QC nutrition expert Jeni Tackett suggests enlisting the help of the kids in the kitchen. Here, daughter Lily helps make dinner for the family.

By Nutritionist Blogger Jeni Tackett, RD, LD

School has started for many Quad-City children, and life will soon be busier for families with sports practice, marching band, church events and more. 

You may have all the intentions of eating healthy this school year, but then you come home after a long day of work to find your refrigerator and pantry void of food, with hungry kids waiting for dinner. 

What do you do? Pack the kids up and head to the nearest fast food restaurant? Order pizza? 

Resist the urge for convenience and go to the grocery store for healthy foods! Your choices make a difference: Adult and childhood obesity is a continuing problem in the United States with 17% of children ages 12-17 obese (that’s 12.7 million children).

Healthy eating requires planning. 

Try to avoid the above scenario by planning ahead for busy evenings during the week. Here are some great ideas:

• Weekend chef:  Although weekends can be busy also, we often have more time then to prepare meals for the week. Get your kids to help!

Try setting Sunday evenings aside for this purpose. By preparing meals such as pasta dishes, soups, and vegetable enchiladas, you can put something healthy in the fridge to heat up during the week when you are strapped for time.

And older kids love to help in the kitchen. Involve them in cooking! They are more likely to eat something they have helped to make, and who says you have to do it all?  

Hy-Vee offers dish freezer meal classes at a variety of locations in the Quad Cities. Hy-Vee also has weekly healthy menus prepared for you:  https://www.hy-vee.com/meal-solutions/weekly-menus/weekly-menu.aspx

• Crockpot meals:  Look at your schedule for nights when you have school events or games and start a crock pot meal in the morning before work.  There are many healthy crock pot meal recipes available. Then when you come home from a day at work, your house will smell like someone has been cooking all day for you!

• Prepared meals:  To make healthy eating easier for families, you may want to order meals to prepare at home from fresh ingredients with recipes included.  Hello Fresh is an example of a company that does the ground work for your healthy meals.

Parents can make an impact on their child’s health and reduce the risk of their children becoming overweight or obese by planning ahead for roadblocks to healthy eating. 

You are in the driver’s seat for your children’s eating habits.  Take the time now to plan ahead for busy evenings!

Meet Jeni Tackett, Let’s Move Quad Cities Nutrition Blogger. Jeni is a registered and licensed dietitian for Unity Point-Trinity. Jeni counsels her clients on weight loss and nutrition. You can read Jeni’s bio and other blog posts by clicking here.