Who's got time to cook anything nowadays, let alone labor over a hot stove preparing healthy, diet-friendly food?

What we need, with our new, no-time-to-spend-in-the-kitchen lives, is fast food -- but not junk food. Healthy food -- but not food that requires hours of chopping, simmering and saucing. Meals that satisfy everyone, both kids and adults, without too much fat or too many empty calories. Foods that we can feel good about serving. Oh, and maybe foods that will leave us pleasantly full -- and help us shed a few pounds, too. Is that too much to ask?

Not anymore. The Diet-on-the-Go meets all of these needs.

Here's how it works. For each meal, you've got three categories of menus to choose from:

Ready-to-Eat foods come packaged ready to serve from the grocery store deli, sushi counter, sandwich shop or cafeteria.

Heat-and-Eat choices also come from the grocery store and require very brief preparation: no more than 10 minutes of cooking or reheating.

Take-Out foods can be bought at the new "fast casual" restaurants or are traditional favorites with a healthier twist.

You can mix and match the categories or make substitutions to the menus to meet your preferences (but keep in mind our nutritional guidelines below).

Besides being fast, easy to prepare and healthy, these menus are also designed to help you cut excess calories and lose weight. The different meals vary somewhat, but here are the general guidelines:

Breakfasts average 350 calories, with 15 grams protein, 50 grams carbohydrate, 7.5 grams fat and 5 grams fiber.

Lunches average 430 calories, with 30 grams protein, 50 grams carbohydrate, 6 grams fiber and 9 grams fat.

Dinners average 350 calories, with 31 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrate, 9 grams fat and 6 grams fiber.

In addition, if you're trying to lose weight, be sure to follow these two crucial rules:
1. Read the nutrition label before you purchase anything! Many prepared foods have more calories, fat and sodium than you'd ever dream possible. Compare similar products from different companies and make the best overall choice for you.

2. Pay very careful attention to portion sizes -- portion control has been the downfall of many a dieter, so you can't be vigilant enough about it! Frozen dinners are portion controlled, but many of the heat-and-eat options from the grocery store contain two to six servings. That's fine if you're serving a family, but beware if you're eating the entire container by yourself.

BREAKFASTS-ON-THE-GO

LUNCHES-ON-THE-GO

DINNERS-ON-THE-GO

SNACKS-ON-THE-GO