Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 18:57     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
PP again, and I am so jealous of the posters here who make it happen. I am a functional adult in so many ways, but really find cooking and meal planning exhausting. All the tips in the world don’t seem to help me on an ongoing basis.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 18:55     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
No suggestions, OP. Just empathy. I feel your pain and have a similar struggle. My kids are older though so I am able to have them help more. But it is still a struggle.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 18:52     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
Anonymous wrote:I only do three ‘significant’ meals a week which I know my kids will eat : ie slow cooker pot roast, salmon, and rotisserie chicken.

The other days I do a combo of leftovers and frozen chicken nuggets, pizza, chick fil a.

I also eat dinners for lunch so don’t mind having leftovers.


Do you have an easy kid-friendly salmon recipe you can share?
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 18:41     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
I only do three ‘significant’ meals a week which I know my kids will eat : ie slow cooker pot roast, salmon, and rotisserie chicken.

The other days I do a combo of leftovers and frozen chicken nuggets, pizza, chick fil a.

I also eat dinners for lunch so don’t mind having leftovers.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 18:38     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
Anonymous wrote:You first mistake is you eat at lunch at not with your kids.

Second dinner is a time for them to bond with you.

This is a you problem that you created.

Fix it now. Not hard involve them. Take them to a grocery store, have them make a list of dinner meals prep together etc....

My DH traveled as well. And I worked full time and dinner was always on the table. Veggie, fruit protein etc.. We ie my kids and I worked together.

Not chores we worked together.


That's you. Other families are different. What worked for you will not work for other families. Having super rigid expectations for what family evenings are supposed to look like just stress people out. For my picky eater who turned out to have sensory issues and anxiety, trying to follow your dictates would have made it worse.

If kids are getting proper nutrition and the family is otherwise happy, it's fine. My kid with the eating issues has never enjoyed mealtimes that much except for nights we go to her favorite restaurant. We used to connect in other ways, playing piano or reading together, as those were activities she loved. It's all good.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 18:30     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if they are not eating dinner, what are they eating. everyone gets hungry/needs to eat. if you are providing a lot of snacks, there is no need to eat dinner.

what do they like to eat?


They don’t eat. They eat breakfast and lunch, and that’s it. No snacks when they get home. They just don’t eat. They’re not big eaters.


OP my kid is like this. Eats breakfast, eats the lunch I pack for her (would not eat school lunch and would come home hungry so I figured out stuff to send her she would eat). She picks at dinner most nights. Every once in a while I'll make something she really likes and she'll eat like a horse with multiple helpings. But mostly she barely eats. This is after coming home from activities or after care where she might have had one health snack (like a banana and some cheese or something) but has not been snacking all afternoon.

I think I was like this as a kid too. Even when I was "really hungry" I'd feel full with very little food. And I was picky and if the meal being served was something not very appetizing (which was a lot of foods because of the pickiness), I'd lose my appetite and eat less. I'm a health adult with normal eating habits and a healthy weight. Turns out different bodies are different and this isn't a huge deal. I stress about it because when we host her friends they will often eat several multiples as much as she does (and they are also a healthy weight) but the pediatrician says kids are different and as long as she's growing, we don't have to stress too much. We make sure to offer certain foods with plenty of fat, iron, and protein a lot just to keep those basis covered (she eats plenty of fruit and grains so we dont' have to stress as much about those). Some dinners are just a glass of whole milk, bread with butter, and like four bites of a fruit or vegetable, because she won't eat anything else. I'm learning to let it go.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 18:20     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kids are older but now we’re in the most of the “multiple activities per night“ phase but i have lived the “other parent isn’t home for dinner ever” life. +100 to PP who said let go of the guilt. Give them reasonably healthy balanced meals over the course of a week and make sure there’s food there when they are hungry. Some things that we have done or currently do
-BFD. Scrambled eggs, toast, fruit. A fruit smoothie if I’m really motivated. For many years i did this every Friday and DD was convinced it was a super special treat bc I’m an amazing mom (LOL).
-beans. My kids adore beans esp refried beans straight out of the can. I can hear ppl gasping in horror but whatever… they smear some beans and cheese on a tortilla, zap it for a few secs, portable dinner ish thing they can eat on the way to (whatever).
-nothing wrong with charcuterie /snacky dinner. I just try to make sure there’s some protein and a fruit or veg in there.
-cook once eat multiple times. I cooked a bunch of chicken yesterday and i think we’re eating it in like 4 different ways this week.
-literally tonight our veg is crudite. This happens at least once a week and usually more
-you need to eat with them.
-i will sometimes meal plan around what will create the smallest amount of dishes. I hate cleaning up the kitchen!


I am in a similar boat. My girls are 16 and almost 18 and they are busy after school. They need fast nourishment (especially because of the sports) and they are both somewhat picky and its hard to make something everyone likes. My kids won't eat meal prep delivery and they are picky about prepared from grocery stores. I used to love cooking but now I hate it and have been looking for alternatives. Whole Foods is now doing mix and match family dinners from the deli counter. It's $35 and while the food is basic it is tasty and high quality/organic ingredients. I'm doing this twice a week now. Harris Teeter and Whole Foods are both offering pulled rotisserie chicken which I think is a huge help for making lots of recipes. Search chicken casseroles in Pinterest and you can find a ton of hearty kid friendly recipes.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 18:19     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
Anonymous wrote:My kids are older but now we’re in the most of the “multiple activities per night“ phase but i have lived the “other parent isn’t home for dinner ever” life. +100 to PP who said let go of the guilt. Give them reasonably healthy balanced meals over the course of a week and make sure there’s food there when they are hungry. Some things that we have done or currently do
-BFD. Scrambled eggs, toast, fruit. A fruit smoothie if I’m really motivated. For many years i did this every Friday and DD was convinced it was a super special treat bc I’m an amazing mom (LOL).
-beans. My kids adore beans esp refried beans straight out of the can. I can hear ppl gasping in horror but whatever… they smear some beans and cheese on a tortilla, zap it for a few secs, portable dinner ish thing they can eat on the way to (whatever).
-nothing wrong with charcuterie /snacky dinner. I just try to make sure there’s some protein and a fruit or veg in there.
-cook once eat multiple times. I cooked a bunch of chicken yesterday and i think we’re eating it in like 4 different ways this week.
-literally tonight our veg is crudite. This happens at least once a week and usually more
-you need to eat with them.
-i will sometimes meal plan around what will create the smallest amount of dishes. I hate cleaning up the kitchen!


I am in a similar boat. My girls are 16 and almost 18 and they are busy after school. They need fast nourishment (especially because of the sports) and they are both somewhat picky and its hard to make something everyone likes. My kids won't eat meal prep delivery and they are picky about prepared from grocery stores. I used to love cooking but now I hate it and have been looking for alternatives. Whole Foods is now doing mix and match family dinners from the deli counter. It's $35 and while the food is basic it is good and high quality/organic ingredients. I'm doing this twice a week now. Harris Teeter and Whole Foods are both offering pulled rotisserie chicken which I think is a huge help for making lots of recipes. Search chicken casseroles in Pineterest and you can find a billion hearty kid friendly recipes.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 17:33     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
My kids are older but now we’re in the most of the “multiple activities per night“ phase but i have lived the “other parent isn’t home for dinner ever” life. +100 to PP who said let go of the guilt. Give them reasonably healthy balanced meals over the course of a week and make sure there’s food there when they are hungry. Some things that we have done or currently do
-BFD. Scrambled eggs, toast, fruit. A fruit smoothie if I’m really motivated. For many years i did this every Friday and DD was convinced it was a super special treat bc I’m an amazing mom (LOL).
-beans. My kids adore beans esp refried beans straight out of the can. I can hear ppl gasping in horror but whatever… they smear some beans and cheese on a tortilla, zap it for a few secs, portable dinner ish thing they can eat on the way to (whatever).
-nothing wrong with charcuterie /snacky dinner. I just try to make sure there’s some protein and a fruit or veg in there.
-cook once eat multiple times. I cooked a bunch of chicken yesterday and i think we’re eating it in like 4 different ways this week.
-literally tonight our veg is crudite. This happens at least once a week and usually more
-you need to eat with them.
-i will sometimes meal plan around what will create the smallest amount of dishes. I hate cleaning up the kitchen!
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2025 15:45     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PS from PP: when my 20 and 22 yr olds are home from college these TJ things are still stocked in the freezer and they love to whip them up for lunch or snacks. It’s their childhood comfort food! “Yum, just like mom used to buy!”[/quote]

This is really cute. OP here. Did you feel like it tasted like cafeteria food or homemade enough?[/quote]

I think the stuff we love from TJ’s is tasty and relatively healthy. Homemade enough! Just add a green salad or other fresh veggie side.
Anonymous
Post 12/06/2025 15:15     Subject: Meal planning is SUCH a struggle for me, so I don't do it, and we're in a tough circle. Please help.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t enjoy cooking and my spouse works in the evenings so it’s just me and DD. I’ve had WLS so eat very small portions. DD is 13 and does sports so our “ dinner” is usually around 4 then a large snack later.
Rotisserie chicken is your friend.
I make several servings of WG rice every couple of weeks then freeze some.
Quesadillas , we do chicken or black beans
I feel like nutrition is more important than whether it’s a “ proper dinner”
So if your kids like yogurt, cheese/crackers with fruit then do that twice a week..
Just make sure it’s not a “ kid “ yogurt full of sugar, you can healthy WG crackers,
I do a snack plate once a week. DD and I watch a show together and eat on the couch, I’ll do cheese/crackers, edamane, nuts, cherry tomatoes, cut up cucumbers and cut up carrots..takes 5 mins. I feel like it’s fine nutritionally


This is the most helpful post on here so far.


What is WG?


Whole grain