A young child all the way up to a teen will need about six servings of grains a day, two of those servings are fulfilled by the burger bun. They’ll need five to six ounces of protein, all of which is covered in one of those large burger patties. What is missing in the fast food meal is the vegetable and food group. The lettuce and tomato that comes with the burger is not enough! Top it off with deep fried French fries and a large soda, and you have a lot of unneeded non-nutritious calories that will go unused.

If you want to take your children to a burger place, check on the calorie count of each of the items. Encourage them to drink water instead of soda, and always get the smallest serving of fries. If you can, visit healthier places, places that make the food only when you ask for it. In-N-Out Burger is a really good example of a healthier option for these kinds of restaurants.

If you’re at a pizza parlor, choose thin crusts pizza. These are usually healthier and they have less refined grains. Try also going for vegetarian pizzas. Kids usually just like the cheese, so veggie pizzas would be a better choice than the meat and pepperoni counterparts. Also keep the calorie count in mind, and you’re home free! Just remember that fast food cannot be eaten everyday or as often as twice a week. Your kids need whole healthy nutritious foods to develop well.

Serve your kids healthier meals if you’ve had fast food that day. Say you know you’ll be eating out for lunch, plan your breakfasts and dinner to make sure the other food groups like fruit, vegetables, and dairy are represented too. At the end of the day healthy eating is about having a balanced diet, if you can fit fast food into a balanced diet from time to time, your kids should be fine!

1. Obtain a slow cooker. These wonderful devices can cook your meat or chicken while you’re at work, then all you have to do is steam accompanying vegetables when you get home.

2. Keep that barbeque on the verandah operational over winter. This is a fast way to cook chicken or fish, then serve with some salad or steamed vegetables. If you do not have a barbeque, then a stove top char grill will do.

3. If you own a wok, meals can be created in just a few minutes using meat, vegetables and a spicy sauce.

4. When you create a labour intensive dish for dinner like tuna mornay or lasagne, make double. Serve half, and freeze the other half to reheat on a busy night.

5. Preparing a simple home made soup from scratch only takes 30 minutes. You could serve it with wholemeal bread on a cold winter’s night.

Taking a few minutes to prepare home cooked meals will give you and your family a better standard of nutrition. It will be easier on your wallet too!