Devise a Weeky Menu

• Find a good time each week to plan a menu. Menus should account for all family meals of the week. As you devise your menu, match it with your weekly schedule and see how much time you have to cook dinner each night. Cook extra food on nights when you are less busy, so that you will still have a healthy meal on busier nights. Effective planning will ensure that you avoid fast and unhealthy solutions in last-minute meal panics. A schedule will allow you and your family to control the meals and not let the food control you.

  As you plan your weekly meal, try to go for a balance of ingredients. Avoid red meat every night and include fish at least once a week. Cut out fried and processed foods from the family diet as both contribute to weight gain. Each meal should contain protein and a multicolored array of vegetables. For dessert, opt for fruit over cake or ice cream.

Use Healthy Ingredients

• Cook your vegetables and meats in healthy oils such as olive oil. Olive oil contains high levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that will help to lower your lipid (cholesterol) counts. Rather than cooking with butter, look for butter substitutes that contain olive oil and fish oil. Avoid margarine or other spreads that rely on partially hydrogenated oils. Partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats) increase your harmful LDL cholesterol count and add to overall weight gain.

  Avoid refined sugar and an overreliance on white bread, white rice, white pasta and other heavily processed flour products. Refined ingredients will clutter your diet with empty calories that do not provide nutrition but do put on the pounds.

Cook with Lean Meats

• A healthy meal plan does not mean you must trade in burgers for tofu and sprouts. Burger night works within the overall plan as long as you use low-fat meats and whole-wheat buns. Reduced-fat ground beef or ground turkey breast are good alternatives to fatty cuts of meat. Search your local grocery store for bison burgers. Bison tastes similar to beef but contains far less fat. If you have access to an organic or gourmet market, look for other cuts of bison. From rib eye steaks to short rib, bison provides all the protein and taste of beef without the high fat and caloric content.

  Incorporate fish into your diet. Fish such as salmon and tilapia contain low levels of harmful fat and provide the body with healthy omega-3 fatty acids that help to increase metabolism and combat heart disease.

  If you're more of a poultry-eating family, choose low-fat parts of the bird such as the breast. Dark meat pieces of chicken or turkey contain higher levels of fat and calories. Always remove the skin from chicken or turkey before you cook it to decrease the overall fat and calorie content.