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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Help! Need easy dinner ideas for working moms!!
I have fallen into a bad habit of giving DD the same things for dinner b/c they are easy, quick and she will almost always eat them: grilled cheese, pb & j, pasta. She always gets a veggie and fruit with dinner so that's my rationalization, which I know is terrible. But I don't get home til 5:30-5:45 and she's usually pretty hungry and ready to eat by 5:30-6...and then goes to bed at 7:30.
What other easy/healthy things can I make....or even some meals I can prepare in advance??
TIA!
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Re: Help! Need easy dinner ideas for working moms!!
DS eats what we eat for dinner, and I just make sure not to plan meals that take more than about 30 minutes to make. You can check out my blog for some ideas - and the crockpot tag might be helpful (though I admittedly don't make a ton of crockpot meals).
I also make and freeze meatballs for DS on the nights he either can't eat what we are or we eat after he goes to bed. I make them with ground bison or chicken and then add some sauteed onion/garlic, herbs/spices and whatever random veg I have around, if I do (usually shredded carrots). Then I just bake them, flash freeze them in a single layer, and throw them into a ziplock bag in the freezer for whenever I need them. On those days I usually steam some peas and give him a slice of toast, too.
DS also loves beans and sweet potatoes and I got the idea from another bumpie to freezer a mixture of sweet potato/black bean hash in muffin trays for quick meals, too.
ETA: We also do breakfast for dinner more than we used to. DS is not big on eggs but he does like pancakes, waffles, hash, etc. I also make & freeze bean/veg patties.
My daughter is a picky eater and so, she ends up eating a lot of the same things for dinner every evening. I'm also a working mom and I don't have the time or energy to fight with her in the evenings to get her to eat different items.
However, our normal meals are a bit different that yours, so I'll tell you what my "go-to" meals are for her.
Mac n Cheese with a veggie mixed in (the only way she'll eat veggies)
Pancake with a banana and one scrambled egg w/cheese (her favorite)
Frozen chicken breast tenders, a couple of sweet potato fries and either applesauce, yogurt or a fruit of some sort
Here's a recent discovery from me... I made skinless, boneless chicken breasts the other night very simply - salt and pepper, sautee in a little olive oil until about 2/3 cooked, then add some beef consome (Campbell's sells it, easy to find) and some cream of mushroom soup (I use Amy's). Any sauce of your choosing is fine. Finish in the oven, refrigerate.
I cut up the chicken into tiny pieces for the boys and stirred in some sauce, heated in the microwave. They LOVED it. I like the idea of giving them chicken that isn't deep fried or breaded, trying not to get into that habit.
You can also try spinach and cheese tortellini and mini quiches (they freeze well and you can get lots of veggies in there).
meatballs--i make batch and freeze
quesadilla-with cheese, sometimes chicken (even deli is easy), veggies
english muffin pizza--I load that up with lots of chopped veggies too & broil in the toaster oven. couldnt be easier.
ravioli, stuffed shells (cook a batch and freeze for quick heat up), lasagna (bake & freeze) ---all messy orange face but she love them all
english muffin melts--cheese, chicken, veggies. just broil in toaster oven
Get to know and love your crockpot. If you don't have one with a timer, I think it's worth the investment. Twice a week, I put something in the crockpot - this week was Chicken Vesuvio (Chicken, potatoes and peas in a white wine garlic sauce) and Beef Stroganoff. The crockpot recipes are always big enough for at least three - four meals. So we eat half the same week and freeze half for a later time.
So, with 30-45 minutes of prep work in the morning or the night before, you get 4 easy quick meals. Plus, there's nothing like walking in the door after a long day and smelling a home cooked meal.
DD is super picky!
Broccoli pasta with garlic and oil.
Turkey burger on the forman grill.
I will usually find something she likes and keep/make extra so we have it for a few days.
CROCK POT!!!!!!! i have became an addict. My son doesn't always eat from it but that's b/c he's afraid of food (due to sever food allergies).. my husband loves it and i love that i don't have to cook. I'm a vegan so i just make food for myself now.
it's really awesome. I prepare it the night before. put everything in it and put it in the fridge and who ever leaves the house last puts it in the crock pot (or my nanny does it) and it can cook there for 8 - 10 hours (or longer).
Thanks Elly!
I now know your name since I just spent the last 2 hours looking at your food blog!! Do not take this as a criticism at all...but I'd love to see a section devoted to kids meals! Keep up the good work...I saved a handful of recipes that I'm going to try!
Also - you said above that you "flash freeze" it...what do you use to do that and do you find things really do keep longer?
I've actually been thinking of re-working the blog to add a "weeknight meal" tag, but the idea of doing that is so daunting because I have like 500 posts!
I flash freeze not to keep it longer but so the meatballs don't stick together and become impossible to pull apart when you only want one or two. So if you freeze for maybe 15 minutes on a baking sheet, and then put them into a bag, you'll be able to pull out as many as you need at a time.
Give the panko fish stick recipe a try - DS really loved them and the next time I make them, I'm going to freeze a batch for easy access.
Some quick an 'entrees' for DS have been...
-Banana slices with dobs of PB
-Black bean mixed with a little salsa and topped with shr. cheese
-Whole wheat quesidilla with cheese and tomato or black beans and cheese
-Ground turkey with taco seasoning topped with shr. cheese
A staple for us is boiled chicken. I buy the cheap stuff (the breasts that still have the bone) and freeze them seperatly. I can boil (or bake) one at a time and shread the meat for her.
I try to get her to eat what we eat, but at the very least this gives her a "real food" option to keep her happy (and from getting too hungry) while I get dinner ready.