Archive for the ‘Meal Planning’ Category

7 Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas

It’s 6:00 p.m. the kids are hungry, homework needs to be done, you’re stressed and then they ask that famous question, “Mom, what’s for dinner?”

Here’s 7 quick and easy dinner ideas that might help take the stress out of family meal times.

Dinner Action Plans:

1.  Create a Menu Plan -  Find a few minutes during the weekend to plan your meals for the upcoming week.

Write a quick menu, do your shopping and stick the menu on your fridge. Every morning (or the night before) quickly glance at it and take out the foods that need thawing and plan ahead how much time you need to prepare the meal.

*Another idea is to have days already set for specific meals such as Mondays for soup & salad; Tuesdays for fish and fries, etc.

2. The Crockpot Plan – Okay, this little invention may not be the coolest kitchen gadget around but it can definitely be a real lifesaver. With a little planning in advance, you can throw something in the crockpot in the morning and have a nutritious dinner ready before the kids can even say, “Mom“.

*Just an idea – wrap some potatoes in foil to put in the crockpot and have a hot potato bar.  You could also have a little salad bar right beside it.

3.  The Casserole Backup Plan – Similar to the crockpot but great for days when you forget to plan ahead. Casseroles work great with leftovers or just about any items you can find in your pantry.

Throw together some pasta, tuna, corn kernels, peas and cream for a quick meal. Casseroles made with rice or potatoes are just as easy. Keep a few easy recipes on hand and add or omit ingredients according to what you have in your pantry.

4. The Easy &Versatile Pasta Plan -  Pasta is a super easy way to quickly throw together a healthy family dinner. To avoid boredom try to avoid the usual jar of sauce and pasta dinner…

Try something like this, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over very low heat and add one crushed garlic bulb, stir for about a minute and add a can of drained crab meat, the juice of one lemon and a little salt and pepper to taste, and finally add a little chopped cilantro or parsley. Serve over your pasta with some garlic bread on the side for a delicious meal in minutes.

5.  The Breakfast Plan – Eggs aren’t only for breakfast, they’re also great for quick dinners. Make an omelet and fill with a little turkey ham and cheese, you can also add some chopped tomato, onions or mushrooms. Serve along with a salad and some bread.

Or make a Spanish tortilla. Scrub, peel and thinly slice a couple of new or small potatoes. Add to a sauce pan with a little water and boil until soft, about 8 minutes. Add a little oil to a nonstick frying pan, add the potatoes, scramble eggs and a little chopped onion (optional) cook on low until the bottom starts to set. Then stick the frying pan under a hot grill until the top of the tortilla sets. Serve with a side salad.

*A couple of other ideas for dinner are biscuits & gravy or even pancakes and sausage.

6.  The Sandwich Bar Plan – Some days you just don’t have the time or energy to cook a hot meal, but you can still feed your family a nutritious meal in the way of sandwiches (you could call it “subway night at home”).

Put out some bread rolls (whole wheat is best), add a platter of cheese, chicken, turkey, tuna or any other favorite fillings.  Add another platter of chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and any other favorite veggies. Now let your kids put together their own sandwiches. Serve with some pretzels, a salad or cut up veggies and dip, a little hopeful but worth a try.

7.  The Wrap It Up Plan -  Wraps are great for quick dinners. You fill them with just about anything. For a Mexican wrap cook a little ground beef, drain and fill wrap. Add some chopped tomatoes, grated cheese, sour cream or guacamole. You can also fill it with a little heated tuna with some corn kernels and a little mayonnaise or try scrambled eggs, chopped turkey ham and tomatoes. Leftover chicken with cheese and lettuce works great too.

7 Back to School Lunch Tips

Don’t look now, but school’s here! Are you ready for one of the biggest challenges for Moms of school-age kids – preparing school lunches day after day?

There’s hope and help for you yet. Here are 7 back-to-school lunch tips. Hey, I can’t come over and make your kids’ lunches for you, but these tips will surely make it much easier:

1. Make dinner do double-duty

You’re already in the kitchen preparing your family’s dinner, why not use that time to get a head-start on the next day’s brown bag lunches?

Make a double batch of meals that taste just as good “the morning after,” you know, like fried chicken. Or cook dishes that can be transformed into something “new”, such as pasta sauce that’s just as yummy as pizza topping (on ready-made crust of course).

To make meal planning easier, take a look at Dine Without Whine.  It’s a monthly service for planning your family’s meals and grocery shopping.

2. Include lunches when meal planning

To do tip #1, you need to be more organized. This means including  your kids’ lunches when planning your family dinners.

3. Let the kids participate

Lighten your load and teach your children some important life skills at the same time. Even small children can help  prepare their lunches.

If morning is too stressful, then make this an after-dinner activity – which brings us to…

4. Make advance preparations

Do whatever you can do ahead of time. For example, cook in batches on the weekend, or put leftovers in packable containers the night before.

5. DIY fast food

Commercial packed lunches are attractive but unhealthy. But who says you can’t make your own? Buy your own colorful and attractive lunch boxes, such as a bento-style lunchbox.

Fill it up with a variety of healthy food. Think of mixing up foods with different textures and colors. And cut them up into small pieces so they’re easy and fast to eat.

6. Soup it Up

Soup makes a quick and healthy lunch. You can cook a large pot in the weekend and pack it in a thermos for a warm and satisfying lunch. Serve with whole wheat bread and some fresh fruit and you’ve got a complete meal!

7. Sprinkle in some fun

Sneak a little surprise into your child’s lunchbox once in a while. It could be a little chocolate treat, stickers, or a sweet note from you. Getting something unexpected makes lunch fun.

With planning and creativity, your children can have healthy, delicious lunches without too much work for you.

For meal planning help, go to Dine Without Whine. It makes meal planning a breeze, while helping you save time and money.  Then you’ll have time and energy for those school lunches.

Family Meal Time ~ 24 Reasons to Gather Around the Dinner Table

How often does your family have dinner together? If you’re like most families nowadays, the answer is probably, “Not very often.”

It’s understandable. Modern families are busy. Both parents work and sometimes get home at different times. Children have activities to go to, and Mom’s got to drive them all over the place. Really, who’s got the time and energy to even cook dinner every single night?

You, that’s who! Eating together is good for you and your family. So you better make time and find the energy to make home-cooked meals and sit down and eat together more often.

Researchers have found many benefits to home-cooked meals. Watch this video to learn about some of them. In my own experience, though, there are many more.

Here are 24 reasons to share family meals more often:

1. Families who eat together eat healthier, because home-cooked food is healthier than fast food.

2. Family meals allow busy families to catch up with each other.

3. Young children learn a lot of verbal skills just by eating with their family members.

4. It gives everyone a chance to unwind after a busy day.

5. Having family meals more often forces you to end your working day and other obligations in time for dinner.

6. Home cooked meals are not only healthier, they’re also cheaper than takeout food or eating out.

7. Eating together forces everybody to tell stories.

8. Cooking at home motivates you to be creative with your meal planning and cooking.

9. Children can get involved in cooking meals.

10. Cooking and eating together creates happy childhood memories.

11. Eating together is an opportunity to explore different cuisines.

12. Eating with your family is more fun than eating in front of the television (or the computer).

13. Eating together gives parents a chance to talk about current events from their point of view, injecting their personal values without giving a lecture.

14. Eating together helps family members bond and get to know each other better.

15. You’ll be surprised what your kids reveal when you’re in a relaxed environment, such as a family meal.

16. Kids are less likely to roll their eyes when you reminisce and tell stories from your childhood while eating a meal together.

17. Family meals can be good teaching moments, even for small children.

18. Eating together is a good opportunity to teach and model good manners.

19. Family meals give a good transition from work or school to home life.

20. Family meals are also good times to share music together.

21. Family meals teach everyone valuable life skills, such as sharing and taking turns.

22. Stopping and sitting down to a meal gives everyone a chance to quiet down and regroup.

23. Family meals provide an additional occasion for family members to pray together.

24. Eating home is more eco-friendly than eating out or ordering food – less waste!

If you think having family meals is too much work, don’t despair. You can get help for everything from meal planning to putting your weekly grocery shopping list together. Check out Dine Without Whine for kid-tested, quick recipes that will help you put together family meals with less effort. Dine Without Whine’s weekly shopping lists will also help you get food shopping done much faster, and even save money on groceries.

As you can see from the list above, the extra time and effort you spend to have family meals more often are worthwhile.

How to Make Cooking Easier with Prep Work

Doing some prep work when you get home from the grocery store will save you time and make getting your meals on the table throughout the week a lot easier. These tips will help you get your meals on the table in a flash:

• Wash and chop vegetables when you get home from the store. If your veggies are in the fridge and ready to use, you’ll be more likely to use them. Proper storage will also keep them fresher for a longer period of time. Different vegetables have different storage needs. Here is a link to a storage chart that you can print out and keep in the kitchen: http://www.midamericaparts.com/faqrefrigans1.htm

• As you are sorting out your groceries, you may want to prepare meal kits. You can find large, inexpensive plastic containers at the grocery store. You simply keep all your ingredients in these storage containers. When it is time to make dinner, just grab your meal kit and you are ready to get cooking.

• For example, to prepare a chicken soup meal kit, fill your large plastic container with a box of chicken broth, a smaller plastic container or Ziploc bag of veggies, and another Ziploc bag with your pre-measured amount of rice or pasta (to make things even speedier, cook the rice and pasta ahead of time, but only do this a day ahead of time. Otherwise, the rice or pasta could get dried out). Store everything in the fridge until ready to use. This is also very helpful if you have teenagers who will be getting the meal started while you are on your way home from work.

• Buy a rotisserie chicken from the deli and cut it up into portions when you get home. This will allow you to make several meals from one chicken. For instance, if you are going to want a portion of it thinly sliced for fajitas and another portion cubed for a casserole and yet another portion shredded for chicken salad, do this as soon as possible. If you wait, you may get busy with other things and forget. The next day you may be in too much of a rush to do it, and instead of using the chicken as planned, you end up picking dinner up at the drive through (which defeats the whole purpose of meal planning).

Remember, the more work you can get ahead of time, the easier it will be to throw a few things together when you need a speedy dinner during the week.

Easy Meal Planning Tips

Meal planning can save you a lot of time throughout the week, as well as money. If you are not used to sitting down at the beginning of the week and planning your meals, it can almost become a frustrating process. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Ask For Suggestions: Simply figuring out what to make for dinner can be harder than the cooking and cleaning up. It isn’t easy trying to think of something that everyone will like, and that you haven’t already ate three times in the last month. If you run out of ideas for what to cook, ask your family for suggestions.

• Watch Cooking Shows: Watching the shows on the Food Network can be a great way to learn new cooking methods and techniques, inspire ideas for new recipes, and can simply be quite relaxing. If you haven’t already got a favorite cooking program or “TV chef,” tune in and see what new tips you can learn.

• Experiment And Have Fun: Preparing your family’s meals doesn’t have to be a chore; it can actually be quite fun. As you plan your meals, experiment with new foods, flavors, and textures. If you normally have sandwiches for lunch, try wraps instead. If your family’s routine was stuck in a rut of hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and spaghetti, break out of that routine in a big way and try Pasta Primavera or a Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry. You’ll never know what your family will and will not like until you try it.

• Get Everyone Involved: One of the best benefits to meal planning is that you will have more family time. Studies show that families who eat meals together are happier and more connected. Get your family involved in the process, whether it is helping you cross items off the list at the grocery store, chopping vegetables, setting the table or washing the dishes. Everyone should be doing their part!

• Have Theme Nights: Since you are planning your meals and know what you will be having for dinner from one day to the next, you can get creative and have “Theme Nights”. If you are going to have a Chinese-inspired entrée, create a fun environment by setting out chopsticks and hanging paper lanterns. Having a Mexican dinner? You can find a piñata at a party supply store and fill it with a few small treats and let your kids have fun whacking it open.

It may take a few weeks, but sooner or later you will get into a rhythm of meal planning. You will find ways to add your family’s personality into the process, and that can add up to a lot of fun, family dinners.