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?

Really, he said, "I'm so conflicted?"

Why are people afraid to leave the crockpot on all day? Isn't that what a crockpot is made for?

Pasta CAN be fast if you are okay with making the noodles the night before, tossing with a teeny bit of butter or oil, and putting in the fridge. Heat up sauce, toss cold noodles with hot sauce. By the time everyone's washed up and at the table, noodles are warmed through and sauce is cooled enough for young kids to not spit across the room (speaking from experience here).
Scrambled eggs are a godsend for dinner (at least once a week in our house).
OP and others, if you are nervous about leaving the crockpot all day you could set it up after kids are in bed and let it run all night. In the morning, put the insert in the fridge. When you get home you will need to reheat, but that's it.
Rice can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen.

OP, don't feel bad. Our society isn't set up for food success. I grew up with two parents who were anti-fast food. Fast food is easy and cheap. I can see how people get stuck into going there so much.

My sister is a single mom with 3 kids. She swears by this cookbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Dinner-Recipes-Shopping-Family/dp/0345464869

She said you do a bunch of cooking on Sunday and freeze it for the week.

It's not just time--it's energy, too. You must be wiped at the end of the day. So I get the appeal of not cooking.

Is there a supermarket salad bar you could hit instead? Or more healthy take-out options?

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?

We're nervous about leaving the crockpot on all day too. We put things in in the evening, transfer to a different container as soon as we wake up, and put it in the fridge right before we head out. It works reasonably well. It means we leave some dishes for the evening, so we only do it once a week, but that usually provides 1 dinner + 2 days of lunch.

Breakfast for dinner is a quick option. DS loves eggs, so we will do scrambled eggs/omelette with veggies sometimes.

Also, we've gotten into the habit of eating some raw veggies with hummus or dip before/during dinner. Even if he doesn't like the veggie for dinner, he'll usually eat a few carrots/broccoli or something (we're talking about a 3 year old here).

Can you work from home one day a week? Even getting out of the commute one day would make a huge difference.

I know it's more expensive, but maybe if you do need to pick up food, you do more Chipotle/Panera type places rather than McD. I know it's still processed, but it seems to be a little less so than standard fast food.

Good luck!

we never have fast food-we rarely go out to dinner. I am not a single mom but have three boys with a husband that travels quite a bit. For those insane nights our quick meals include: pasta, beans, eggs, even pb sandwiches, or bagels with lox, pancakes with turkey sausage and fruit, really anything that has some quality protein, fruit and/or veggies, and some carbs. I try to pre plan so if I know we will have some crazy evenings I make dinner ahead of time. This time of year my kids love soup and bread which is easy to make ahead and tastes better the longer it sits. Don't over think it, you don't need an elaborate spread, just some simple healthy food. Good luck! My nights can be tough so I can only imagine how hard yours must be.

Agree that pasta isn't fast! Turkey meatballs, quesadilla (tortilla with cheese, chicken, salsa etc), breakfast for dinner (frozen pancakes or waffles), sides of pre-cut fruit or steam in bag veggies..

Know it's not what you're asking, but an hour drive to and from school, especially as a single mom without a flexible work sked - that's a huge part of the issue! I know it seems like posters are jumping on it but on DCUM you'll often get that - people further removed from the situation noticing what really is making things hard.. Good luck!

Our go-to meal is soft tacos or veggie stir fry. We usually bake a chicken on Sundays and then pick at it all week for soft tacos. Just keep pre-cooked chicken in the fridge and you can pretty much throw it in anything. The veggies are easy if you buy the pre-washed ones. Five minutes to steam in the microwave and then you can toss in a pan with a little butter and dried dill. Squeeze a bit of lemon on them and serve.

Also -- can you buy yourself a little time with some fruits & veggies as soon as you walk in the door? Banana, baby carrots, apple slices from the bag (and SHUT UP posters who want to point out how fast it is to slice an apple -- this is about things that take NO time, not "just a few minutes").

I will never understand why people suggest pasta as a fast meal -- by the time you've brought the water to a boil and cooked it, you're looking at 20-30 minutes. I often have leftover pasta in the fridge, and my kids don't mind eating it, but I am not a fan.

OP, does your kid get a hot meal at school? Maybe make that the dinnerish thing and have soup/sandwiches for dinner? Or cereal, if you're really wiped.

My freezers (yep, plural) are packed with good meals. Trader Joe's offers very inexpensive meals that are incredibly easy to prepare. Costco helps too. I have loads of frozen veg (zucchini, eggplant, broc, spinach, carrots, corn,...) Every couple of months, I baked three large trays of different types of chicken, break them down into dinner portions and freeze them. I have a wide variety of pastas (including the kind made with carrot and squash, the spinach linguini, all sorts of couscous varieties) and sauces. My canned stuff ranges from soups I pour over rice, to baked beans (TJ's again), to all sorts of fruits and veg that would otherwise spoil in the fridge.

Am I proud of the near absence of fresh from the market stuff? No. But, I am doing the best I can with the limitations I've got.

Some other fast, easy, cheap options:

Veggie burgers on whole grain buns w/ lettuce tomato and onion. Frozen oven fries and strawberries as sides.

Tacos- ground beef, taco shells and any fixings on the side.

Frozen pizza with veggies and side salad.

Grill pan chicken breasts, seasoned with olive oil, kosher salt, cumin. Steamed carrots on the side and cous cous ( cook enough chicken for leftovers)

Leftover chicken breasts for quesadillas with salad on the side or steamed broccoli.

The night before make Shish kabobs with stew meat chunks, cherry tomatoes, zucchini chunks, mushrooms. Throw on grill pan and side of microwave brown rice.

Frozen veggies are so healthy!

It is so hard....once you get the routine down you will be eating dinner by 7:30 done at 8.

I'm still stuck on the hour long drive to school. Is he in private school?

Peruvian rotisserie chicken is the best! Pick one up,make some rice, add a veggie. Voila! Dinner. Steam in the bag veggies are great-6 minutes in the micro. We grill 30 hamburgers at a time and freeze them. 2 minutes in the micro to thaw. We make a huge batch of homemade waffles and then freeze them. Into the toaster for two minutes and done! We usually have "breakfast for dinner" once a week. Breakfast sausage, waffles and fruit is a great dinner. The trader joes "little beef tacos" are delicious. Soup (that you make over the weekend) with cornbread.
Do you have any single mom friends in the neighborhood? If so you could start a dinner club where you each make dinner for the other once a week. So on Sunday you make a double batch of spaghetti and meatballs and give her half. And she'll reciprocate with another dinner on another day.

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

On the plus side, he's right on in his analysis!