Dinner ideas
Let's share some favorite ideas for dinners for ourselves and LOs! I am trying to get creative so I can have healthy, inexpensive meals for myself and DS.
Here's a few:
Whipped sweet potatoes (DS loves sweet potatoes):
Peel sweet potatoes and boil until soft. Mash with a small amount of butter, milk, and cinnamon.
Chicken Kiev:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded thin
1/4 cube of melted butter
small amount of fresh garlic, minced and then mixed into butter
Seasoned bread crumbs
Jack or mozarella cheese
Dip the chicken breasts in butter and garlic. Then dip into bread crumbs. Put the slice of cheese in the middle and roll around the cheese. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until juices in the chicken run clear.
Easy Lasagna:
Lean ground beef
Can of tomato sauce
Italian seasoning
Garlic (minced)
No-boil lasagna noodles
Shredded Italian cheeses (mozarella, parmesan, etc.)
Brown the ground beef and drain. Stir in sauce, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Simmer.
Once sauce is done, put a little on the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer the noodles across until it's covered. Then layer more sauce on top, followed by the cheese. Repeat the pattern until you have the top layer (which should be sauce). Make sure the sauce on the top is fully covering the no-bake noodles. Then layer a little more cheese on top. Cover with aluminum foil and seal tightly. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove the foil for the last five minutes so the cheese can brown.
Re: Dinner ideas
I'm making tonight:
Tortellini with Vodka sauce and chicken sausage. Sometimes I put baby sweet peas in w/ that too, cause I'm sneaky like that.
My kids also like it when I make shrimp pad thai or Coconut chicken curry (this is deceivingly simple and quick) with naan bread and basmati rice w/ corn and chickpeas in it.
We also grill chicken a lot.
My DD is a pescetarian (she's a vegetarian that eats fish/seafood) so I usually have an alternative meal or make her her the same meal w/ a different protein. This is the only reason I've ever allowed myself to make 2 separate meals but she usually takes care of her own protein and I make extra veggies.
Have you heard of emealz? It's awesome because it gives you recipes for the week based upon what's on sale. So you get great, healthy meals and your grocery costs are cut down. They also have meal plans that fit your needs, whether it be weight-watcher points, low-fat, lo-carb, gluten-free etc. I seriously cut my meal costs in half and then was able to be more picky about other things like buying organic when I could.
edit... fix spelling mistake.
Haven't heard of it but it sounds fantastic! Off to Google it.....
That'd be fantastic! I just Googled it and it sounds like a really good idea. Dinner for two would work because then I would have leftovers for lunch.
Not sure if you have my email. If not, I will text it to you.
That sounds yummy, I would probably substitute brown rice for the white. Love how easy it seems too!
I made this tonight. It was pretty good. I think 300 ish calories, and 13g of fat. Not tooooo healthy, but not horribly bad. I paired it with a salad, grapes, and green beans.
I was just going to email you about this, but, sounded stupid. I have never really sat down with lucas to dinner. It seems like such a freaking hassle because I have to redirect him all the time. However, I have started cooking-- and making him eat what I am eating, instead of something different-- as well as sitting down with him at the table. Sadly, I don't enjoy my food near as much, but, I think maybe he is getting the point that he has to eat what I am eating? I am SWEARING to myself, to keep this up. I grew up eating dinner with my family 5/7 nights a week, and would like to continue this habit. However, Lucas isn't keen on this idea because he never has really experienced it. exH worked nights, so he wasn't around for supper either.... Uh, okay? what was the question? haha.
Thanks, it sounds really yummy and I think that it will help me save on grocery costs
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R-that's why I posted this mainly. I want to start a tradition of sitting down and having dinner together so P has that to look forward to. He's a little young now but might as well start. Plus, I hate the idea of eating dinner standing up at the counter, shoveling the food in before he decides he wants to start throwing things off his tray. Yah, not relaxing at all!
I have been just waiting until after he goes to bed to eat. However, that isn't working.
I ended up doing a MAJOR grocery shopping trip at 10pm on Saturday night (how exciting, right?? Isn't that what all moms do when they have a weekend "off"?). Bought some new items to try, and meals to actually cook vs. sandwiches & lean cuisines.
Last night I made chicken alfredo.
Since I started counting calories DD and I eat different meals. But I try to always at least sit down at the table with her while she eats.
These are some of MY go-to meals:
https://adventuresingettinghealthy.blogspot.com/
I also do steak fajitas a lot. I have 4oz of eye of round steak (all of the fat trimmed, and sliced very thin), in a tortilla with 85g of baby spinach (sauteed), and 1/4 cup of reduced fat cheese. Sometimes I add mushroom and/or peppers, etc.
DD gets spaghetti, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, mac and cheese, tortilla pizza (put tortilla in dry saute pan over medium heat, put some spaghetti or pizza sauce on it (thin layer), top with mozzarella and turkey pepperoni), homemade chicken nuggets, baked french fries, etc. I usually puree veggies and mix them into whatever she's eating because she REFUSES veggies. She eats apples, bananas and oranges all day long. I always use whole wheat pasta for her so she's getting the extra protein. And she LOVES baby spinach pesto.
It's a great way to get veggies into her.
But yeah, we almost never eat the same thing.
I love making baked spaghetti...boil ziti noodles al dente and mix with a jar of sauce (whatever kind you like. I use Prego.) Throw it all in a casserole dish, add a layer of cheese on top (Italian mix/Mozzerella) and bake till the cheese is melted. It's so easy and DD loves pasta.
We also do the roast beef/potatoes/carrots/onions in a crock pot all day. DD loves that too.
This is brilliant!
Emealz looks awesome! Thanks for sharing!!
Here's a link, not nearly as cool though, with some low-cal and ww-friendly recipes. I haven't really tried any yet, but they look great. I need to sit down and make a meal plan so that I'm not eating the same 3-4 meals day in and day out.
This sounds tasty! Thanks for sharing!
Keep this up!! Es and I did this with ds from the time he started eating baby food. Because he was used to eating at the table with us and behaving while we finished our food, he is so eazy to take to a restaurant or eat dinner with now. He's 4. He actually is very into food and cooking and helps me cook dinner now as well.
He has always been into cooking, etc, I just never sat down to eat with him. And, he is already, thankfully, very good at eating out.