Got a wake-up call about our meals

[Anonymous]

Today DS told me, "I'm so conflicted - McDonalds has better fries hands down but Burger King has better milkshakes."

Guess it's really time to buckle down and do better in the meal planning department. How often do your kids eat fast food? And what the hell do you make for dinner when you're getting home at 7pm and trying to feed them, make sure homework is finished, make them take showers, have any time at all to unwind or relax in any sort of way all before being in bed by 8pm?

[Anonymous]

Are both you and your DH getting home at 7PM every night? I'm going to say it: that's what needs to change. Change that, or have your DH change it if that works better, and you won't have to ask any of those other questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Today DS told me, "I'm so conflicted - McDonalds has better fries hands down but Burger King has better milkshakes."

Guess it's really time to buckle down and do better in the meal planning department. How often do your kids eat fast food? And what the hell do you make for dinner when you're getting home at 7pm and trying to feed them, make sure homework is finished, make them take showers, have any time at all to unwind or relax in any sort of way all before being in bed by 8pm?

How often? Probably twice a month for drive thru stuff, once s week we eat pizza and about every other week we have Chinese.

To answer your second question, when we have time for nothing else, I make PBJ on whole grain bread or give them cereal, in both cases with fruit (usually a banana) and milk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are both you and your DH getting home at 7PM every night? I'm going to say it: that's what needs to change. Change that, or have your DH change it if that works better, and you won't have to ask any of those other questions.

I'm a single mom. DS is in aftercare. I get out of work at 5:30, get to school just at 6pm when it's closing, and we get home at 7pm. Some days I can get away with leaving at 5:15 or 5:20.

[Anonymous]

I usually cook on Sundays and make enough for leftovers for several nights. After leftovers are gone, I'll usually set aside one night where I'll cook after the kids go to bed and then just pack the food in the fridge for the next few nights. I also keep a few things like skillet meals in the freezer for times when all else fails. The skillet meals take about 10-15 minutes to heat in a skillet. Yes, it's processed food, but still better than fast food for dinner.

[Anonymous]

OP, here are some quick options:

- frozen turkey meatballs, sauce, pasta & salad
- any kind of chicken in bbq sauce in crockpot (cooks all day so you don't have to)
- eggs, whole grain toast, fruit
- soup - (make ahead or buy canned or frozen)
- rotisserie chicken from grocery store (premade, just reheat) and broccoli or green beans. You can buy them in produce section in microwaveable bags. Just heat for 2-4 minutes and they steam perfectly.

[Anonymous]

Try Trader Joes for frozen dinners in a bag. Pretty tasty and better than fast food.

[Anonymous]

I'm a single mom too ... and I am a regular at the 5:59 pick-up. But we live much closer to school than you appear to (e.g., 20 minute walk or 5 minute drive). Which makes a real difference. Assuming that home and school aren't moving/changing any time soon, is there anything you can change about your commute that could give you more time at home? We also have an 8:30 bedtime, which our proximity to school probably makes more feasible (on the morning end) than it is for you.

In terms of food, when I am pressed for time, my go-to meals are things like pasta, black beans and rice, and scrambled eggs and other breakfast-for-dinner options.

[Anonymous]

Single mom also. Had reasonable school pick up time but we are often rushing off to an after school sport or other activity. I usually pack some substantial healthy snacks for the 30-45 minute drive and then serve something quick when we get home for dinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are both you and your DH getting home at 7PM every night? I'm going to say it: that's what needs to change. Change that, or have your DH change it if that works better, and you won't have to ask any of those other questions.

I'm a single mom. DS is in aftercare. I get out of work at 5:30, get to school just at 6pm when it's closing, and we get home at 7pm. Some days I can get away with leaving at 5:15 or 5:20.

Okay, PP you're responding to. I'm not trying to be a dick. I do think you need to figure out the timing thing. Can you go to work earlier and leave earlier? Do something to avoid the traffic that's making the commute so long? 1.5 hours to get home from work? and an hour to get from school to home? How far is your child's school from your house? Is the school your local / in bounds school? Can you do a carpool or something so that you both get home earlier and have more time at home?

I know it's stressful to be a single mom. I do think the solution to your problem starts with addressing the time-suck that getting out at 5:30 seems to put you in, as well as the distance school to home equation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are both you and your DH getting home at 7PM every night? I'm going to say it: that's what needs to change. Change that, or have your DH change it if that works better, and you won't have to ask any of those other questions.

I'm a single mom. DS is in aftercare. I get out of work at 5:30, get to school just at 6pm when it's closing, and we get home at 7pm. Some days I can get away with leaving at 5:15 or 5:20.

Okay, PP you're responding to. I'm not trying to be a dick. I do think you need to figure out the timing thing. Can you go to work earlier and leave earlier? Do something to avoid the traffic that's making the commute so long? 1.5 hours to get home from work? and an hour to get from school to home? How far is your child's school from your house? Is the school your local / in bounds school? Can you do a carpool or something so that you both get home earlier and have more time at home?

I know it's stressful to be a single mom. I do think the solution to your problem starts with addressing the time-suck that getting out at 5:30 seems to put you in, as well as the distance school to home equation.

I guess YOU are not a single mom, are you, PP?

[Anonymous]

It doesn't take long to boil spaghetti and pour a jar of red sauce over it. You can make meat sauce, soups, lasagna etc. on the weekend and freeze for the week. Grilling/baking fish or a piece of chicken or pan frying doesn't take long. You can also buy those microwavable pouches of rice and vegetables that are ready in a few minutes.
There are lots of healthy options, you just need to plan ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are both you and your DH getting home at 7PM every night? I'm going to say it: that's what needs to change. Change that, or have your DH change it if that works better, and you won't have to ask any of those other questions.

I'm a single mom. DS is in aftercare. I get out of work at 5:30, get to school just at 6pm when it's closing, and we get home at 7pm. Some days I can get away with leaving at 5:15 or 5:20.

Okay, PP you're responding to. I'm not trying to be a dick. I do think you need to figure out the timing thing. Can you go to work earlier and leave earlier? Do something to avoid the traffic that's making the commute so long? 1.5 hours to get home from work? and an hour to get from school to home? How far is your child's school from your house? Is the school your local / in bounds school? Can you do a carpool or something so that you both get home earlier and have more time at home?

I know it's stressful to be a single mom. I do think the solution to your problem starts with addressing the time-suck that getting out at 5:30 seems to put you in, as well as the distance school to home equation.

Unfortunately, we're stuck with this schedule for the next couple of years. I work 8:30-5:30. School starts a little before 8am - we leave at 7am. School is farther from home than work is, but the closer school is not a good fit for DS at all. I'm making a list of all the ideas posters have given here that DS would eat and will see what we can do differently. Running a crock pot all day while we're out of the house makes me nervous though - isn't that like leaving the oven on all day, just at a lower level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are both you and your DH getting home at 7PM every night? I'm going to say it: that's what needs to change. Change that, or have your DH change it if that works better, and you won't have to ask any of those other questions.

I'm a single mom. DS is in aftercare. I get out of work at 5:30, get to school just at 6pm when it's closing, and we get home at 7pm. Some days I can get away with leaving at 5:15 or 5:20.

Okay, PP you're responding to. I'm not trying to be a dick. I do think you need to figure out the timing thing. Can you go to work earlier and leave earlier? Do something to avoid the traffic that's making the commute so long? 1.5 hours to get home from work? and an hour to get from school to home? How far is your child's school from your house? Is the school your local / in bounds school? Can you do a carpool or something so that you both get home earlier and have more time at home?

I know it's stressful to be a single mom. I do think the solution to your problem starts with addressing the time-suck that getting out at 5:30 seems to put you in, as well as the distance school to home equation.

Unfortunately, we're stuck with this schedule for the next couple of years. I work 8:30-5:30. School starts a little before 8am - we leave at 7am. School is farther from home than work is, but the closer school is not a good fit for DS at all. I'm making a list of all the ideas posters have given here that DS would eat and will see what we can do differently. Running a crock pot all day while we're out of the house makes me nervous though - isn't that like leaving the oven on all day, just at a lower level?

I'm the poster who said I do PBJ as a last resort. I was a single mom for a while and I actually worked 8-6, so I feel our pain. Crock pot is a life saver. Unlike the oven, it's made to work unsupervised and it has safety features that will shut it off in case something goes wrong (power surge, overheating, etc.) Even now with a DH I still have the habit of making BBQ ribs or chicken in the crock pot on Sundays, along with homemade Mac and cheese and we eat that till Tuesday, only having to steam some vegetables (in microwave.)
Then on Wednesday I do some kind of stew in the crock pot and rice and that'll take us to Friday. It's hard to plan ahead when you already feel so overwhelmed as it is, I know. But once you get used to it, it becomes second nature, I promise.

[Anonymous]

Hire a chef