Labor Day is right around the corner. It's both a time to celebrate and shed a tear. It's time to say goodbye to summer and hello to high heating bills. More importantly, it's time to break out the grill for one last meal. While most people say farewell to their faithful grills by cooking hotdogs and hamburgers, there are healthier meals to consider. Stop curling your nose up right this minute. Even though your Labor Day feast will be healthy, it doesn't have to flavorless. Best of all, this meal is quick and easy to fix.

Grilled Chicken with Red, White, and Blue Fruit Salsa
Serves 4

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
• Olive oil
• Sea salt, to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 1 cup strawberries, chopped
• 1 cup of peaches, chopped
• 1 cup of blackberries
• ½ lime, juiced

1. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Grill the chicken breasts until cooked through.
3. In the meantime, combine the strawberries, peaches, blackberries and lime juice.
4. When the chicken is cooked, top each breast with fruit salsa and serve immediately.
5. Serve with a side salad or grilled vegetables.

Tips:
Taste the salsa to determine if it's sweet enough. If not, add sugar substitute to taste.
You may need a whole lime depending on how juicy your lime is.

Grilled Banana Splits
Serves 4

• 4 plums, cut in half and pitted
• 4 peaches, cut in half and pitted
• 4 large spears of pineapple
• 4 bananas, sliced in half lengthwise
• Fat-free frozen vanilla yogurt

1. Grill the plums, peaches, and pineapple while you're grilling the rest of your meal.
2. Allow the fruit to cool while you enjoy your dinner.
3. Grill the bananas and chop the other grilled fruit.
4. Place the bananas in long dishes and top with three scoops of frozen yogurt per dish.
5. Top each scoop with a different grilled fruit.

Who said healthy recipes had to be boring? Grab a pair of flip flops and enjoy the last few days of summer.

When people hear the word chicken, they immediately get bored. Instead of giving up on this monotonous meat, why not rethink your recipes?

When people hear the word chicken, they immediately get bored. Chicken has been used in the same recipes so many times that it's no wonder your taste buds yawn at the word. On the other hand, we all know how healthy it can be. Chicken breasts are low in fat, yet high in protein. Plus, kids love them. Instead of giving up on this monotonous meat, why not rethink your recipes? Any recipe can seem new again if you do a little tweaking here and there.

Chicken salad is a classic dish and so are buffalo wings. Why not combine the two and create a dish your kids will love?

Buffalo Chicken Salad
Serves 4

• 1 pound of boneless chicken breasts, baked and cubed
• ½ cup buffalo sauce
• 2 cup of celery, sliced
• 1 cup of fat-free ranch dressing
• 4 Kaiser rolls, toasted

1. Toss the chicken with the buffalo sauce and bake at 350 degrees until the sauce adheres to the meat.
2. Allow the chicken to cool and then chop into smaller pieces.
3. Combine the chicken, celery, and ranch dressing.
4. Serve on toasted Kaiser rolls with a side of baked potato chips.

Kids love chicken strips. Unfortunately, many versions are often deep fried, but not this one. These baked strips are perfect for dunking and as a topper for Caesar salad.

Chicken Parmesan Strips
Serves 4

• 1 pound of chicken tenders
• 2 egg whites, beaten
• 2 cups of Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

1. Combine the seasoned bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow dish.
2. Dip the chicken tenders into the beaten egg whites and then into the seasoned bread crumbs.
3. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place the tenders at least ½ inch apart.
4. Spray the chicken tenders with cooking spray and bake in a 425 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the juices run clear.
5. Serve with heated marinara sauce.

Remember, chicken doesn't have to be boring to be healthy. You just need to rethink the ways you prepare it.

If you have any recipes ideas, improvements, suggestions, please comment below and let us know! Let us in on some of your secret recipes!

How many times a week do you find yourself in a fast food drive-thru? How often do you feel guilty about it? This is something that parents face on an everyday basis as they rush home from work, and then off to the next recreational activity. It's no wonder that parents think a home cooked meal is simply out of the question. Thankfully there are ways you can enjoy a home cooked meal, while still keeping it quick and healthy.

Every household needs a slow cooker. A slow cooker allows you to prepare quick and healthy meals, without all the work. In fact, you can throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker and place the removable pot in the refrigerator before going to bed. All you need to do the next day is place the removable pot into the slow cooker and turn it on low. When you get home, you'll have that quick and healthy meal you've been dreaming of. Here is an easy recipe to get your started.

Slow Cooked Barbequed Pork and Vegetables:

• 2 pound of lean pork, cubed
• 1 pound of baby carrots
• 2 large onions cut into wedges
• 8 small, red potatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• Salt, to taste, Pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups barbeque sauce \\ -Combine the first 5 ingredients in your slow cooker and season with salt and pepper.

1. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
2. Ten minutes before serving, stir in the barbeque sauce and allow to heat through.
3. Serve with a side salad and whole wheat rolls.

Of course, many parents turn to fast food because they don't even have time for a quick meal at home. That's when you need a quick and healthy meal that can be eaten on the go. Meals that can be cooked and assembled the night before are the perfect choice for such an occasion.

Fruit and Honey Chicken Wraps:

• 1 pound of chicken tenders
• Olive oil
• Salt, to taste, Pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup honey, Whole wheat tortillas
• 4 slices of honeydew
• 1/2 pound of sliced strawberries

Sauté the seasoned chicken tenders in the olive oil until cooked through.

1. Drizzle the honey over the cooked chicken tenders and cook until the honey creates a glaze on the chicken.
2. Allow the chicken tenders to cool completely. Once the chicken has cooled, place two chicken tenders on a tortilla along with a slice of honeydew and 1/4 of the strawberries.
3. Tightly roll the tortilla around the chicken and fruit and slice the wrap into two pieces.
4. Place each wrap in a disposable container and store in the refrigerator.
5. Serve with grapes and baked potato chips.

Both of these recipes allow you to stop the fast food madness. Best of all, these recipes are just a starting point. There are thousands of slow cooker recipes available online and the type of wraps you prepare is only limited to your level of creativity.

If you have any recipes ideas, improvements, suggestions, please
comment below and let us know! Let us in on some of your secret recipes!