any ideas for QUICK healthy dinners my kids would love too.

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jarelary4
jarelary4 Posts: 141 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am starting a new job soon in a bakery and wil be home after 5 every day. Does anyone have ideas for low cal tasty QUICK meals I could eat and my kids wouldn't turn there noses up at. We eat a lot of chicken and pork tenderloin, rarely ground beef and occasionally steak. Thanks for any ideas you have.

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  • PinkKitty724
    PinkKitty724 Posts: 179 Member
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    Pasta with chicken cut up into it and salad. You can use whole wheat or whole grain pasta, which typically has fewer calories per serving. Healthy choice pasta sauce I believe is lower calories than traditional brands. Sorry, I am new to this and trying to figure out healthy meals still :)
  • LaTerri
    LaTerri Posts: 42
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    Try making up some sauces to go over the chicken, etc... and freeze them.

    You could combine the sauce with meat and eat a veggie for dinner, and for the kids put it over pasta and cut up the meat small to make it like meat sauce on pasta.

    I make a maranara sauce that has all veggies in it, spinach, zuchinni, and tomato with onion and garlic, basil and oregano. It tastes just like regular maranara, but is low calorie and has all the veggies.

    You could also make a cheese sauce from butternut squash, boil up cubes of it, then mash or put in a blender with some non fat milk until smooth. Return to the pot, add some nut meg, and some low fat cheddar cheese to it. You can put that over brocolli, pasta, rice, etc...

    You can always eliminate or cut back on the carb portion you feed your kids, keep your sauces low calorie, and combine with meat and another veggie... I make all my sauces in advance and freeze in zip lock bags and then set them out while I cook the other ingredients and pop in the microwave right before serving...

    Menus help alot too, since you will be getting home later, you could have a plan so that Sat and Sun you can do your prep work for the week to make it go easier... You can do this. :)
  • kellykat
    kellykat Posts: 180 Member
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    I like to cut up some chicken and brown it on the stove. Add some Lawry's Hawaiian marinade for sauce. Put the chicken over brown rice with cut up pineapple slices on top and broccoli on the side. It's super yummy.
  • lculian
    lculian Posts: 313 Member
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    I do cook ahead on Sundays. I just went back to work full time this year and finally have a good routine.

    I pull recipes on Wed/ Thursday. Go grocery shopping on Saturday and cook a couple of extra meals on Sunday.
    Rachel Ray has a lot of healthy recipes and most are really easy to prepare. She even has a kid faves section on her website. http://www.rachaelray.com/kids.php

    I sometimes modify the type of meat to a leaner kind, but overall her recipes are significantly healthier than what I was feeding my family. My kids love the football turnovers. I use lean ground turkey in place of beef.

    The most important thing for me is having a couple of extra casseroles prepared for the nights that we have soccer/ scouts/ daisies etc.

    Hope this helps. Good luck:flowerforyou:
  • kelli_panzera
    kelli_panzera Posts: 171
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    I found this recipe in a magazine and my kids LOVE it...they don't really LOVE anything I do anymore, lol!!
    1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey
    1 can healthy request tomato soup
    1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
    1/2 c hot salsa
    1/2 c water
    1/4 tsp cumin
    1/4 tsp chili powder
    6 low carb/low cal wheat flour tortillas, sliced into 1" strips
    1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
    1/2 c fat free sour cream

    cook turkey till browned, stir to break up meat. add soup, salsa, water, black beans, spices, and tortillas. heat to a boil and reduce heat to low for 5 more minutes. stir in sour cream, top with cheese and YUM!!!! it's low in fat, low in carbs, and when i make it i end up doubling it and i can even eat it myself. good luck!!
  • cds2327
    cds2327 Posts: 439
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    there is a great topic under the "recipes" message board on here that has TONS of slow cooker ideas. that is great if your working late!
  • kelli_panzera
    kelli_panzera Posts: 171
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    oooh! one more! chicken and asparagus casserole!!
    4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    1 can healthy request cream of chicken soup
    1.5 pounds fresh asparagus
    2 cups of uncooked brown rice
    1 1/2 c fat free milk
    1.5 c. 2% five cheese blend (Italian cheese blend is the best!!)
    .5 c parmesan cheese

    dice and saute chicken in a 10" pan with cooking spray, some garlic powder and pepper to taste. remove chicken, add milk and soup, stir, bring to a boil. stir in rice and asparagus, top with chicken and cheeses, cover, reduce heat and cook 7 minutes. easy and another one thats yummy!!
  • TammieOwen
    TammieOwen Posts: 54
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    There are some great suggestions on here, Bump.
  • debnu1
    debnu1 Posts: 1,568 Member
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    I love my crockpot! Put a pork tenderloin in with some bbq sauce, shred it and have on a whole wheat bun--yum! Chicken works well that way too. I also make salsa chicken, chicken breast a cup of salsa a can of cream of chicken soup and a package of taco seasoning. Shred it and put in a tortilla. Our favorite!
  • lcouterm
    lcouterm Posts: 138 Member
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    Cut up a chicken breast into cubs then roll them in some Crushed corn flakes bake (it makes like chicken nuggets) and some mashed potato's (add some food coloring while mashing to make it exciting) Oh I hope you were talking about younger kids and not teens.
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
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    I too cook most of my dinners on Sunday. This week I made a roasted chicken, then used the chicken in soup and a curry rice bake. I also made a mexican casserole with cornbread on top and a pasta bake. SO MUCH easier. Either put it in the fridge or freezer


    Pizza dough is a good one. Make the dough, then roll it out onto parchment paper and freeze several crusts at a time.
    1 1/2 cups warm water
    1 tsp active yeast
    1 tsp honey
    put it all into a processor and let it sit till the yeast is foamy
    mix 3 cups flour with some italian seasoning and 1/4 tsp salt, and then slowly add it to the processor to combine.
    Add a bit of evoo to the dough at the end and process till a ball forms

    At this point you can seperate the dough into two or three balls. Two balls makes two 12"+ pizzas, three makes the same size just at about a graham cracker thickness. You can use it right then and there or freeze it.

    The key is to use good sauce and lots of veggies, maybe a bit of turkey pepperoni. I only use about 1/2 cup cheese, just enough to taste. You will find that it is low calorie and super super tasty.
  • Rcasey1985
    Rcasey1985 Posts: 13
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    Bump
  • jarelary4
    jarelary4 Posts: 141 Member
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    Thanks to all of you for the fabulous ideas. We actually just had the shredded bbq pork sandwiches last nigh and they are great! My kids are young 6 and 3, and both can be difficult to feed. My daughter is lactose intolerant and my 3 year old just complains about everything he's served! I think they would love the hawai chicken and rice and they LOVE pizza, i just use soy cheese on my daughters. I'll check the recipes for slow cooker stuff too, that would be easy.
  • blondie76
    blondie76 Posts: 552 Member
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    MMMM GREAT REIPES BUMPING FOR LATER!
  • crazyjkgirl
    crazyjkgirl Posts: 123 Member
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    bumping

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