Don't play the 6 o'clock scramble

Thanks to Kendra Stover, nutrition educator with the Shawnee County office of K-State Research & Extension, who spoke with our group this morning and shared great information about the new My Plate guidelines and portion sizes for adults and preschoolers.

We've compiled a number of meal planning, recipe, nutrition and family dinner resources. Check out these links to get some great ideas. And please share your favorite resources in the comments!

Meal Planning

• "Eating Well But Cooking Less," a 196-page PDF cookbook containing four weeks of meal plans, grocery lists and recipes. Go to this link, and scroll down to the "Eating Well But Cooking Less" link (under Speakers' Bureau) to download the PDF file. 
• myfamilymealplanner.com, was created by a Manhattan, Kan., mom
• www.mealsmatter.org, allows you to save recipes into "cookbooks" and quickly create your own digital meal plans
• www.savingdinner.com, has a weekly newsletter with great recipes and tips. You can purchase a subscription meal plan service, but author Leanne Ely also has free examples, too. And she's written several cookbooks, that you could check out at the library, including Saving Dinner, Saving Dinner the Low-Carb Way, Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way
• http://orgjunkie.com/category/menu-plan-Monday, this is a weekly roundup of bloggers who post their meal plans for the week, a great way to get ideas for your own meal plan.

Freezer/Once A Month (OAMC) Cooking

• onceamonthmom.com, a treasure trove of recipes and plans that include sections for gluten-/dairy-free, whole foods, vegetarian and baby foods menus.
• Life as Mom, the blog of a mother of six formerly from Kansas City, includes a freezer cooking focus. 
• Money Saving Mom, a popular couponing blogger from Kansas, also posts weekly meal plans and "freezer cooking in an hour" sessions on her blog. Her site includes free planners to guide your freezer cooking and a set of downloads for menu planning.
• "Once a Month Cooking" and "Once a Month Cooking: Family Favorites" are cookbooks by Mary Beth Lagerborg and Mimi Wilson that offer two-week and one-month freezer cooking plans complete with recipes, grocery lists and calendars

Recipes
Food blogs are growing exponentially on the Internet. Here are just a few that have healthy, quick, family-friendly favorites. If you have favorites that you look to for recipes, please share in the comments! 

• blog.superhealthykids.com
• www.raisehealthyeaters.com
• goodcheapeats.com
• sparkrecipes.com

Related articles

• "How to Have a Family Dinner" from the Living on a Dime blog
• "Raisy Non-Picky Eaters" by blogger FIMBY (Fun in My Back Yard)
• "Everyone to the Table: Family Meals Serve Us Well," from K-State Research & Extension
• "Dining on a Dime," bimonthly newsletter from K-State Research & Extension 

We're sure you have lots of great resources in your mom toolbox! Please share in the comments below!