Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you do a rotisserie chicken once a week? Cut up veggies to go along with it. Tortellini or ravioli with pesto or marinara sauce might be a step up from Kraft Mac n cheese.

All pasta is a processed food. By definition. It can’t exist without a process.

But it doesn't necessarily have ton of chemicals in it. Just buy organic or De Cecco

Could you replace the hotdogs with meatballs? It's easy to make your own and freeze them.

Same with the mac and cheese. I make my own and freeze it in small portions.

Instead of sloppy Joes maybe you could make bean burgers instead. They are easy to make and freeze well. Serve in mini burger buns with a cheese and tomato slices. Some potato wedges on the side.

Poach some chicken breasts and use them throughout the week. You can cut them up to use in pasta dishes, or in salads and sandwiches.

^^ chicken tenders fit in hotdog buns (though most commercial buns aren't great for you).

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, with the exception in the Mac and cheese and hotdogs…it’s fine.

Try some recipes for stovetop or crockpot mac and cheese. With the Kraft, you aren’t saving that much time. You still have to boil the noodles and stir in the powder. Boil your own noodles, and keep milk and a few types of shredded cheese around. Get some “better” hotdogs, or switch to hamburgers.

+1 or do broiled chicken tenders instead of hotdogs. Also, look up Alton Brown's recipe for taco seasoning and make a batch in a jar. Use that instead of the packaged seasoning for your taco night. Make it once and you can have it at the ready for months.

Anonymous wrote:I am looking for recipe books or websites for healthy meals because we eat too many ultra-processed meals. I work in the office and have young elementary kids so time is limited in the evenings. Son also is in sports. Kraft’s Mac and Cheese with hot dogs and salad. Tacos with hard/soft shells. Pasta with sausage. Sloppy Joes. Stir fry. Always have a veg or fruit on the table.

Budget Bytes has been a go-to for me. Smitten Kitchen and I aren’t close friends anymore, but I learned a lot from her (this is metaphor, btw, I have never met the woman). Once Upon a Chef has been great (and has two great cookbooks!), Cafe Delights and Alexandra Cooks are good. And I have lost count of how many times I have made this soup: https://iambaker.net/lasagna-soup/ Her recipes are very good but obviously it’s primarily a baking site and not a cooking site (her cookbook is decent though and that’s more cooking recipes vs baking).

The pp who said meal planning and meal prep are the way is correct. Replace one processed meal a week with someone you or your husband (or your son; if he’s old enough to be sports, he’s old enough to help prep) until that becomes a habit that you can prep some of the vegetables for the night before.