Life for every family is hectic and busy. These days almost every parent has to work, which means less time to spend with the family and less time to prepare healthy well balanced meals. Many families find it far easier to reach for the telephone and order a pizza than to cook something nutritious. However, with planning, you can make home cooked delicious meals in less time than it takes to wait for the pizza deliveryman.

Listed below are a few of the things that you can do to lessen your time spent in the kitchen.

Start serving raw vegetables at dinnertime. When you are shopping, buy a variety of fresh vegetables including things like carrots, broccoli and celery. When you get home, take the time to cut them into small pieces. Vegetables like celery will last much longer if you cut them and then place them into water. Fresh vegetables make an excellent side dish. Raw vegetables served with dip are not only delicious, they are nutritious as well.

Cut up vegetables can also be used for lunches and snacks. It only takes a few moments to grab a few pieces and place them into a sandwich bag or onto a plate. If you really want to save time and effort, it is also possible to buy precut vegetables. You can get these in mixed vegetable bags or singles. They are a bit more expensive, but still cost less than a pizza.

Make certain that you have a good supply of yogurt on hand. When buying yogurt, consider getting Greek yogurt. This type of yogurt is much higher in protein and calcium. It is also low in calories.

Plain yogurt mixed with different spices or seasonings makes a tasty, low calorie dip that can be mixed in a matter of seconds.

Yogurt can also be used to make all kinds of simple quick desserts. You can easily cut up fruit pieces and serve them over either plain or honey yogurt topped with rolled oats or nuts.

A real time saver is to cook unseasoned hamburger meat in large quantities. Cooked hamburger will last longer in the fridge and can be used in all kinds of dishes from spaghetti sauces to tacos. Pre-cooked meat can be tossed into a pan, heated and seasoned in minutes. This procedure is also ideal for other kinds of meats including beef cubes or chicken. If you prefer, you can portion the meat into meal size containers and freeze them.

Pasta can also be prepared in advance. A well-known trick of restaurants is to cook enormous batches of pasta, and leave it in a water-filled container in the fridge. You can use this trick at home too.

Once you have a store of noodles in the fridge, you can make quick pasta salads by adding some of your chopped vegetables and a bit of dressing. Alternatively, you can produce all kinds of various hot pasta dishes in a matter of minutes in the microwave.

Precooking various items saves a lot of time and money in the long run. Furthermore, you can do the cooking when you are not rushed. You can prepare your pasta or meats in the evening when you are watching TV or relaxing.

Preparing foods in advance gives you the opportunity to provide healthy meals for your family, even when you don't have a lot of time.

For more information and tips about food and healthy eating, visit us at HealthyEdible.com