- Sandwiches don't have to be boring stacks of meat, cheese and lettuce with mayo or mustard. For a sandwich with pizazz, use high-quality multigrain bread and flavorful additions such as roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts or herbed cream cheese.
- Make a salad into a full no-cook meal by including protein, healthy fat and complex carbohydrates. Add one or more of the following to your salad greens: chopped boiled eggs, diced ham, garbanzo beans, tuna salad, cottage cheese or rye bread croutons.
- On the counter, lay out a variety of cold foods, like sliced cheese, crackers, fruit, veggie sticks and dip, boiled eggs, dinner rolls and lunch meat. Let your family load up their plates with their choices from the smorgasbord.
- You can zap leftovers quickly in the microwave or eat them cold right out of the refrigerator. Leftover pizza is commonly eaten cold, but many other types of food are fine that way, including macaroni and cheese, noodle casseroles and chicken dishes.
- Check your grocery store's deli to pick up all the components of a meal, including a meat main dish, a side like potato salad or cole slaw, dinner rolls and dessert. Selections are often less expensive and more nutritious than getting fast food to go.
