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First Posted: 10/7/2012 Want to fit the recommended amount of vegetables into your family's meals? Find it hard to make healthy decisions on the fly? Is "What's for dinner" an alarming question?
Many experts encourage health-conscious folks to plan their dinners prior to the day to help reduce the stress of a hurried decision. There are other reasons for planning what you and/or your family are going to eat ahead of time.
If you plan your meals, you are less likely to eat out or to order a take-out meal. These have proven to be more expensive and usually do not include a variety of vegetables.
Each week, health experts suggest that we include dark green, orange-red, dried beans and peas and limit starchy vegetables in our meals. 
Eating out gives us plenty of potatoes but less orange-red and even less dark green vegetable. A 50-plus female adult should include throughout the week 1 and ½ cups dark green vegetables, 4 cups of orange-red, 1 cup of dried beans and peas and only 4 cups of starch. That leaves 3 ½ cups of "other." This might be a bit tricky if you don't have a plan.
Feel like you do not have time to make a menu? Take 15 minutes to hold a discussion around meals. Or, delegate this job to someone else, young or old. For instance, pass a piece of paper around to the family members. 
To begin, try by planning one to two meals in advance. Family members can write down the main dish, vegetable and fruit on the paper. 
This prevents them from verbally telling you and you trying to write everything down, especially when you are in the middle of something else. If family members are absent, leave them a note to write down their ideas on the "menu sheet." Then review it. Does it have the suggested vegetables?
Planning ahead also shortens the number of trips to the grocery store. Knowing ahead of time what you are going to eat enables you to make a list of foods you need and to check what you have on hand.
Planning ahead also saves time. If you know ahead of time what you need to take out of the freezer, you will save defrosting time by thawing in the refrigerator, which is recommended.
There are numerous reasons for taking 15 minutes to plan meals ahead. Eating healthier, saving time and money are just a few. Served with a dark green leafy salad, here is a recipe that includes all the categories of vegetables except starchy.
<hl2 class="subhead" style="subhead">One-Dish Rosemary Chicken and White Beans</hl2>
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs (about 1 pound)
1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 (15-ounce) can navy beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped- optional
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine rosemary and pepper; sprinkle over one side of chicken. Place chicken in pan with seasoned side down, cook 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and turn chicken. Add tomatoes and beans, cover and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in olives.
Serve with dark green leafy salad and or broccoli. This meal would give the dark green, orange &amp;#8211; red and dry beans and peas recommendation for vegetables.
Mary R. Ehret, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., is with Penn State Cooperative Extension, Luzerne County, 16 Luzerne Ave., West Pittston, Pa., 18643. (570) 825-1701/602-0600. Fax (570) 825-1709. <a href="mailto:mre2@psu.edu">mre2@psu.edu</a>.

Plan dinner in 15 minutes or less