Working Parents - What the heck for dinner

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So no one is using fresh vegetables at all? Just frozen or CANNED??

We can't have frozen dinners or even much take out because of my DH low sodium diet restrictions.

I mean, yeah, we make mac and cheese but that's like my last choice since its nutritionally bereft.

We don't want just pasta and can of jarred sauce -- my side of family has history of diabetes, thats why something like whole grain rice with vegetables in a paella is better than rice cooker white rice or frozen fried rice.

We do eat some fresh veggies, but it’s usually like steam in the bag green beans or asparagus roasted in the oven while we cook on the stove top or a bagged salad. But yeah we also generally have a bag of frozen broccoli, frozen cauliflower, and maybe a carrot medley in the freezer at any given time for a quick add on.

You can do whole grain/brown/wild rice in a pot on the stove or even the microwave.

There are “healthier” jars of pasta available if you spend a bit more. But honestly I don’t worry too much about our marinara. I’m picky about cream sauces so I make Alfredo or carbonara from scratch, but usually on a weekend.

My kids are super active. DH and I are both fit (I have a BMI of 20). No diabetes or food allergies or anything in our family. Annual labs are good. Maybe we’re just lucky!

[Anonymous]

I really love the meal boxes for weeknights. I have one that gets delivered on Monday, and works for 3 meals. So that is mon-wed sorted, and then I only have to figure out thursday, and then the weekend we do "fun" or more extravagent meals. But I really love not having to think about what we're making for the majority of weekdays.

[Anonymous]

Salad: I buy prewashed lettuce in clamshell containers. Have never gotten sick from it, and it'll easily last through the week (although some types of lettuce last longer than others - I avoid the 'spring mix' because something in it always spoils by Wednesday). I'm fast with a knife and can chop up a cucumber, bell pepper, and celery in a few minutes. Cherry tomatoes, no chopping required. We have salad several nights a week.

Quick dinners we've made this week:
Salmon (individual fillets, purchased frozen from Costco, transferred to the fridge in the morning to thaw), sprinkled with a seasoning mix, roasted at 425 for about 15 minutes. Once the salmon was in the oven, trim asparagus and put it on another tray with olive oil and salt & pepper, add to the oven. It takes 8-10 minutes to roast, so they were done about the same time. Finish making salad while both are in the oven. Set out dinner rolls and butter. I walked in the door from work at 5:45 and we sat down to eat at 6:15.

Chicken stir fry. Purchased pre-chopped stir fry vegetables, or if I have time on the weekend I'll prep a bunch of veggies and they'll keep for at least a few days. Start a pot of rice (20 minutes). Start the vegetables in a pan while I'm cutting the chicken into strips. Move the veggies to a bowl, cook the chicken. Add it all back together and simmer with a stir fry sauce. It's done about the same time as the rice - 20-30 minutes total, start to finish.

Any time I am making something on a weekend that'll freeze well, I make a double or triple batch. Chili, chicken vegetable soup, meat sauce for pasta, etc. It's not much harder to cook double, and the leftovers are great for quick weeknight dinners.

It does take planning. I write out a menu for the week every Sunday, otherwise I get discouraged midweek and give up. Not a lot of prep work, but having a plan is essential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do people make tacos quickly?

1) sautee beef

2) wash and shred lettuce

3) wash and shred cilantro, onion, dice tomatoes.

4) shred cheese or I guess use anti-caking agent cheese

It seems as much work or more than a salad?

I WAH so on taco night I’ll use my lunch break to prep shredded lettuce, cheese, and diced tomatoes into little bowls that I cover and put in the fridge. Sour cream is already a squeezable container. At dinner time I cook up the ground beef w/ seasonings and taco sauce while hard shells warm in the oven. 15 min later, bring everything out to the table and everyone assembles their own. Sometimes I also warm some refried beans in a pot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I made chicken shawarma tonight and it was pretty quick! I do take shortcuts.

I make a big pot of rice on the weekend in my instant pot and portion it out/ freeze some.

I put the chicken in the oven, cooking time is 20 mins. During that time I sliced a couple cucumbers with a mandolin and mixed with tzatziki I had in the fridge. Warmed up the rice I made on Sunday, warmed up some pita bread. The kids wanted clementines so I put a few of those out. Everyone assembled their bowls however they like and it was no more than 25 minutes from fridge to table.

I love this type of meal. I use the pre-marinated chicken shawarma from Trader Joe’s. You can also get cuke and tzatziki there. Serve with rice or pita. Yum!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So no one is using fresh vegetables at all? Just frozen or CANNED??

We can't have frozen dinners or even much take out because of my DH low sodium diet restrictions.

I mean, yeah, we make mac and cheese but that's like my last choice since its nutritionally bereft.

We don't want just pasta and can of jarred sauce -- my side of family has history of diabetes, thats why something like whole grain rice with vegetables in a paella is better than rice cooker white rice or frozen fried rice.

We do eat some fresh veggies, but it’s usually like steam in the bag green beans or asparagus roasted in the oven while we cook on the stove top or a bagged salad. But yeah we also generally have a bag of frozen broccoli, frozen cauliflower, and maybe a carrot medley in the freezer at any given time for a quick add on.

You can do whole grain/brown/wild rice in a pot on the stove or even the microwave.

There are “healthier” jars of pasta available if you spend a bit more. But honestly I don’t worry too much about our marinara. I’m picky about cream sauces so I make Alfredo or carbonara from scratch, but usually on a weekend.

My kids are super active. DH and I are both fit (I have a BMI of 20). No diabetes or food allergies or anything in our family. Annual labs are good. Maybe we’re just lucky!

You are lucky. My entire extended family has early onset everything; even with a healthy diet and good BMI my labs are a murder show.

[Anonymous]

What time do you want dinner to be? It sounds like you want it very early and you can’t fit in making it before that. So maybe it is too early and you need more time! Give the kids some fruit or veg to snack on if they really need it and give yourself a bit more time to make dinner

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I marinate chicken the night before. It’s easy to put on the rice/toast naan, steam some vegetables and cut up fruit while the protein cooks in the oven. We make fish in parchment, put vegetables and herbs inside and voila, dinner. Sheet pan meals are quick and easy to do. The key is to do some prep work the night before: all the chopping and washing that takes time. And there’s always the trusty crockpot especially with this season.

Definitely true that the washing and chopping of vegetables is the big time suck. Also the cleanup of all the veggie scraps and cutting boards that can’t go in dishwasher. We eat a LOT of fresh vegetables, not just a steamed side or whatnot.

Prepping the night before doesn’t work because things like salads get soggy, though I will look into a spinner and things like cauliflower turn brown

Also, we are running kids around at night, homework, and I already stay up late cleaning the kitchen from dinner — i don’t see how prepping separately, storing in MORE Tupperware to clean later, saves time. It time shifts I agree, but my aggregate time cooking increases since I have to handle the same food twice.

But I will look into a spinner — if we can wash and cut veggies for 2-3 nights that could help us get to Thurs. but it sounds like a lot of frozen or canned food or takeout is a staple of working parents?

Why can’t you wash/store lettuce in a crisper and then keep pre-chopped toppings in separate Tupperware. Pre-hard boil eggs if you like those on salad. Then just assemble it when you eat. I agree it would get soggy already mixed together with dressing on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I marinate chicken the night before. It’s easy to put on the rice/toast naan, steam some vegetables and cut up fruit while the protein cooks in the oven. We make fish in parchment, put vegetables and herbs inside and voila, dinner. Sheet pan meals are quick and easy to do. The key is to do some prep work the night before: all the chopping and washing that takes time. And there’s always the trusty crockpot especially with this season.

Definitely true that the washing and chopping of vegetables is the big time suck. Also the cleanup of all the veggie scraps and cutting boards that can’t go in dishwasher. We eat a LOT of fresh vegetables, not just a steamed side or whatnot.

Prepping the night before doesn’t work because things like salads get soggy, though I will look into a spinner and things like cauliflower turn brown

Also, we are running kids around at night, homework, and I already stay up late cleaning the kitchen from dinner — i don’t see how prepping separately, storing in MORE Tupperware to clean later, saves time. It time shifts I agree, but my aggregate time cooking increases since I have to handle the same food twice.

But I will look into a spinner — if we can wash and cut veggies for 2-3 nights that could help us get to Thurs. but it sounds like a lot of frozen or canned food or takeout is a staple of working parents?

Why can’t you wash/store lettuce in a crisper and then keep pre-chopped toppings in separate Tupperware. Pre-hard boil eggs if you like those on salad. Then just assemble it when you eat. I agree it would get soggy already mixed together with dressing on it.

washed lettuce is soggy unless you dry it like crazy.

[Anonymous]

Having a rotation works for us, even though occasionally I will resort to chicken nuggets with a steamed vegetable or a quick quesadilla. I try to keep some fresh spinach in the house, because that can be added to most anything.

Monday - fish, whatever I picked up grocery shopping Sunday that looked decent. Salmon, cod, tilapia, whatever. I have many different quick fish recipes. Usually with steamed broccoli, but could be any other vegetable as well. Side of rice, cous-cous, or quinoa

Taco Tuesday. My norm is to sautée an onion, add ground turkey, then add a can of rinsed black beans, some frozen corn, a can of drained diced tomatoes, and you can add cilantro or parsley. Survey with tortillas or chips for the kids, over Spring mix for me.

Wednesday - burgers. Could be pre-made ground beer burgers from Costco, salmon burgers, a grilled chicken burger or homemade burgers if it's a Monday holiday (there are many). We have buns from the weekend shopping trip, and whatever veggie I picked up (steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, steamed green beans- add toasted almonds if I'm feeling fancy).

Thursday - stir fry veggies with protein. Could be pork or chicken or even steak. Al in one pot, with another pot of rice. And, I will admit to using the minute rice.

Friday is pizza (or pasta) day. Could be I bought pre-made dough and everyone makes their own toppings, could be we order out. When the kids were little it wasask family movie night, but as they've gotten older that's gone away (although they will have friends over and watch a movie in the basement/teen hangout area).

Weekends are for grilling, complex recipes, and a big pot of some sort of stew that I can then take to work for lunch all week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do people make tacos quickly?

1) sautee beef

2) wash and shred lettuce

3) wash and shred cilantro, onion, dice tomatoes.

4) shred cheese or I guess use anti-caking agent cheese

It seems as much work or more than a salad?

none of this should be done the day of except maybe the beef if you really want quick meals.

Make pico and shred cheese on sunday. use pre shredded lettuce or use spinach instead and chop it into the meat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I marinate chicken the night before. It’s easy to put on the rice/toast naan, steam some vegetables and cut up fruit while the protein cooks in the oven. We make fish in parchment, put vegetables and herbs inside and voila, dinner. Sheet pan meals are quick and easy to do. The key is to do some prep work the night before: all the chopping and washing that takes time. And there’s always the trusty crockpot especially with this season.

Definitely true that the washing and chopping of vegetables is the big time suck. Also the cleanup of all the veggie scraps and cutting boards that can’t go in dishwasher. We eat a LOT of fresh vegetables, not just a steamed side or whatnot.

Prepping the night before doesn’t work because things like salads get soggy, though I will look into a spinner and things like cauliflower turn brown

Also, we are running kids around at night, homework, and I already stay up late cleaning the kitchen from dinner — i don’t see how prepping separately, storing in MORE Tupperware to clean later, saves time. It time shifts I agree, but my aggregate time cooking increases since I have to handle the same food twice.

But I will look into a spinner — if we can wash and cut veggies for 2-3 nights that could help us get to Thurs. but it sounds like a lot of frozen or canned food or takeout is a staple of working parents?

Why can’t you wash/store lettuce in a crisper and then keep pre-chopped toppings in separate Tupperware. Pre-hard boil eggs if you like those on salad. Then just assemble it when you eat. I agree it would get soggy already mixed together with dressing on it.

washed lettuce is soggy unless you dry it like crazy.

You don't have to "dry it like crazy," you just wrap it in a dish towel and stick it in the crisper

[Anonymous]

People have given a lot of great advice. Mine is to leverage batch cooking and freezing, and smart use of leftovers.

Here are things I prep ahead of time and freeze:

Homemade chili (cook a giant pot from scratch, freeze in once cup block using souper cubes molds)
Homemade pasta sauce (same as chili - giant batch, freeze in one cup blocks)
Soups - black bean, butternut squash, carrot ginger, potato soup - giant batch, freeze in cup blocks. Then can be used for a meal like soup and a baked potato
Roasted potatoes/sweet potatoes as wedges/fries - cook ahead of time til almost done, then freeze. They get warm after about 5 minutes in the air fryer
Cauliflower mash - freeze in half cup portions
sauteed onions - make a big batch, freeze flat in a gallon bag, then grab a piece off and warm up in the skillet for whatever
homemade belgian waffles - either use for breakfast or can do a breakfast for dinner day
baked beans - freeze these in half cup portions for use as a side with bbq or mac and cheese
home made from scratch mac n cheese - make big batch, freeze in one cup portion
corn bread

So during the week one night might be some kind of pasta, either mac and cheese with bakes beans and cornbread as sides, or using the home made meat sauce from the freezer. Another night will be meat, veggie and starch, the starch might be from frozen. I would make enough of the meat and veggie side to eat the same meal again two days from when I first made it but with a different starch. Then I may do a soup and baked potato night, and a chili, rice and cornbread night. Sometimes I throw in a taco night.

The batch cooking and freezing really makes it all work - I was sick for a week recently and I was able to get my kid fed a healthy dinner every night without having to put in too much effort (single mom so no one at home to help me.)

[Anonymous]

If you have a Traders Joes, check out the IG account @traderjoes5itemsorless. It uses a lot of their pre-made and frozen items to create a full meal. It doesn't lean super healthy but you can add more veggies and such.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do people make tacos quickly?

1) sautee beef

2) wash and shred lettuce

3) wash and shred cilantro, onion, dice tomatoes.

4) shred cheese or I guess use anti-caking agent cheese

It seems as much work or more than a salad?

Brown the meat the night before. Microwave it day of. I don’t see a big advantage taste wise to doing this day of. My kids are hungry by the time I get home. Things get made ahead of time and reheated with some chopping of fresh stuff.