Need meal suggestions for a busy mom with little time!!

momof3inmn

My schedule is typically like this:
*Monday and Wednesday leave the house at 8:15am for work, get home at 6:10pm. Have to leave for practice at 6:35pm. In 25 I need to prepare something to eat and have time to eat it and get 2 kids ready for practice.

*Tuesday and Thursday leave the house at 8:15am for work. Leave work at 6pm and either a) have to pick kids up from daycare and arrive back home at about 7pm or b) go straight to a softball game(s) and get home between 8-9pm.

*Friday leave for work at 8:15am and get home at 6:10pm.

*Saturday and Sunday for the most part are pretty open, but 1-2 weekends a month we are at softball tournaments.

I'm running out of ideas that are quick AND healthy. Also, my family is picky and I have to work around food allergies/texture issues. I'm not very picky, but don't really care to make a meal for myself and another meal for the family.
HELP!!!

kelseyhere

Not sure how old your kids are so they might be young, but they can't be too young if they are in sports, so why not involve them in the process? Let them do some of the prep work BEFORE you get home to help save time. You can start cooking with them on the weekends first until they get used to it, and then a couple nights a week enlist their help. They will definitely be more likely to eat a meal they helped prepare, and it can help them get over some of their "picky" habits. You could buy lots of healthy sandwich fixings for example and have them help by making their own.

Another suggestion is to make a big bag of mixed salad on Sunday night. Add lettuce, chopped carrots, mushrooms, onion, whatever else you like, and it should keep fresh until at least Wednesday. You'll have a veggie ready to go, so you can focus on the main part of the meal. Or as an alternative, your kids could be your salad preppers if you feel comfortable letting them use knives.

If you don't have a crockpot I suggest you get one. It's another way you can make a meal a Sunday and have it during the week. Crockpot stews are definitely family friendly and can be very healthy as long as you don't add lots of salt or use a creamy broth. You could also pre-prepare casseroles on the weekend, store them in the fridge or freezer and ask your older children to put in the oven so by the time you get home, it's ready. That way you can enjoy those precious 25 minutes together instead of cooking

momof3inmn

3 kids ages 14, 5 and 6. The younger ones, one has health issues and the other is special needs. My husband gets home with them on Mon/Wed about 5 minutes before I do. So he doesn't have much time to prepare anything either.

I like using my crock pot, but not in the summer

iLoveMyPitbull1225

You could spend saturday or sunday preparing meals for the week to freeze or have in the fridge to heat up quickly when you have less than 30 minutes. ( fun weekend, I know.) The crockpot can also he wonderful for this.

roch1972

I would love some tips too. I'm a single mom of a 5 year old and Monday through Friday we leave the house at 7:20am. I drop him off at daycare and drive to work by 8:30am. I leave work at 5 and pick up my son. We get home about 6pm. So its dinner, bath bed. In the last 4 months I've spent over $800 in restaurants because I don't cook. I need ideas for quick, healthy meals that are good for me and my son.

AidenHousersMommy

A quick and easy recipe is pepper and lemon chicken
6 skinless chicken breast halves
1 t finely shredded lemon peel
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoon cooking oil
1 t dried thyme or basil, crushed (I just use basil from the store)
1/2 t coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 t salt
2 cloves garlic, minced (I just use 1t garlic powder)

Mix together the lemon peel, juice, oil, basil (or thyme), black pepper, salt and garlic. Then marinate the chicken in the mixture in a bag for 30 min.
~if you can prepare the night before or before you leave for work and have it marinate all day. I've done it and it tastes amazing, plus it'll help you cook faster in the evening

Preheat the broiler (i only do it for a few min)

Put the chicken on foil in the broiler. Broil for about 6 minutes.

Turn and and "brush" (i just drizzle) some of the left over marinade onto the chicken and cook for another 6-8 minutes


You can serve anything with it. My boyfriend loves my homemade cheesy broccoli.
Take 1/3 box of velveta (i use the off brand and it still tastes yummy) and cube the cheese.
Steam the broccoli (or if you're like me, and don't have a steamer) boil the broccoli (put into a bowl) and then save a little of the water. then cook the cheese down into a sauce.

Once it's done, just pour over the broccoli.