Need easy, fast, healthy, kid friendly meals

Capitalchick ↓

Mon, Apr 08 2013, 9:30 am

I like to cook, but with DH and I both working long hours, full time, we now realize we must be realistic and must stick to VERY simple dinner ideas during the week. I want the kids to eat healthy and, thank GD, they both adore fruits and veggies....and and ALL of them. I'm looking for ideas for simple simple meals that I can throw on the table in minutes. Things like grilled cheese (healthy bread and cheese), cut up raw fruits and veggies platters with cheese and yogurt, etc. Very very simple and very fast. Ideas don't need to only be for traditional dinner foods, or even hot food. Just healthy, kid friendly and fast. I'm open to any and all ideas!
I often throw frozen veggies on a baking tray and roast them while I run up to pick the kids up. I also do scrambled eggs once in a while.
Things my kids won't eat: pasta (shoot me, I know...) and most breads, but they're getting better about that!

Ok, ladies, work your magic!

deena19k

Mon, Apr 08 2013, 9:37 am

Cottage cheese with scrambled eggs and fresh veggies
Pancakes
Grilled cutlets with rice/couscous and fresh salad
Turkey Ghoulash (can make it the night before, takes 5 min)
Meatloaf with mashed potatoes

I am a huge fan of meals that take 10 min or less to prepare. All these ideas seriously take only a few min and dont have crazy cleanup afterwards!

justcallmeima

Mon, Apr 08 2013, 9:48 am

[/list]Quinoa- if you fry up some onions and frozen veggies with a little oil and mix it in with the cooked quinoa it's DELICIOUS- super speedy and extremely nutritious

tofu stir fry- yum yum yum

veggie burgers on whole grain buns with lots of veggies- let them "build their own burgers" by choosing their own toppings (tomato slices, lettuce, etc...)

out-of-towner

Mon, Apr 08 2013, 10:43 am

eggs...scrambled with cheese or however they like them...
salad with cubed deli-style turkey....goes really well with honey-mustard dressing
tilapia coated in egg, and breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese-really yummy

MaBelleVie

Mon, Apr 08 2013, 10:50 am

You can set up a whole meal in the crock pot in minutes in the morning, and have a delicious hot meal ready when they get home. You can do that twice a week, varying among chicken, turkey, red meat and bean based dishes. There are a bunch of threads here and sites all over the internet with yummy recipes.

mommydiaries

Mon, Apr 08 2013, 3:23 pm

I find anything in the oven saves time. (you don't have to hover over it) btw You can cook quinoa with veggies in a covered pan in the oven. Just as a time saving clean up tip...
When I had a baby someone gave me a v-slicer. It was the present ever! It takes no time to chop veggies which can also be time consuming!

You can make
lasagna with zucchini slices
Omelets with spinach and cheese
Mushroom barley soup (with carrots and celery) and grilled cheese sandwiches
Whole wheat pasta meat sauce with spinach
(I actually toss spinach into everything)
Macaroni and cheese with cauliflower
Chicken potatoes and zucchini in the oven
Salmon broccoli and rice (all in oven)

carpediem

Tue, Apr 09 2013, 1:41 am

I'm a very strong believer in preparing EVERYTHING in the beginning of the week. I'm in college and working crazy hours so of helps me (and my DH) tremendously. Sunday I shop, cook all of it and put it into little containers. I even make snack bags with cut up veges, fruit, nuts etc so I can grab a healthy snack when I'm flying out the door. planning is the key to organization when your busy. Make all the food in the beginning of the week and then just pop in into the microwave when supper time comes around

↑ Capitalchick ↓

Tue, Apr 09 2013, 5:56 am

Since I'm asking all of you for feedback, I thought I'd tell you what has worked:
Last night I got home used an old loaf of raisin challah (which I had thawed) to make strips of cinammon french toast. I called them "dippers", thinking it would excite my kids more. It did not.
I served the 'dippers' alongside a yogurt dip (yogurt thinned with some apple sauce), and with a side of strawberries. Then I made a quick tray of french fries…and that was dinner. Not the most perfect or healthy, but passable and relatively quick.

This morning I did the crockpot idea…I lined the base of my crockpot with dry rice, I laid raw chicken on top, seasoned the chicken and then set it to low for the day (with a bit of added water, of course). We'll see how it turns out. I'm never a fan of crockpot chicken because it's never crispy. But for convenience sake, I'll deal with it!

smile O

Tue, Apr 09 2013, 6:15 am

definitely recommend 'Tuna Tooping'.
its fried onion, 1-2 tins of tuna, tom sauce, mayo, cumin.
It can be served on rice , baked potato, pasta, bread, couscous, quioa... etc

french toast is also yum... not sure how healthy Very Happy

, and if you sprinkle it with sugar and cinamon your kids might forget they dont like bread Wink

gazingblue ↓

Tue, Apr 09 2013, 6:45 am

I'll def be watching this thread. Really need these ideas.

Some of you mentioned quinoa with veg. I've been wanting to get my family into quinoa. Can you please tell me how you make it and which veg you include?

Also I was thinking that perhaps a good veg soup made with some meat bones can be considered a dinner. What do you think? If yes, any good recipes? TIA

a1mom ↓

Tue, Apr 09 2013, 8:17 pm

I freeze preformed burgers raw, pre mixed meatballs, cleaned and thinned chicken cutlets- sometimes I even bread before freezing. burgers get served with buns lettuce tomatoe and a canned veggie, meatballs get cooked in a sauce- I jar marinara and 1/2 a jar of ducksauce and served with rice because it can be made in the oven or the rice cooker- 1 premeasure the rice and water just combine and press the button< the rice cooker cost me 10 dollars at NWL- best investment ever. chicken cutlets dipped in mayo/mustard mix and cornflake crumbs- bake in oven served with sweet pot fries that I cut up on sunday and frozen green beans or the like, also great is bbq shredded chicken in the crockpot served in wraps with coleslaw. prep as much as you can early in the week. for dairy I like whole wheat pancakes and eggs- I make the batter on sunday and store in a pour bottle in fridge to use later, also grilled cheese or frozen pizza with veggie sticks.

Aetrsnrady

Tue, Apr 09 2013, 9:06 pm

a1mom wrote:

Recipe for crockpot chicken please

↑ AlwaysGrateful

Wed, Apr 10 2013, 7:17 am

Aetrsnrady wrote:

a1mom wrote:

Recipe for crockpot chicken please

Yes, please! That sounds like something my kids would go for. (And dh and I would too!)

↑ Capitalchick ↓

Wed, Apr 10 2013, 2:46 pm

Ladies, I'm loving this feedback!

I wanted to share a recipe that is easy and quick and seems really fancy. If you're having company on a weeknight, this is great. It's a milchig meal.

First I spray a pyrex dish with PAM or something like that. Then I take fillets of any kind of white fish and place them in the bottom of the pyrex dish. They can overlap, it doesn't matter. I season it all with salt, pepper an garlic powder. Then I slice some tomatoes and zucchini and layer them on top of the fish (you won't need more than a couple of each). Season a bit more. Then I pour some white wine into the bottom of the pan (not much, just 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup). I dot the whole thing with margarine or butter, and then sprinkle generously with white cheese. Then I microwave it uncovered for 5 minutes, and then transfer to the oven until browned on top.
The whole thing takes 5 minutes to put together and about 15 minutes to cook.
I serve it with white rice.
Initially I was looking for meals even more simple than this, but if you want something a bit fancier, but still easy, this is great.

Last edited by Capitalchick on Wed, Apr 10 2013, 4:52 pm; edited 1 time in total

wispalover

Wed, Apr 10 2013, 2:57 pm

My DH loves the pulled chicken crockpot recipe- I got it from here.

1.5 lb chicken cutlets (4 halves)
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup Marian Davis' BBQ sauce
1 T brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 T soy sauce

In crockpot, layer chicken, onion, BBQ sauce, garlic, and soy sauce. Cover and cook on High for 3.5-4 hours or low 6-8 hours. Using 2 forks, shred chicken. Use in sandwhiches and add toppings - mayo, lettuce, pickles...

(can add a can of drained pineapple chunks and a bit of vinegar into the mixture in crockpot before cooking)

bbmom

Wed, Apr 10 2013, 3:22 pm

I make a baked stir fry- super easy. Get stir-fry cut chicken breast. Put some flour into a ziplock bag and add the chicken. Give the bag a good shake. Take all the (dredged) chicken out of the bag and put in a pan. Add whatever veggies you want, frozen works fine. Pour a bottle of Soy Vey sauce (it's the best one) on top. Bake uncovered at 350 for 20 minutes.

Burgers are also fast and easy - here's my recipe. 1 lb of ground beef, 1/4 cup flour, 1 egg, splash of soy sauce. Shape into patties and lay flat on a pan. Brush with BBQ sauce. Broil for 6 minutes, flip, brush with BBQ sauce and broil for another 5 minutes.