I have a vegetarian. Before she became vegetarian a roast chicken was a regular in my rotation. Pat it totally dry, salt and pepper, high heat for about 30 mins, flip it over for another 20-30 mins. Takes awhile but easy to have going if you work at home and doesn’t need active attention. I’d serve it with a side salad or veggies roasted on a pan in the oven and sometimes bread that I heated up.

Regular quick dinners now in our family (girls are 9 and 5):

(1) chickpea tagine: sautée an onion in olive oil (I use a Dutch oven) while getting water boiling in a separate pot. To the onion add a fair bit of tumeric, some cinnamon and a little honey and any other desired spices. Sometimes I add veggie stock (otherwise water), sometimes a bit of tomato paste. Maybe garlic or ginger. A can or two of chick peas and let it simmer for a few minutes. Meanwhile add couscous to the boiling water. Add carrots to the chickpeas (I do this toward the end because my kids like the carrots to be firm). Serve the chickpea / carrot mix over couscous.

(2) sautee peppers and onions with a bunch of lime juice and some cumin. Add a can of black beans (unless I make beans in advance which my kids prefer). While they sautee I mix avocado with salt and lime to make guacamole. Heat up some tortillas and serve with packaged shredded cheese.

Pasta with a salad, or salad with a loaf of bread, frozen pizzas and ordering out are all in our repertoire.

Everyone likes fruit / cheese / bread night (meat eaters add deli meats) which I do if we have a lot of fruit that needs to get eaten.

We don’t have a grill but the kids are pretty happy with pan-grilled burgers / impossible burger. Cooking the burgers, toasting buns, microwaving a couple of ears of corn and slicing watermelon takes little time.

Vegetarian chili is another go to - it takes more prep time but I can do that at lunch and throw it in the slow cooker and it’s ready at dinner time.

Fish and veggies on a sheet pan are my go to quick dinner. Any white fish (olive oil, salt and pepper at a minimum) will work but I also love salmon. There are also good versions of fish wrapped in aluminum foil with various seasonings, olives, tomatoes etc that are great too.

Healthy eating is one of my top priorities - but it doesn't have to be a major time suck.

Green smoothies are a great way to get some fruit and veggies into your kids in five minutes. There are tons of recipes, I like almond milk/spinach/frozen mango and banana as my #1 go to. But there are tons of delicious ones out there. Serve with oatmeal or eggs or sandwiches and boom, a decently healthy dinner one night.

I tried this recipe recently and it was a hit: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-crispy-sheet-pan-gnocchi-and-veggies-247360

Lots of other good suggestions here. I also like to do a quick fajita - saute peppers and onions, heat up some black beans, slice up some avocado. We do pasta with a ton of veggies - zucchini and mushrooms cook quickly.

Two working (out of the home) parents, 2 kids ages 5 and 3. We have no hired cleaners or food prep, although we are not opposed to ordering in! But we try to have "real" meals for the kids most days.

Our "simple" weekend prep meals include:

meat loaf muffins - mix together a pound of ground turkey, some breadcrumbs, tomato sauce, an egg, and a bag of shredded broccoli and portion out into a muffin tin. This makes 6 "muffins" which I can cook in our tiny toaster oven. Each muffin is a serving and freezes well. You can of course make more at a time but I like cooking in the toaster oven since I'm usually using the bigger oven at the same time when I'm making these.

sheet pan veggies - buy two bags of precut frozen veggies. Broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, etc. Throw onto a baking sheet, sprinkle with oil and salt, cook. That gets us through a week or so.

Rice. In 45 minutes total we have enough rice for our family of four to eat with the items above.

Weekdays if we don't have any leftovers I'll make the following in under 30 minutes:

eggs scrambled with spinach and shredded cheese.

boboli pizza crust with tomato sauce and cheese on top, add some frozen vegetables or fresh mushrooms and cook in the oven

fresh fish with olive oil and salt, broiled for like 15 minutes

We try to keep a fresh baguette in the house (which is easy for me to pick up on the way home from work) and it makes almost anything feel like a more complete meal.

Anonymous wrote:I could have written your post, OP. I am in the middle of preparing dinners for this coming week too. It sucks. I used to love cooking, too.

While the suggestions given are good, I have two issues: first, we’re vegetarian and vegetarian food isn’t that easy. Second, we have limited freezer space and no room to put a deep freezer in our city condo! I could add a third which is that my young kids are still picky eaters.

I do dread Sundays now but am so happy when I come home from work and just pop a dish in the oven while my toddler and I make a salad while I’m wearing my baby. We sit down to eat while everyone is still in a good mood and DH does clean up so I can nurse and read to my kids in peace.

I'm the same way. Also, between my vegetarianism, my kids' pickiness and DH's need for hearty dinners there aren't a lot of good options for us. I basically rotate the same 3 meals continually, with minor tweaks (pasta, veggie burgers, tacos).

This is one area where it would be easier to be a single mom bc I could just cook a giant thing of mac n cheese and we could eat it all week. That's what I do when DH is away.

Anonymous wrote:Just keep it simple. Spaghetti/meatballs and a salad, roasted chix with microwave veggies etc. Nourishing food doesn't need to be elaborate. As your kids grow, it will get easier. But you are beyond blessed..a nanny and a weekly housekeeper, wow!

+1 working mom of four here who also has great help and agree you have to do simple dinners at this stage. Rotisserie chicken with veggie and pasta. Tacos. Spaghetti. I used to love cooking elaborate meals and baking etc but I just don’t have time.

I question whether the Sunday meal prep is worth it. No one enjoys it. And I'm not sure it saves much time. You have to reheat everything anyway, and some of the stuff you're chopping on a Sunday is probably gross by Wednesday.

I agree with the PP who said make TWO dinners on Sunday, and keep everything else simple.

Also, would it work for you or DH to get up very early on Saturday or Sunday and grocery shop then? That's what I do. It's peaceful and enjoyable.

i love me some trader joes frozen food

Anonymous wrote:Can people share more of their super easy and healthy weeknight 20 minute meals?

Trader Joe’s is great for this. I make quesadillas out of their precooked bbq meat (like pulled pork), shredded cheddar and mango salsa. Or I follow a recipe from thekitch.com where you drizzle Trader Joe’s frozen sweet potato gnocchi and sliced Italian chicken sausage with olive oil, salt and pepper, lay out on a sheet pan and roast at 450 about 15 minutes, then top with their basil and cashew pesto.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread feels like a SNL skit. I’m a single mother and do all of that by myself. And I also find time to just unwind with a glass of wine and a movie.

It’s easier being a single mother, PP. Honestly. Your idea of cleaning standards and nutritional standards are your own. You have no other equal adult to compromise with. I could eat and serve scrambled eggs for dinner but DH needs a full balanced, vegetarian meal. I could live with crumbs on the floor but DH has to vacuum daily. There are a million things that I would let slide without DH.

+1. This really is true. Without the commitment of marriage and another relationship to tend to, I would have a lot more time!

+2. Thank you! I am so sick of the single mother whine. Being married and in a healthy relationship takes work, planning, and commitment. I could eat cold cereal for dinner and be happy with the quiet after the kids are in bed.

Wow. You need some empathy.

Sure thing! Put sausages on a baking tray, prick them with a knife so they don't pop, and bake 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut up small whatever vegetables you have in the house and toss them with oil, salt, pepper, and whatever spices you have. Bake that too for 10 minutes or until it looks done. Serve with bread.

Take some homemade or store bought chicken stock and heat it up in a pot. Put some shrimp from the freezer in, no need to defrost. You can use tofu instead if you like. Throw in some rice noodles, thin sliced onion, small cut broccoli, sliced spinach or baby spinach, or whatever. You can beat an egg and whisk it in. Serve with soy sauce, hot sauce, and lime juice.

One more , this pasta:

https://everyday-reading.com/creamy-sausage-tortellini-with-spinach/

So easy! I don't even bother to chop the baby spinach, and I use jarred, pre-minced garlic (maybe not the greatest, but who cares, right?). My kids in particular love this one.

Anonymous wrote:Can people share more of their super easy and healthy weeknight 20 minute meals?

Here are a few . . .

Spinach pesto flatbreads - stick four store-bought naan breads on a cookie sheet. Spread store-bought pesto on each one. Top with fresh mozzarella cheese (tear off chunks from one of those big balls). Then plop a handful of baby spinach on next. Add red pepper flakes to the ones the adults will be eating. Cook in 450 degree over for 12 minutes. Cut them up into quarters and serve with store-bought marinara sauce for dipping. Fruit on the side.

Salmon - stick four salmon fillets on a cookie sheet. Paint on some store-bought teriyaki sauce (or whatever store-bought sauce/marinade you like). Cook for 15 to 20 minutes in 400- 425 degree over. While cooking, microwave some steamed broccoli to have on the side. Also serve with rolls.

The McCormick Chili recipe - brown a pound of ground beef in a pan (takes 6 min). Then add the McCormick chili spice packet, a can of kidney beans, and a can of diced tomatoes. Simmer together for ten minutes. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and corn chips or tortillas. It's surprisingly good chili

Can people share more of their super easy and healthy weeknight 20 minute meals?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the people saying single moms have it easy must have useless husbands. Or their own standards are so low that they would feed their kids hot dogs every night of their husband wasn’t around to notice.

DP. When my husband was gone for a year doing a fellowship I used to make a big platter of fruit, veggies, cheese, crackers, olives and hummus for dinner every night.
The kids liked it. I liked it. It was healthy.

There are a lot of things that are harder about being a single mom. There is no one there to balance out your weaker points or to share in joyful moments or hold you when things are hard.
But yes, meal prep is definitely easier.

Everyone keeps talking about how they'd eat some fruit or a bowl of cereal for dinner. And how that would just make everything easier. But that's not how you feed for your families continually because you know growing children need a well balanced variety of foods, and that over time those needs change. Single mother aren't taking a break from their reality. Sure, usually on Fridays it's kind of fend for yourself night, and I let them figure it out. But I've got two athletic teens; I can't serve them a platter of hummus and veggies. That's like an appetizer to them. More evenings than not they need a substantial dinner. I do understand that some things are easier when you're single (you get to make all the decisions, etc), I do not deny that. But a break from a few responsibilities here and there is not comparable to every single day.