is whole foods—food that comes from the source and not packaged, dehydrated, processed and refined. The closer to the source, the better in most cases.

But how do we incorporate this type of eating in a busy family with busy schedules and a variety of preferences and tastes? Not to mention, how the heck do we find time to actually cook and prepare healthy food in a day when life is constantly in motion?

7. Allow for craziness.

Life is going to be crazy from time to time. Give yourself a break when this happens. Who said a spaghetti dinner isn’t healthy? Tomato sauce is full of healthy nutrients and lycopene—a natural antioxidant and spaghetti, whether gluten-free or full of gluten is a great source of grains. Many varieties of noodles are available, including whole wheat and spinach. This is a quick meal that is filling and usually a favorite in most households. Also, a fun naturally gluten-free spaghetti dinner is to use a spaghetti squash for the “noodles!”

8. Soup, soup soup.

I am not a soup lover. (I told you I was difficult) However, soup packs a powerful punch of vitamins in the way of onions, carrots, and plenty of other veggies. Whether you are vegetarian, vegan or omni a large array of soup recipes are available online. Soup can be frozen and re-warmed later on days when time is most valuable too. I prefer to cook my soup from scratch, but I do take advantage of veggie bouillon to make things easier. If a day comes up where we don’t have a lot scheduled (like a snow day) this is a perfect opportunity to cook up your own stock for soup making in the future. I have also run across recipes for homemade bouillon.

9. Desserts are best made from home.

There are a lot of completely valid arguments that say sugar should be eliminated as much as possible from our diets. However, unless we are homeschooling our kids on a farm somewhere, keeping sugar completely out of their lives is almost impossible. One way I have found I can give my children healthy desserts is to make them myself. Yes, this takes a bit of work on my part, but I have found some fairly easy to make cookies, delicious pancakes, and other sweets that when made from home can be satisfying to a sweet tooth yet have a lot less sugar in them than their store-bought counterparts. Also, if I make them, I know what is in them, and many times the kids join me in he kitchen to help, making it family fun time, which is even better.

10. Make a little extra and freeze some for another day.

I have to admit this one is tough for me to follow through on. I have two teenagers in my house and anyone that has teenagers will know that they become eating machines. While many times my intention is to make more so some can be frozen, quite often not even a scrap of food is leftover after dinner. However, I have done this is the past, and occasionally get the opportunity to now as well and it can be a lifesaver to have an extra meal already cooked up and ready to be re-heated.

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Here are two recipes you’ll want to hang onto for dear life:

Child Friendly Five-Minute Dinner Wraps

Ingredients:

Canned chickpeas: drained, rinsed and mashed (or fresh if you have them on hand).

2 tablespoons mayonnaise or vegan alternative (Vegenaise is what I’ve used in the past and tastes great.)

1 tablespoon of relish

pepper, garlic (fresh if you have it)

fresh veggie toppings: 1/4 diced red onion and 1/2 sliced green bell peppers (or any other toppings you prefer)

chopped lettuce

Directions:

Combine mashed chick peas with the next three ingredients, mix well, taste and adjust as you like. Spread a tablespoon or two on fresh naan. Add chopped onions, peppers and lettuce. Fold in half and chow down! Alternative for little ones: serve the mixture in a bowl and use carrots or fresh pita chips to dip.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

via Happy Herbivore

Note: You cannot taste the zucchini in these at all so this is perfect for kids that are picky about eating their veggies.

• 1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 whole banana, mashed
• ½ cup raw sugar
• ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ cup plant-based milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• ½ cup raw sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan and set aside. If using paper liners, lightly spray inside of liners with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. In another bowl, cream mashed banana with applesauce and sugar (use extra 1/2 cup for a very sweet, dessert-like muffin). Add in soy milk, vanilla, zucchini and any other optional add-ins you might like such as vegan chocolate chips or chopped raw walnuts. Stir until evenly combined. Add flour mix to wet mix in 3-4 batches and stir until just combined. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan and bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Chef’s Note: These muffins store well both in the fridge and freezer & the raw sugar in this recipe may be reduced to 1/2 cup.

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