It’s time to start planning your Thanksgiving meal and Meals Matter can help. Planning ahead is one of the easiest ways to avoid becoming overloaded during the hectic holiday season.

To help families take some of the stress out of preparing a Thanksgiving feast, we've selected some of our favorite make-ahead holiday dishes. Several of them can be made ahead of time so you’ll have plenty of extra time to spend with your family, instead of preparing food, this Thanksgiving.

For a festive family feast that’s relatively stress-free, plan on Maple Roasted Turkey with Stuffed Squash with Bulgur and Feta and Maple-Pumpkin Custards with Crystallized Ginger. Both the squash and the custard can be made in advance, leaving you with plenty of time for the turkey.

Here are some delicious holiday appetizer and side dish recipes that can also be made in advance: Spinach Balls, Caramelized Apples with Toasted Walnut Brie, Triple Cranberry Sauce and Thanksgiving Giblet Gravy.

Turkey needs to be carefully stored, thawed and cooked to prevent foodborne illness.

Turkeys are large, often purchased frozen and typically filled with stuffing, which makes it more difficult to thoroughly cook the bird to a safe internal temperature of 165 degrees.

We’ve put together Tips for Cooking a Turkey to help you purchase, thaw and prepare your turkey safely.

If you’re already running out of ideas for your kid’s back-to-school lunches, you’re not alone. Coming up with lunch ideas that your kids will actually eat can be a challenge for many parents. Our simple steps for packing a healthy, balanced lunch can help.  

Don’t let packed lunches get repetitive. Try different types of bread, dips, small treats -- and even a short notes to remind them you love them.

Our printable Tips for a Healthy Lunchbox offers ideas for healthy foods to include in kids’ lunches.

Healthy Lunch Tips

Provide foods from at least three food groups, which gives children the nutrients and energy they need to stay energized and do well in school.

For example, a peanut butter (meat, beans and nuts) and jelly sandwich (grains), an apple (fruit) and milk (milk and dairy), is a simple and balanced meal from four food groups that contains protein, fat and carbohydrate – the nutrients children need to grow and learn.

And, remember, children who help select and prepare their meals are more likely to eat them. The key is to give children healthy options to choose from.

For example, ask your kids if they want yogurt or string cheese, an apple or a banana, a peanut butter and jelly or ham-and-cheese sandwich. Whichever choice they make, you know they’re going to eat something nutritious.

Getting your child’s input, acknowledging his or her taste preferences and giving them some control over what they eat means less uneaten food and ultimately a better nourished child who is ready to learn at school.

Find more healthy lunch ideas.

We can all make New Year’s resolutions, but the trick is keeping those resolutions throughout the year. This is not easy to do, which many of us already know if we have managed to keep them over the last few weeks. These goals that we set for ourselves can be powerful, even life changing, but only if we stay committed.

Sticking to any goal is easier when you make small changes every day that add up over time. Are you still going for walks after dinner three times a week like you were at the beginning of January? Is your meal planning more than planning what route to drive home so you can stop and pick up take out food for dinner? Or, are you making meals at home with lots of fruits, vegetables, dairy and whole grains, and other healthy, functional foods? Small changes in what you eat will likely become habits as you begin to stick with them from week to week -- and they can make a big difference in your overall health and well being in the long run.

Another reason many of us don’t reach our goal is because we are trying to do things that we simply don’t enjoy. There is no reason that eating healthy and staying fit should be a chore. If it starts to feel like one, this is a sign that it’s time to make a few adjustments. Instead of continuing to drag yourself to the gym, try something different such as swimming or Pilates. Pick up an exercise video that you can do before work. If you struggle to decide what to eat for dinner, browse our Meal Recipes and Suggestions for ideas or even try a cooking class. All of these will help to keep things interesting and provide you with the opportunity to meet new people (your social support).

Be flexible throughout the year with yourself and your goals. If there is an overarching goal don’t forget to celebrate the small accomplishments as well. These are just as important. After all, small steps are necessary to reach the larger goal.

How often do you come home from a hectic day at work and struggle to determine what to do for dinner? More than likely you are all too familiar with this feeling.

One of the best ways to avoid racking your brain every evening to come up with an answer is through meal planning. By planning a few meals for the upcoming week, you will alleviate this unnecessary stress and have more time to spend with your family.

Family meals are especially important when you have children. Research has also shown that children and teens that eat regular meals with their families are nearly 5 times less likely to use drugs or smoke than those who do not eat family meals on a regular basis. Dinner is often the best time to have meals together as this is when everyone is winding down from a busy day. This can also be a time to learn about your children, how their day has been, and simply reconnect with one another

Meal planning can be very beneficial for your health. It allows you to have more control over portion sizes and helps to avoid spur-of-the-moment purchasing of fast food as a last resort. Ensuring that you and your family are eating nutrient-rich foods is a lot easier when planning in advance and making meals at home. When you can eliminate last minute trips to the store, you’ll have more time to prepare meals and side dishes full of functional foods, which are excellent for you and your family’s health.

Meal planning can also help you save money. When you have a plan of what you will need to purchase for the week ahead, you will be able to reduce the number of random purchases you make while you’re shopping and you’ll save gas by making one trip to the store instead of multiple trips each week.

Part of meal planning is having an idea of what ingredients you will need in the coming week, and creating a shopping list containing those ingredients. When you arrive at the store you’ll know exactly what you need, so that you can avoid the uncertainty of what to purchase, which can often lead to impulse spending.

Making the commitment to a meal planning routine is just the first step. The next question is where to find the meals that you will make. We offer hundreds of recipes and meal ideas for you to browse, so that you can find the perfect recipes for you and your family. Once you have found the recipes that you want to try, be sure to make use of our shopping list and meal planner to get you started on the right track.