Rainbow plates: Three EASY ones to whip up

Sometimes the idea of making healthful food for our families is daunting. "There aren't enough hours in the day for me to cook"..."My kids are so picky"..."I don't know if they'll like it, so why waste my time making it?". These are some of the questions/concerns fielded by my friends as they get into a rut preparing certain meals they know their kids will eat...over and over again.

So, I've photographed three recent rainbow plates to give my friends a couple of ideas for easy, quick, relatively healthful meals that include one of their children's go-to foods (mac & cheese, pizza, fruit) along with some other (maybe new) choices to try. It's nice to make a homemade meal, when you have the time. But for busy days, these may be more realistic. Each of these meals requires little to no cooking (unless you count heating up a frozen pizza cooking).

Above: 100% apple sauce, red pepper "swords", wheat-free tamari almonds, and Trader Joe's (frozen, in the red box) mac & cheese mixed with organic frozen peas (= "polka dot pasta").

Odwalla berry smoothie, roasted broccoli (from the veggies I roasted one day to have on hand), chunks of carrot, more almonds, dried cranberries, banana "pennies" and a slice of Amy's organic cheese pizza.

Snappea Crisps, Fuji apple spices, a clementine, tahini dip (that came alongside the falafel) and baked falafel (that I picked up in the refrigerated section of Whole Foods).

For more photo ideas of rainbow plates, simply click here.