Do you make time to put gas in your car?

Of course you do! If you don't put gas in your car, your car stops, usually while you're on the freeway in the middle of nowhere and you have to schlep miles to get to a gas station for help.

Next question:  do you make time to eat?

Got ya! People tell me every day that they just don't have time to eat, or they don't have time to eat a healthy meal. We have time to watch an average of 3 hours and 46 minutes per day, according to the A.C. Nielsen company. Since most of us routinely eat a meal in less than 30 minutes, we have time for 3 meals per day AND we could still watch 2 hours of TV.

Use these tips to manage your time so that you not only have time to eat, but you also have time to eat healthy foods:

For breakfast:

• Set your alarm 5 minutes earlier. You won't miss 5 minutes of sleep, and you can eat a bowl of cold cereal, microwave a dish of oatmeal, enjoy yogurt and fruit, or even microwave a couple of scrambled eggs in less than 5 minutes.
• Make a breakfast smoothie of milk, yogurt and frozen fruit. Put all the ingredients in the blender before you go to bed, and store the blender in the fridge. Blend for 1 minute and enjoy as you start your day in the morning.

 For lunch:

• Pack your lunch and bring it with you so you don't have any excuses about not having time to go get something to eat.
• Instead of using your lunch hour to run errands, divide it in half. Use half the time to eat, and the other half for errands.
• Make a date to join a friend or co-worker for lunch; you're less likely to skip a meal with a friend.

For dinner:

• Make meals ahead of time on weekends, then freeze in dinner-size portions.
• Grill extra chicken, pork chops, or steaks; freeze the extras and use in salads or a quick stir-fry later in the week.
• Give every family member a turn in the kitchen so one person isn't responsible for everyone's meal.