In today's episode, Aviva and I discuss various ways to make mealtimes easier and avoid the dreaded "six o'clock scramble".

Aviva is a family dinner expert and the founder of The Six O'Clock Scramble. She is a Today Show contributor and frequently appears in media such as The Katie Show, The Washington Post, O Magazine, Real Simple, Working Mother, Prevention, and more. 

Aviva is the author of two cookbooks: The Six O'Clock Scramble Cookbook and SOS! The Six O'Clock Scramble to the Rescue: Earth Friendly, Kid-Pleasing Meals for Busy Families. She is a mother of two and great at all things dinner!

If you are tired of worrying about what to make for dinner, you can try 2 FREE weeks of Aviva's dinner planner solution! The Scramble gives thousands of families a ready-made, healthy and seasonal dinner plan for the week that is also customizable! The plan includes side dishes and a grocery list, and it's conveniently sent to your inbox or phone for a few dollars per month. 

Some of the tools we discussed on the show:

- Vegetti: Spiral Vegetable Slicer

- Lemon & Lime Squeezers

- Bread Makers 

- A slow cooker/crockpot (you can set a timer)

In episode Dr. Dina Rose, author of It's Not About the Broccoli: Three Habits to Teach Your Kids for a Lifetime of Healthy Eating explains how we can teach our children to love a variety of foods and create rules for happier family meals. We also talk about how to handle the stresses and struggles that come when trying to get kids to try new foods and, how to avoid the tableside negotiations that so often become a part of mealtimes with picky eaters. 

Dina Rose, PhD is a sociologist, parent educator, and feeding expert. She writes for her blog, It's Not About Nutrition, for The Huffington Post, and for Psychology Today. Her work has been featured on TV, radio, and in both print and online news resources such as: Fox News Boston, NBC Connecticut News, Martha Stewart Radio, HuffPost Live, Sound Medicine, Health Talk Wisconsin, Good Parenting Radio, Babble, The Globe & Mail, Mamapedia, Parenting Magazine, and Spirituality & Health.