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Tonight I made pizza with chicken nuggets on top - Please, I need culinary help!!!
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Anonymous
| If that isn't rock bottom, I don't know what is. My kids are okay eaters, but between working and their schedules, I can't seem to find time to cook. When the older 2 were younger and took naps, I did make some meals on the weekend - but now we have more kids and there is no consistent "down time" anymore. Are there any prepared healthy foods out there - or is that a fantasy? I feel like such a failure with the rotation of breaded chicken breasts, mac and cheese, tortellini, soup, repeat. On the weekends I try to make up with at least one homecooked meal, but my husband has been working, so that's how my pizza creation came into being. I welcome all suggestions and totally understand any flames - this is the time I should be encouraging healthy, varied eating habits and I feel like I'm failing them. |
Anonymous
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I read "real simple" when I am pumping. (Like now). Tons of useful suggestions.
Good luck. We have all been there. |
Anonymous
| I really like Martha Stewart's Everyday Food line. There are lots of recipes on the website, or you can subscribe to the magazine (I do), or you can buy the book - I forget the name but it must be something along the lines of "Everyday Food." Most of my family-friendly easy meals come from EF. And DH loves all of them. And even DD eats some of them. |
Anonymous
| Go to Trader Joe's and buy a bunch of their prepared meals: marinated chicken (pollo asada) just dump in pan and cook for 7 minutes, tofu and stirfry veggies, lasagna's, precooked chicken strips on salad, dont be afraid to cook scrambled eggs and cheese for dinner, grilled cheese, make sandwiches, "butter noodles". Trader Joe's has fantastic stuff and is cheap and kid friendly. |
Anonymous
| Cooking Light magazine often has recipes that can be cooked in 20 minutes or less - they've even put out a cookbook with many such recipes |
Anonymous
| Second Trader Joe's. It's totally cheating but most of their frozen food doesn't taste like cheating. |
Anonymous
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There is no crime In "cheating" with Trader Joe's, by the way.
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Anonymous
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My second best friend is the crock pot
In winter, we live on baked ziti and salad (4 ingredients - egg, ricotta, mozz., noodles). Make big dinners when you can and be resourceful with leftovers. Sometimes we have a mini-Thanksgiving dinner where I cook a small turkey or chicken and use leftovers for homemade chicken pot pie, sandwiches, soup, chicken/tukey divan/a la king, etc. |
Anonymous
| Check out the Six O'Clock Scramble (www.thescramble.com). I've been using this to feed my family for the last four years and would be lost without it. |
Anonymous
| One other thing to remember is that you don't always have to have a hot, home-cooked meal to equal healthy. Sometimes my very picky toddler is happy to have a meal with cottage cheese, cut up fruit, and rolled-up pieces of turkey breast. He likes to hold the turkey rolls with his hands and likes the cottage cheese and fruit too. I know he's getting a healthy meal and it takes seconds to throw together. Just a thought... |
Anonymous
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We've all been there (or are still there...)
Some super-quick meals I make: 1)beans with with cheese and avocado on tortillas or rice 2)eggs - (make spinach omelet with cheese; bake with milk and some veggie as crustless quiche) 3)frozen salmon (not breaded!) from TJs. Bake about 20 minutes (less if you rememer to defrost - I never do). Serve with rice. You can add some greenbeans to the same sheet you're baking the fish on to add green. |
Anonymous
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Sign up for You'vegotsupper.com
It comes in your email box every Thursday and the meals are healthy and fast. Honestly, I cook every night and what really helps me is to plan out our meals for the week every Sunday. Usually on Thursday nights I make Tortellini or Ravioli. We don't get home until about 6pm but with a little planning I can get dinner on the table between 6:30-6:45pm. The planning ahead is key. You can lose 15-20 minutes trying to figure out what you are having for dinner or running to the store to pick up last minute items. |
Anonymous
Please, please, please post the ziti recipe. I have never been able to make a yummy ziti! We also use the crock pot - 1. Pulled BBQ Pork - put in tenderloin w/ bbq sauce, brown sugar and salt. Cook for several hours. YUMMY! 2. Chicken breasts, carrots, celery, potato w/ a can of cream of chicken soup and cream cheese. Tastes like chicken pot pie. 3. Pot roast in the crock pot - can of beef broth, carrots, celery, potatoes 4. Chile - ground turkey, can of beer, can of diced tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, onion, peppers, roasted corn (trader joes), cumin, chili powder, garlic - YUMMY - I have also made it with stew meat - in the crock pot 5. We love chicken nibblers from Whole Foods deli area. DELISH! and not so expensive. I put them in a pan with a little olive oil 6. Grilled cheese w/ spinach or quesidillas with chicken from trader joes 7. home made meatballs that I freeze - I add sauted carrots and spinach to them so the kids get a burst of veggies. |
Anonymous
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I agree that TJ's makes life a lot easier! Almost everything I buy there is good and pretty healthy!
Does anyone have a suggestion for a good crock pot cook book or website? |
Anonymous
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I use the 6 o'clock scramble cookbook (as opposed to website service that was previously recommended).
Lots of quick easy recipes. The cookbook is organized seasonally and by a weekly menu. I use the weekly menu as initial guidance and adjust as required given my families food preferances. I have used it since early July and it was some of my best money spent in my attempt to simplify and streamline. |