Dinner ideas PLEASE!

Jennplus2

Hello all,
I lost 30 :happy: and gained back 10 :explode: so I am jumping back into it and could use some advise.:drinker:
I need some help with dinner ideas for a family of 4 that are both fast and healthy. (My son is also a dairy free eater due to allergies so little to no dairy ideas are a plus but I can modify if you have great dinners with dairy all ideas welcome)

I do great eating healthy at work where I can plan ahead and eat what I bring to work-mostly veggies. But at home I feel like all my good work during the day goes down the drain. I have to make dinner for my family, fast. I get home around 6 and dinner and bed for my young kids is a whirl wind! My son (2 years old and a good eater) is hungry when I pick him up at 5 so by time I get my daughter and get home he wants to eat 30 mins ago! My spouse is not all that supportive in the fact that he snacks on "bad" things all the time and keeps them in the house plus he is a picky dinner eater. (No fat, no like.) I am not blaming him, I know it is all me and my will power but it does make it harder when everything around me looks so good.
I was thinking that if I can start making healthier dinners I could eat more of them (1 cup of food for a meal looks so small to me) and fill up on good choices so I am less likely to snack on things I know I should not have.
Most days I do the fast frozen bag of dinner because it is ready in 15 or less and takes so little effort. But I don't like that I feed my kids processed food so much. It also is not helping me lose any weight. So, if you have advise or dinner ideas I would love some help.
Thanks!

oh, I should prob tell you all I can't cook! I would love to try and learn though.


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ali258

One thing I used to do is to make a big casserole or a pot of soup (or both) on Sunday and then eat them throughout the week. That might help you use the recipes you have and like now, but in way less time on weeknights. You could also get a slow cooker and let dinner cook itself while you're at work. I know neither of these are recipes, but they both allow you to make a healthy dinner much faster.

-Alison

shnewell

For fast and easy, you can't beat turkey burgers (I eat them w/o the bun) with salad, baby carrots and/or fruit. I use Jennie-O Extra Lean ground turkey and season the patties with a little Season All and black pepper, cook them 4 minutes on each side and dinner is served!

Another thing the kids like is a recipe I found from Kraft called Fun Taco Cups. I also make it with ground turkey. Cook 1lb. ground turkey or lean ground beef with 1 packet of taco seasoning according to package directions. Open 1 can of refrigerated biscuits and spread each biscuit into the bottom of a muffin pan to form a cup. Spoon the taco-seasoned meat into the cups, sprinkle with a small amount of cheese (I use Kraft Mexican 4-cheese blend, and you could make some w/o cheese for your son), place in oven and bake according to biscuit package directions (usually around 8-10 minutes), serve with refried beans (I use Rosarita Traditional No-Fat) and salad.

For more ideas, we love a cookbook called Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents by Sandra Nissenberg.

karmasBFF

Wow! I can sooooo relate!

I am also using WW online for recipe building and I discovered this homemade spaghetti sauce is a breeze! and with Chicken and Ricotta Rolls (I will add that at the bottom), its only worth 5 points! over penne, its worth 8. If you are unfamiliar with the WW points system, an 8 point dinner is phenomenal! And my kids loved it!

1 large can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
italian seasoning, basil, salt, pepper and garlic to taste.
1 red pepper and 1 yellow pepper, into large enough pieces for the kiddies to pick out or in the blender so they never see em!
1 cup sliced mushrooms
water to achieve preferred thickness

let simmer for 25 minutes...done!

I know you said your little one needed to eat 30 minutes AGO but this is a great option to make in bulk and freeze. Thawing literally takes minutes!

Chicken Ricotta Rolls....

6 chicken breasts slices in half lengthwise and pounded thin
3/4 small container nonfat/reduced fat ricotta cheese
1 egg (can also just substitute egg white)
thawed/fresh spinach chopped small

combine everything (except the chicken!)
spread cheese filling thinly across salted chicken
roll and secure with toothpicks or string

sautee in olive oil until all sides are browned. pour sauce over and simmer until chicken is cooked.

I know it sounds like a lot but I got this done after work, with homework, bathtime, terrible twos and bedtime was not late! I too, get home at 6pm.

Also the key is prep. I tend to prep the night before once the kids are in bed. Dinner is always done in less than 20-30 minutes and its always delicious!

Good eats!

lemonllama

I made Turkey/Veg soup today!
My favorite!
In the crock pot, its just lean ground turkey, and all the veggies you want, plus either 3 cups v8 or tomato juice and a couple beef bouillion cubes.
I use cabbage, carrots, green beans, onion, celery, a little bit of corn and peas. Frozen spinach if you want.. chop the cabbage, brown the turkey, throw everything in. Leave it on low all day. Its really good and actually very flavorful. AND for TWO whole cups of it its 175 calories. Its definately filling enough for a whole meal. If your husband wants extra he could have a steak on the side or potato or something!

This time I added a can of diced tomatos so hopefully that will be good.
I also wrote down all the amts and calories so i could add them up/divide by amount and get the actual number of calories- but last time it was about 175/2 cups.

csingleton24

Healthy turkey chili is a good one to make on sundays too! Then you can morph it into Chili cheese dogs (oscar mayer makes fat free turkey dogs at only 40 cal. each) or chili burgers. I agree with the poster that soups are great! The kids and hubby can make grilled cheese sandwiches or hot ham sandwiches to add more bulk if it's not filling enough. You can just add a salad with it and not worry about going overboard on calories.

I'm sure they'll love whatever you make! Good Luck!

lemonllama

Also I love to put frozen chicken breasts in a pan and coat with a little yoshida sauce and leave it overnight and then pop it in the oven for 30 minutes whenever your ready to cook. Serve with some instant brown rice and veg! or could use any marinade, the yoshida is kind of sugary but only 50 cals a tbsp and if you only put a few tbsp (sometimes i even water it down) its SUPER flavorful and you dont really end up eating much of the sauce at all...

FILLING and low cal and super quick!!

pizzafruit

Maybe you could pick up some cucumber (easy to chew), grapes, bing cherries - cut and pitted, sliced apple and use those as a snack while dinner is being prepared for everyone who's hungry. If you haven't had a chance to cook in advance the crock pot idea is the best. Cheaper cuts of beef get so tender they're a soft as butter. Chicken is another great crock pot meal. Bake a few whole wheat dinner rolls, serve some sugar free apple sauce and some steamed vegetable and the meal is done.
The crock pot should come with a small recipe booklet, you'll find some delicious ideas in there.
Turkey burgers are so good - whole grain rolls, some lettuce, tomato, pickle, a little ketchup and mustard. Microwave some veggies, a piece of fruit for dessert and you're done.

DrBorkBork

Super Easy Stir Fry:

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken
1 bag frozen stir fry veggies
1 jar La Choy duck, plum, or sweet & sour sauce (or make your own)
1/2 cup La Choy crunchy Chow Mein Noodles
1 cup rice (will make 2 cups)

Chop up chicken, toss in pan with olive oil. Cook through. Add veggies. Add sauce (or make your own). Cook rice as directed.
Place 1 cup rice in bowl, top with meat, veggies, and sauce. Add crunchy noodles on top. Enjoy!

HARVEST HOME VEGGIE CHILI

Ingredients:
rainbow bell peppers (1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange, 1 green)
2 zucchini
1 yellow squash
4 potatoes
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes (I like to use the cilantro & lime flavor)
1 can Hunts zesty spaghetti sauce

Bring large pot of water to boil. Meanwhile chop/dice/cube/slice potatoes, squash, zucchini, and bell peppers. Throw in pot, add kidney beans. Allow to boil until potatoes are soft. Drain, return to pot. Add corn, diced tomatoes, and sauce, cook until warm. Top with cheddar, sour cream, salsa, and all your favorite chili fixins. Serve with tortilla chips or corn bread. Browned, drained ground beef may be added to recipe if desired.

The prep time on this is killer, because of all the chopping, but once you get it into the pot, it pretty much takes care of itself.

dme917

You could pack some apple slices, carrot sticks, or another type of snack for your son to eat while on the way to pick up your daughter. This might be just enough to hold him off until you get dinner ready!

I love to use the Ziplock zip & steam bags. You can put anything in them all in one bag: meat, fresh or frozen veggies, & seasonings. Prepare them the night before and when you get home it takes 6 -10 minutes or so to cook. Your husband could have steak while you have chicken. You can cook hotdogs in them too for the kids if they don't like steak or chicken.

JessicaT2007

Saving this thread!

tearose

For fast and easy, you can't beat turkey burgers (I eat them w/o the bun) with salad, baby carrots and/or fruit. I use Jennie-O Extra Lean ground turkey and season the patties with a little Season All and black pepper, cook them 4 minutes on each side and dinner is served!

Another thing the kids like is a recipe I found from Kraft called Fun Taco Cups. I also make it with ground turkey. Cook 1lb. ground turkey or lean ground beef with 1 packet of taco seasoning according to package directions. Open 1 can of refrigerated biscuits and spread each biscuit into the bottom of a muffin pan to form a cup. Spoon the taco-seasoned meat into the cups, sprinkle with a small amount of cheese (I use Kraft Mexican 4-cheese blend, and you could make some w/o cheese for your son), place in oven and bake according to biscuit package directions (usually around 8-10 minutes), serve with refried beans (I use Rosarita Traditional No-Fat) and salad.

For more ideas, we love a cookbook called Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents by Sandra Nissenberg.

This sounds really good..trying it for friday night dinner..do you have any idea what the calorie count is per biscuit?..oh what about making it into a kinda empanada pie..for on the go lunch with a salad..that sounds great too! Thanks!!:flowerforyou:

shnewell

I used Pillsbury Buttermilk and they are 50 calories per biscuit. I try to eat around 350-370 calories at dinner, and so depending on what else I've had to eat that day (particularly how many carbs), I might have just one taco cup and then spoon some extra taco meat on to my plate. Every time I've made this recipe, I always have meat left in the pan because you just don't use it all to make the 10 taco cups.

But, 3 cups would be 150 calories for the biscuits plus whatever calories are added by the meat, which is probably about 2 oz. meat at the most. That plus a big serving of veggies is filling and stays under my calorie goal.

That's another reason I like the recipe -- it's kid-friendly, reasonably healthy and easy to modify to fit my own needs without having to cook a whole separate meal! Enjoy!

DrBorkBork

Baked stuffed peppers tonight, using leftover turkey italian sausage from last night's homemade pizza. Tomorrow is hamburger helper, and Hawaiian Haystacks on Friday. That should give you a few more ideas