As a parent or grandparent, setting a good example is important. This is especially true around the dinner table, since children tend to pick up eating habits from the family routine. Try the following - your family may not even know they are eating more healthful meals:

1. Incorporate a vegetable into every meal, especially in casseroles. Peas, broccoli, asparagus, red, yellow or green bell peppers, spinach - you name it, vegetables provide nutrients and fiber.
2. Use more beans and legumes, and less meat. Chickpeas, lentils and beans of all varieties are good sources of fiber and protein.
3. Serve up whole grains. Brown rice and bulghur wheat provide a delicious, grainy taste and texture - and have more fiber and protein than their white counterparts. Choose true, relatively intact whole grains like these over grains that have been ground into flour.
4. Switch sweets. Instead of soda, stock the pantry with sparkling waters. Pour fruit juice into a pitcher and dilute it to lessen the sugar content. Stock your kitchen with fresh, whole fruits, and leave the cookies in the store.

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