So at least one night a week for the past while we've been doing something that we've never done before. Some nights I just don't feel like cooking, so we will have an easy mini-meal, and then we'll graze throughout the evening. For example, we had a really easy (but small) couscous dish the other night with green beans (15 min prep tops). Then about an hour later we had yogurt, followed by hummus and pretzel sticks a little later. It took the stress off of dinner, and we ended up getting a pretty balanced meal when all was said and done. Does anybody else do this every once in a while?

I often do this on Friday nights--the kids love it..we'll often do a 'snack' when we get home (i try for something with protein)--often in our house it's a can of baked beans (yup, out of the can with a spoon!), or oatmeal or cheese..then fruit or veggies with some kind of dip (peanut butter or yogurt based)..I call it a 'play it by ear' night.