Working Parents - What the heck for dinner

[Anonymous]

This is a never ending challenge.

This week has been pretty easy, because I made a big pot of vegetable stew on Sunday, and my DH made a pot roast on Monday. We’ve just been having leftovers for lunch/dinner. Tonight I’ll make packaged ravioli with jarred pesto, which will take all of ten minutes.

I think batch cooking is really the way to go. I get more intricate and creative on the weekends, but for weekdays, best to keep it simple.

[Anonymous]

I think you should decide how important this is to you. For me, eating a healthy and tasty dinner together as a family is a top priority, probably #2 behind everyone sleeping properly. I know many good parents who do not make this a top priority. There are trade offs for everything.

Here are some things I do:
- Get up early and do all the prep. For example, chop the vegetables, or make the meatballs, or put all the things on a sheet pan. I try to make it so that when I come in the door, I am putting something in the oven or on the stove.
- Keep a list of what you make for awhile and then refer back to it. You will get faster at making the recipes and figure out little efficiencies (like, don’t put cilantro because it’s the only thing that needs chopping and that’s a waste of time). I keep a Note on my phone with our weekly meal plan, including links. Now I’ve done this for a year and I can refer back to recipes that worked well.
- Decide who your audience is. I have three kids (1,3, and 6) and I don’t make the dinner with them in mind. I don’t mean to sound harsh. They eat with us! But I make a dinner that will be good for DH and I. I make kid friendly breakfast and lunch but I want real food for dinner. So, I accommodate recipes for them but I don’t follow their dumb little kid palates, especially because they will like something one week and then hate it the next. By accommodate, I mean, for example, my oldest doesn’t like soup right now, so I keep the stuff in the soup separate for him on a plate (Like raw carrots, celery, beans, etc.) or he eats bread dipped in the broth or picks out what he does like from the soup. We don’t make a big deal about it and all of my kids are like 99th percentile height/weight, so I don’t worry about it. They often eat huge servings of other stuff. A peanut butter sandwich is available if necessary but I think that has only been requested a couple times.

[Anonymous]

A quick chili

[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.

Rao's is low sugar. Pasta with meat sauce is no worse than paella.

frozen vegetables don’t have sodium-They are just vegetables that are frozen. And you can absolutely get low/no sugar and low sodium sauce.

you are complaining and then refuse to take any advice on how to make things easier.

[Anonymous]

Who can get home by four?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you should decide how important this is to you. For me, eating a healthy and tasty dinner together as a family is a top priority, probably #2 behind everyone sleeping properly. I know many good parents who do not make this a top priority. There are trade offs for everything.

Here are some things I do:
- Get up early and do all the prep. For example, chop the vegetables, or make the meatballs, or put all the things on a sheet pan. I try to make it so that when I come in the door, I am putting something in the oven or on the stove.
- Keep a list of what you make for awhile and then refer back to it. You will get faster at making the recipes and figure out little efficiencies (like, don’t put cilantro because it’s the only thing that needs chopping and that’s a waste of time). I keep a Note on my phone with our weekly meal plan, including links. Now I’ve done this for a year and I can refer back to recipes that worked well.
- Decide who your audience is. I have three kids (1,3, and 6) and I don’t make the dinner with them in mind. I don’t mean to sound harsh. They eat with us! But I make a dinner that will be good for DH and I. I make kid friendly breakfast and lunch but I want real food for dinner. So, I accommodate recipes for them but I don’t follow their dumb little kid palates, especially because they will like something one week and then hate it the next. By accommodate, I mean, for example, my oldest doesn’t like soup right now, so I keep the stuff in the soup separate for him on a plate (Like raw carrots, celery, beans, etc.) or he eats bread dipped in the broth or picks out what he does like from the soup. We don’t make a big deal about it and all of my kids are like 99th percentile height/weight, so I don’t worry about it. They often eat huge servings of other stuff. A peanut butter sandwich is available if necessary but I think that has only been requested a couple times.

You're so smug!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Rao's is low sugar. Pasta with meat sauce is no worse than paella.

frozen vegetables don’t have sodium-They are just vegetables that are frozen. And you can absolutely get low/no sugar and low sodium sauce.

you are complaining and then refuse to take any advice on how to make things easier.

Yah I don’t get the frozen veggie hate here. From everything I’ve read (and experienced!), frozen veggies & fruits can be better than fresh because they’re picked at their peak.

[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.

where are you getting the idea the frozen vegetables have sodium? the only ones that do are the sauced/seasoned ones. Run of the mill frozen vegetables I.e. frozen broccoli florets are just literally frozen broccoli.

And 1. you are actually getting home at least an hour before most parents. 2. your problem is you are making restaurant level meals on weeknights and wondering why it’s hard/taking too long.

I actually get home earlier than you and still wouldn’t do that to myself with young children. Also, if your husband has a special diet he needs to follow maybe he should cook for himself or keep easy meals that work for his diet around so that you don’t have to cater to the one person who needs that in the family. You are creating this problem for yourself.

[Anonymous]

TJ Teriyaki beef

- shaved beef
- organic broccoli (can sub other veg)
- soyaki (can sub other brand from pantry)
- any frozen or 90 second rice/grain
- add garlic, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, etc.

sautee all < 30 min

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forget the recipes. Keep it simple. Just one starch. One protein. One veggie. That’s all! Sheet pan it. Grill it. Saute it. Whatever. But if you keep it simple, it’s easy and nutritious.

This!! I SAH and it is still hard OP, especially as kids get older and they all have multiple things going on and places to be from 2:30p-7pm. I pretty much follow what the PP suggests. My kids prefer raw veggies so I can do those ahead of time: slice up some peppers, carrots, fresh green beans. Then I either make rice, a bunch of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried polenta, buttered noodles. Meat that can be done in the crockpot is great for extra busy afternoons. Otherwise, I make meat that cooks quickly like shaved steak, pan cooked thin sliced chicken breasts with a simple pan sauce, fish in foil packets with some lemon and herbs.

[Anonymous]

Some ideas:
Samin Nosrat's buttermilk roast chicken (recipe is all over the internet), prep some fresh green beans while it's in the oven, then finish while chicken is resting. and grocery store deli mashed potatoes-- microwave.

Salmon- same plan maybe a different vegetable.

Make a big pot of homemade ragu on Sunday afternoon- leftovers next night, or freeze sauce when you know you're going to be busy.

We do simple pasta with a good jar sauce (Rao's is good) and add some spicy sausage and parmesan. You can add a quick, bagged salad and dressing to make it healthier

Breakfast for dinner.

Get a seasoning packet for tacos, sautee with ground beef and a bit of tomato sauce until it's cooked through and tastes good, put in a hard taco shells, sprinkle with cheese, bake in the oven until cheese is melted. Actually quite tasty and a hit with kids.

[Anonymous]

Do your prep work ahead as much as humanly possible. Chop, shred, marinade.. whatever. That was a lifesaver for me as a single, working mom.

[Anonymous]

I rely heavily on Martha Stewart recipes. They are good and quick. Check out the website.

[Anonymous]

Marinade chicken breasts. 20 minutes in the oven. In that time bake potatoes in the microwave and make a salad or steam other vegetables. Keep it really simple.

Cook ground beef or turkey for tacos or taco salad and freeze it in portion sizes. Same for chili. Put chili in a slow cooker in the morning.

[Anonymous]

It’s easy to cook ground beef in oven to save mess and having to stand over it. Esp when value packs are on sale I will cook 3 lbs at once and save in 1 lb amounts. If I remember I’ll pull one out to thaw, otherwise I thaw in oven as I reheat with varying spices. Easy to season to add to tacos, burritos, add to marinara sauce, add to beef bowls, do egg rolls in a bowl, etc. I do the same with chicken breasts on sale and shred in 1 lb amounts. Easy to batch cook and freeze meatballs too, beef, turkey, chicken, pork. Thaw in a sauce of some kind, easy.

I also batch cook hard boiled eggs on the weekend, easy for breakfast or to add to salads for dinner.

Instant pots are great for weekday meals and for cooking things like pot roast on weekends that can be used in different ways during week.

If I roast a chicken on the weekend I will roast 2 or 3 and use during week and possibly freeze some shredded. Try to have cooked proteins in fridge and freezer or buy frozen from TJs to have on hand when busy.

Scrambled eggs and oven French toast are quick, my kids love breakfast for dinner. If I cook bacon I will cook 2 packs and keep some in fridge for salads and sandwiches. Wrapped in batches and in ziplock can also be frozen cooked and quickly thawed.

Find sheet pan meals your family likes, make a double batch and use over greens or in a wrap for a second night or for lunches.