Connect, Communicate & Celebrate with Family Meals!

Eat at home- Meals prepared at home are often more nutritious and less expensive than restaurant meals. Meal planning keeps you in control of what you eat by helping you plan healthy portion sizes and balanced meals throughout the week. Prepare a healthy meal with Barilla Plus jumbo pasta shells and Barilla Garden Vegetable pasta sauce to make stuffed shells and serve it family style. Family dining helps your children learn table manners, how to converse, social graces and share their daily life experiences. Involve your children in meal preparation to help them build their cooking skills and strengthen your bond with them.

Get the most nutrition for your money- Getting nutritious meals on the table can be one more challenge in your day. Let the NuVal Nutrition Scoring System at Meijer help you “bag better nutrition” when you grocery shop. The NuVal System is a great tool that, quickly and easily, guides you to the most nutritious foods. Foods are scored from 1 to 100, the higher the score, the higher the nutritional value. Look for the NuVal scores on the shelf tags under products. Just look to trade up for health with higher scoring foods. It’s that simple! For more information on NuVal, visit www.meijerhealthyliving.com or www.nuval.com.

Save time- Keep your meals simple during the week. Dole Salad and Del Monte diced tomatoes are convenient items to add to meals and saves you time. Cook on weekends and double a favorite recipe, enjoying one meal now and freezing the other to enjoy some evening when you’re too tired to cook. Soups and casseroles are especially good to freeze.

Family Meals

Bring your family back to the table by using pre-planned, quick, budget-friendly, nutritious menus by visiting www.meijermealbox.com/weekly-nutritious-menu for a full week of menus plus a shopping list and recipes. Below are four menu ideas.

Family Dinner Menu # 1 – Cajun

Zatarain’s Reduced-Sodium Jambalaya Rice Mix with Eckrich Smok-y Beef Links & Diced Green Bell Peppers

Meijer Light Yogurt

Fresh Grapes

Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 483, Total Fat 18g, Cholesterol 40mg, Sodium 870mg, Carbohydrate 63g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Protein 40g

Family Dinner Menu #2 –Italian Fare

Barilla Plus Penne Pasta with Barilla Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce

Del Monte 50% Less Salt Cut Green Beans

Sliced Italian Bread dipped in Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Meijer Grated Parmesan Cheese

Sugar Free Orange Jell-O

Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 513, Total Fat 13g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 4mg, Sodium 485mg, Carbohydrate 75g, Dietary Fiber 8g, Protein 25g

Family Dinner Menu # 3 – American

Broiled Chicken Thighs with KC Masterpiece Honey BBQ Sauce

Dole Salad

Hidden Valley Ranch Light Original Dressing

Kraft Velveeta Whole Grain Shells

Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake topped with Del Monte Peach Slices

Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 507, Fat 20g, Cholesterol 105mg, Sodium 351mg, Carbohydrate 72g, Dietary Fiber 7g, Protein 21g

Family Dinner Menu #4 – Asian Delight

Pork Stir-Fry (See recipe)

Del Monte Citrus Salad

Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers

Lipton Iced Green Tea with Honey & Lemon

Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 560, Fat 10g, Cholesterol 48mg, Sodium 1004mg, Carbohydrate 95g, Dietary Fiber 6g, Protein 21g

Pork Stir-Fry Serves 6
2 t. Meijer canola oil 1 lb. pork tenderloin cut into ¼ inch strips 1 T. sesame oil 1 can La Choy stir-fry vegetables 1 pkg. RICE A RONI Fried Rice, cooked according to package directions

1. Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pork; stir-fry until cooked. Transfer to a plate.
2. Heat sesame oil in sauté pan and add stir-fry vegetables and cook until heated through. Add pork and fried rice. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Serve warm.

Nutrition Information (per serving): Calories 310, Fat 8g, Saturated fat 2g, Cholesterol 48mg, Sodium 894mg, Carbohydrate 38g, Fiber 2g, Protein 20g