Family meals are important not only for family togetherness but also to establish healthy eating habits for your children. Luckily there are new cooking methods and staples for meals that are easy to make which can bring your family back to the table.

Here's some ideas on how you can plan healthy meals on a tight schedule.

Pasta is always a staple with almost any family and who doesn't love lasagna? Unfortunately, it takes too long to prepare, right? Not any more! New no boil lasagna noodles can cut the prep time fort this tasty dish and not only that, but there's one less pan to wash!

Of course, traditional lasagna might not be that good for you but there are plenty of variations you can use to make it healthier. Try using ground turkey, or soy crumbles instead of hamburger. Better yet, you can make it without any meat at all and it still tastes delicious. Add peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, shredded zucchini or carrots for some added vitamins and minerals. You can even use whole wheat noodles if you really want to turn this traditional meal into a healthy dinner.

Encouraging your kids to eat lots of vegetables at dinner time will give them a good start for a lifetime of healthy eating. These days preparing vegetables doesn't have to be as much work as it once was. The grocery store is full of precut and washed raw vegetables that yo can have ready in seconds. You can even buy a salad in a bag - just open it up and pour it in a bowl - add some cherry tomatoes and you've got an instandt salad.

Preparing cooked vegetables for side dishes is a lot easier today with all our modern conveniences. The microwave is a great time saver and allows you to have nutritious steamed vegetables without all the mess. Simply put your veggies in a bowl, add some water and cover with a paper towel. You can even buy vegetable steamers that are specially made for the microwave and include a strainer in the lid.

There are many shortcuts you can use to prepare healthy tasty meals in a fraction of the time. By taking the stress out of meal prep and cleanup, you can now look forward to spending family time at the dinner table instead of seeing it as a huge chore.