Do you dread making dinner every night? Maybe you consider meal prepping the bane of your existence. If you must use the kitchen, it’s to make quick, easy recipes that require little effort and a big reward. You have a family to feed, after all, and very little time to do it. No one would blame you if you served chicken nuggets or pizza every other night.

Even so, preparing healthy meals for your family doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it’s probably much easier than you think. Get cooking and have dinner on the table in a jiff with these creative solutions.

Make Sheet Pan Meals

Do you need dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less? Make a sheet pan meal! All you have to do is toss a few simple ingredients on a baking sheet with some oil and seasoning and pop it in the oven. The best part is, sheet pan meals are super customizable so you can make them as healthy as you want.

Combine fresh bell peppers, red onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic to make sheet pan veggie fajitas. Chicken, potatoes and green beans also bake well together. As long as all the ingredients require the same temperature and cook time, you can add them to a single baking sheet, so get creative and think outside the box.

Utilize Your Skillet

A cast-iron skillet can also yield healthy meals because, as long as you season it well, its surface is naturally non-stick. Subsequently, you don’t have to use as much oil — if any — to put a nice sear on meats and veggies. Cast-iron pans also infuse your meals with a little extra iron, an essential nutrient that practically anyone could use more of.

Make crispy quesadillas with guacamole, blackened tilapia with garlic-lime butter or chicken cacciatore with just a single skillet. Sprinkle some cheese on top and transfer the dish to your oven to add a thin, crispy layer to whatever you make.

Try an Air Fryer

If you’ve yet to use an air fryer, you’re seriously missing out. This appliance is becoming a must-have in modern kitchens all over the world, and it’s easy to see why. Because air fryers use hot air to fry food, they tend to be healthier than deep-frying methods. Essentially, the device inhibits food from soaking up too much oil and lowers its overall fat content by up to 75%, according to some manufacturers.

Of course, you can use an air fryer to make fries and other traditionally crispy foods. However, if you’re looking for healthier alternatives, try tossing some chickpeas, broccoli florets or green beans in there. You’d be surprised how much more flavorful and crispy they turn out.

Rethink Bread

Are carb-laden meals making you sluggish? Perhaps you want to give the keto diet a go. Whatever your motivation is, swapping bread for lighter alternatives is a great way to maintain and even improve your health.

Big leafed greens like collard greens, romaine and iceberg lettuce make deliciously crunchy substitutes for bread and wraps. Sweet potatoes, bell peppers and even zucchini can act as toast, chips or buns. You can even turn corn, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and butternut squash into healthy bread, pizza crust and tortillas. All you need is the right recipe and a little imagination.

Practice Mindful

Cooking Most parents have a good idea of which ingredients are healthy and which ones aren’t. However, if you throw food on the table in anger or haste, your kids might feel stressed and eat too much or too little. That’s why you must come to the kitchen with a sense of love and commitment to your family.

Infuse each meal with love and gratitude by practicing mindful cooking. Tap into the sensations of chopping, mixing and pouring. Actively appreciate the nourishing food you’re preparing with your own two hands. Life is good and dinner’s about to be, too, so try to relax and enjoy the process. Odds are you’ll come to the table in a lighter mood that allows space for everyone to adequately nourish themselves.

Plate Playfully

Healthy food is anything but boring. Just walk down a fresh produce aisle and you’ll see what I mean. Every display is bursting with color. Fruits and veggies of every shape and size line the shelves and cases of leafy greens can make you feel like you’re in a garden.

Bring the same liveliness to your kitchen table by plating up every color of the rainbow. Get creative with sauces, seasonings and zests to add both color and flavor to your dishes. Let the kids get in on the fun and plate playfully, too. Make animals of faces out of your food, then dig in!

Getting Creative in the Kitchen

Eating the same meals week after week can get boring, even if those meals are healthy. Infuse your kitchen with creativity by gathering recipes on Pinterest or purchasing a new cookbook. Make sure you earmark simple ideas that are both fun and healthy. That way you won’t fall back on unhealthy comfort foods when it finally comes time to make dinner.