Is dinnertime at your house chaos? Do you stress over what to have for dinner at the end of every workday or workshift? Here’s a checklist to help you and your family take a more balanced approach to dinnertime challenges:

• Plan and make ahead at least two meals for every five workdays. Freeze and re-heat when needed to save valuable time and minimize effort on hectic days. Although this will take up some valuable time on a non-work day, make it a family activity and ask the kids to help.
• Use Canada’s Food Guide to make sure that each meal has at least three out of four food groups (Grain Products, Vegetables & Fruits, Milk Products, and Meat & Alternatives). This will help provide a more nutritionally balanced meal.
• Have pre-meal snacks that are easily available to deal with after-work or after-school hunger to help raise blood sugar levels just enough to avoid overeating at meal times (e.g. pre-washed carrots, broccoli, cauliflower; a variety of fresh fruit and low-fat dip; single serving low-fat yogurts; lower-fat microwave popcorn, etc.).
• Rotate cooking and meal preparation responsibilities. Plan and post a weekly schedule for family members so tasks can be shared. Consider who will get home first, which tasks can be successfully completed by children (depending on their ages) and other activities planned for the evening such as an evening class or a hockey practice.
• Make cell phone technology work for you. Have family members “check in” by phoning to let the family know if they are going to be delayed. This allows greater flexibility to be built into the meal (e.g. hold back cooking all of the vegetables, prepare a plate that can be heated up in the microwave later, or decide whether or not to postpone the meal). Remember, if a cell phone is not available, traditional “land” phones work just as well!