Meal Ideas

One of the most common needs I hear among moms (and others) is just not knowing what to make. It's even more difficult if you're trying to make something that's both kid-friendly and healthy.


Our eating habits have been suffering lately as we've had a few really busy weeks. I resolved to focus on providing better meals for the next few weeks. This means I will consciously choosing healthier meals (ones with lots of vegetables) over less healthy meals (pigs in a blanket and frozen pizza). I shop for two weeks of food at a time, so here is my meal plan for the next two weeks.

Surely, some people will scoff at what I am calling healthy, but I think this is pretty realistic for our needs (kids, time, money) and is probably realistic for people in similar situations as us. Perhaps it can give you a few ideas if you are stuck.  I included links to the meals that  have recipes.


Chicken Meals

1. Chicken Noodle Soup

• Soups are great choices because they usually have lots of vegetables, are lower calorie and quite filling and satisfying.
• Bump up the nutrition: add more vegetables than the recipe calls for or than you usually add. 
• Be careful of recipes that have creams and cheese--these have much more fat and therefore calories. Chicken stock, beef stock, vegetable stock, or tomato based soups are a leaner choice.  

     
2. Chicken Stir Fry

• Emphasize the vegetables in this dish: stick with the kid friendly broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, or be brave and try asparagus, snap peas, baby squash or zucchini, or peppers.
• I don't use a recipe for this, but some common ingredients I use for the sauce are fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame seed oil, chicken broth, curry powder, garlic,   
• Bump up the nutrition: use fresh vegetables and don't overcook them (more likely to lose nutrients). You can always cheat and cook the vegetables in a vegetable steamer and add them to the meat after the meat is done. When serving yourself, don't load up on rice. Try doing a small portion or even no rice and then lots of vegetables and chicken. 

3. One Pot Chicken Rice Pilaf

• I don't have a recipe for this, but I just brown some rice and sautee some onions before adding raw chopped chicken, chopped carrots, peas, corn and then adding chicken broth as the liquid (twice as much broth as rice) and then cook for about 20 minutes. 
• Bump up the nutrition: The key to making this a healthy meal is adding lots of vegetables. Use canola or olive oil to saute the rice and onion over butter or margarine.

  

Beef Meals

4. Taco Salad

•  I usually insist we all eat the same meal, but this is one where I'll buy a pack of taco shells so the kids can eat tacos while the adults get a salad. The kids will get lettuce, peppers, and other vegetables on their plate too.
• Bump up the nutrition: favor greener lettuces over iceberg. Serve with black beans, kidney beans, fresh tomatoes, peppers, avocados. Go easy on cheese, sour cream, salad dressing for a leaner meal. Buy leaner ground beef. You can always cook ground beef then rinse the fat out of it to make it leaner.

5. Burgers

• Bump up the nutrition: use a very lean ground beef. I try to buy and will pay more for 93% lean. I feel like you get more meat out of it in the end anyway. Eat with whole wheat buns--we've found our brand of whole wheat buns we like and stick with that. Serve with sweet potato fries instead of regular fries. Make sure to serve with another vegetable like salad, fresh or cooked carrots, corn on the cob. For a more filling burger, put tomatoes, onions and lettuce on it. 

6. Beef Roast (Sunday Meal)

•  Slower cook beef roast with potatoes, carrots, onions. 
• Bump up the nutrition: I prefer to use beef over pork roast because it's leaner (and tastes better to me). Always trim the fat for an even leaner cut of meat. I need to try to adding some other vegetables to mix so I can go easy on the potatoes. I might try adding some squash part way through the cooking process this time.

Meatless

7. Fajita Quesadillas

• This is one of my favorite meals ever because it's so simple, but oh so tasty. I usually saute some peppers and onions with a little pepper and cumin. I cook until the peppers start to turn black to really bring out the flavor. I love to use just a little bit of pepper jack cheese to hold it all together. The kids get regular quesadillas with fresh peppers on the side.Great time to make some fresh guacamole or salsa to go with it.
• Bump up the nutrition: try whole wheat tortillas. I actually like the flavor and texture better of whole wheat tortillas in this instance. 

8. Spaghetti 

• This meal is one of our convenient, inexpensive, kid-favorite meals. Don't count it out as being a healthy option. For one half cup of the Prego sauce that's in our pantry right now, it provides 3 grams of fiber, 10% vitamin A, 2% vitamin C, 2% calcium, and 4% iron. A cup of run of the mill cooked spaghetti has 2 grams of fiber plus lots of B vitamins and iron because it's been enriched.
• I will serve this meatless to save money and time and my kids seem to prefer it meatless. I find with a really yummy sauce, you don't miss the meat. We usually have Parmesan cheese on top. 
• Bump up the nutrition: be brave and try a whole wheat pasta. Serve with a side of salad but skip the garlic bread or bread sticks.

9. Grilled cheese sandwiches

•  Were still real people even when we are trying to eat healthier. Grilled cheese is our go to Friday or Saturday meal because nobody likes cleaning up from a big meal on the weekend.
• Bump up the nutrition: Make with a whole wheat bread--this is a must. Use less cheese than you're tempted to do. Try grilling without putting butter on the bread--see if cooking spray on the pan will work just fine instead. Never serve your children a grilled cheese sandwich by itself--always give them some fruit or vegetable such apple slices or baby carrots. 

10. Red beans and rice

• I am perpetually looking for beans and rice recipes that I like. I always like any beans and rice recipes I make, but I still am looking for "the one". This week, I'll try this recipe.
• Beans and rice are a great option for families because beans are kid friendly and very cheap. 
• Bump up the nutrition: don't hesitate to add more vegetables than any recipe calls for. Give brown rice a try. 

Other Meat Meals

11. Fried Rice with ham

• You might be thinking, "fried rice isn't healthy". Often it isn't. I prepare it a little different so I consider it healthy and my kids love it. First, go easy on the oil--you don't need as much as any recipe says. If you can get the rice to not stick to the pan, you probably don't really need it at all. Second, I don't put a lot of ham in it, just enough to contribute to the flavor. Third, I load it up with steamed broccoli, carrots and peas. For every bite, there are equal or more vegetables than there is rice. 
• Bump up the nutrition: Make it all about the vegetables. I currently use a little packet (sun bird brand) to season our friend rice. It's very high in sodium. I need to find a healthier recipe that we like for the seasoning.  

12. Chili

• This is under "other meat" because I love to cook chili with either ground turkey or ground turkey sausage. It's leaner than beef and I like the softer texture in chili. 
• I love to serve Chili with sides of butternut squash and cornbread. It's perfect for a cold day. 
• Bump up the nutrition: try a leaner meat or meatless chili. Add peppers, onions, and tomatoes for more vegetables. Remember than beans, like other vegetables,are a good source of protein, fiber, and other nutrients, but don't confuse them with other vegetables as being low calorie. ex: 1/2 cup of black beans is 110 calories, 1/2 cup of carrots is about 25 calories. There's more calories in your cup of chili than you are probably imagining.

13. Salmon (Sunday Meal)

• We rarely eat fish and I'm determined to get it into our regular rotation. Even once a month would be way more fish than we've ever had before. I am most familiar with cooking salmon and usually bake it with pesto on top or marinate and grill it. Will likely serve with a side of rice and cooked vegetables. 
• Bump up the nutrition: when cooking fish, try the healthier cooking methods of baking, poaching, or grilling over frying in oil. If your meal is looking skimpy, serve with two vegetables. 

14. Pizza

• Bump up the nutrition: Make it yourself so you can control what you're eating better. Making it at home means that you can customize toppings easily. I can get my mushrooms and olives without putting anyone out. Swap in some whole wheat flour when making the dough--you won't believe how much more filling this makes the pizza. This is the recipe I've used the last few times for dough, but I'm still looking for my go-to dough recipe.  Use turkey pepperoni--tastes just as good and will save you a significant amount of calories. Use part skim mozzarella instead of whole milk mozzarella. I think most cheese at a grocery store, especially the shredded, is part skim. Load up on vegetables. Consider serving with a salad to help with eating too many slices.