what do your kids like to eat? For 5 nights if they are little kids, I would do

1. box mac and cheese with vegetable
2. frozen chicken nuggets with vegetable
3. frozen pancakes, yogurt, and fruit
4. pasta with vegetables and meatballs/meat sauce
5. takeout, sandwiches, or go out to eat

I would aim to have a lasagna and a few containers of soup in the freezer. Point them out to MIL and let her know she's welcome to use them. But don't be offended if she doesn't! Just save them for a busy weeknight when you're back home.

My father would tell me what groceries to buy before he comes, then do a mix of his own cooking and restaurants. He'd be offended if I offered him money for the restaurants.
If your MIL is an uncertain cook, you can certainly freeze your own lasagna/casserole meals for her to re-heat, and fill the freezer with ready-made stuff from Trader Joe's, along with easy-prep veggies and fruit in the fridge. Lunch meat and sandwich things for lunch. Cereal for breakfast.

Don't take our opinions. Talk to MIL and kids together and come up with a menu. Then work out with MIL about how much prep she needs. Does she want you to go the grocery shopping or meals half prepped or meals fully cooked/frozen or just cash for take outs?

I’d cut up vegetables and fruit and stock up on easy snacks like cheese sticks, crackers and yogurt.

Anonymous wrote:My mil would be so insulted.

+100

Maybe focus on having easy beakfast (and lunch) items stocked instead - waffles, bagels, cereal, fruit, etc. if you're feeling like you need to do something

My mil would be so insulted.

Pinch of Yum is a good blog with a freezer meal section. Lots of good ideas there!

Anything you can dump in the crockpot (that your kids like) is great. If you have the meat in a package in the fridge, veggies cut up in one bowl, and spices/dry ingredients in another, its really easy to just dump stuff in the crockpot in the morning.
Also great to do this the day you leave, so she already has a hot meal that night that she just has to scoop and serve.

How many kids and how old are they? Keep the food simple.

Leave some gift cards for grandma to take out the kids to a restaurant or ordet-in.

Some of my fondest memories is eating at a restaurant with my grandma during the summer when I stayed with her fir a week.

Can she not cook? I'd do a pan of lasagna or baked ziti, a batch of bolognese sauce, stuff for quesadillas, some kind of soup or chili, and salmon to broil.

I assume "them" are your children? I would put some frozen dishes that your kids like in the freezer that she can warm up. Leave some cash for pizza or order too.

Huh? Why can’t she just make whatever she normally makes for herself?

We will be gone for 5 days and I want to prep some meals so it’s easier for my mother in law to cook for them. Would love some suggestions of easy meals I can prep and she can heat or that takes minimal time to prep.