* Do they like to eat?

* Are you tired of cooking?

If you've answered yes to any (or all) of these questions, you need 5 minute meals.

5 minute meals are simply meals that you really do cook, but they go together fast. They may not all be 5 minutes from beginning to eating, (you can't even do that with a frozen pizza) but these meals are extremely quick and convenient.

(Here's my personal definition of a 5 minute meal: it's all about the assembly time. If I let something cook in the crockpot all day, I don't count that towards my meal-prep time because I'm not standing over my crockpot. I count the food assembly time, because that's what really counts when you're busy.)

Wanting to improve the nutrition of the meals you serve your family? You can make 5 minute meals healthier in a snap.

So what's the catch? No catch, but there are some simple secrets you need to know to make 5 minute meals work for your busy life.

--> Start with standing in your grocery store's bottled sauce and dressing aisle. These are 5 minute meals waiting to happen! Pick out your favorite flavors. Try some new tastes. Look for the low-fat or non-fat varieties and you'll keep added fat and calories to a minimum.

--> Think in terms of adding cooked meat to these 5 minutes meals. You can buy precooked chicken, for example, or for more savings, you can buy hamburger or chicken parts (I prefer skinless, boneless chicken breasts) and cook all your month's meat at once, then refreeze in individual meal portions. This will save you a lot of time in the kitchen.

--> Precooking your meat makes whipping up 5 minute meals a snap. Simply grab a precooked meat packet from your freezer, add a bottled sauce you love and heat. If a bag of frozen veggies would work in your meal, add that, too (you may need more than one bottle of sauce depending upon how much food you are preparing). Otherwise choose a bag of premade salad as an easy add-on for healthy veggies.

If you would like more ways to whip up 5 minute meals, see the author's resource box at the end of this article.

Once you decide upon the flavors and 5 minute meals you enjoy most, keep a list of these fast meals in your pantry. Your job is to always keep the ingredients for these meals on hand. So whenever you pull one of your favorite sauces out of the pantry, be sure and write it down on your grocery list so you'll replace it on your next shopping trip.

5 minute meals are fast, easy, convenient and can be healthy, too. Your family will gobble up these yummy meals leaving you more time to do other things you love.