Well hello my friends! I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying your summer.
So far, I’ve been loving summer so much! It still hasn’t been too hot here (~80 degrees), which has been nice. I’ve just been enjoying soaking up the sun and spending time with my kidlets.
Last week my nephew stayed at our house for a few days, so we had a lot of fun. We went to the park several times, went to lunch, got ice cream and went to the trampoline park. It felt like summer!
Today, I took my little boys to This is the Place Heritage Park in east Salt Lake City. It’s the cutest place full of a bunch of authentic pioneer homes, schools, a blacksmith shop, barbershop, a hotel, etc.
Today was a “free day” (it’s normally $10-$14 each), so I was happy to brave the crowds and save some money. It was busy, but not too bad. I’m so glad we went!
I took this picture of my boys (and a whole lotta other people!) in front of Brigham Young’s farm home.
Ya know, I have fond memories of my childhood summers when my mom would take us to places like this. It’s so strange for me to be able to relive my childhood again, but this time as the mom! I love it, but I hate how quickly time flies. I’m constantly reminding my kiddos to soak up their childhood!
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Well today’s post is something I’ve been wanting to blog about for a very long time now. Some of the most common things I get asked are:
- What do you fix your family for dinner?
- What are some kid friendly dinner ideas that are healthy?
- How do you have time to cook healthy dinners for your family?
- How do you get your kids to eat well?
Well, the answer to all of these questions is…..I struggle! Ha ha!
First off I wanna say that if you are a mother and you’re making a legit dinner (healthy or not) a few times a week, you are a rock star! I think too often mothers put waaaaay too much pressure on themselves.
Life is hard. Life is crazy. Life is stressful. There are so many demands on our time. Dinner should not be another thing that adds to your stress and/or makes you feel guilty!
Heaven knows we already have so many things that weigh on us and make us feel like we’re not doing enough. Don’t let dinner become one more of those things.
Sooo, my number one tip would be to CHILL OUT. Don’t overthink it. Don’t stress out. Just do the best you can. It’s okay.
With that being said, the way I “do dinner” has changed a lot over the years.
Way back in the day I used to make a lot of casseroles, things made with Cream of Whatever soup or dinners that weren’t really that healthy. I didn’t really think of my dinners as “healthy” or “not healthy.” I just made things that I thought were yummy and that my kids would eat!
Then, about 10 years ago when I really started getting more into healthy living, I stopped making any of my Cream of Whatever soup dinner recipes. I stopped making a lot of my old recipes and discovered a lot of new healthy recipes!
This was a good thing, although there were a few years there where I think I put a little too much pressure on myself to make all perfectly healthy dinners and I ended up making the whole “dinner making process” way too complicated and stressful!
Side note: I’ve since created a Cream of Chicken soup substitute recipe that I love! I’ve made several of my old Cream of Chicken soup type recipes with it and they all turn out wonderful. My favorites are Hawaiian Haystacks, Crock-Pot Fall Apart Chicken, Slow Cooker Chicken Stew and a couple more recipes I haven’t put on the blog yet!
It does take about 10 minutes to make the Cream of Chicken soup substitute, which is a bit of a pain, but if I have the time I’m always happy I used it instead!
Another side note: I still use canned Cream of Chicken soup on occasion when life is crazy.
So, the way I do dinner has evolved a little over the years, but I think I’ve finally settled into a practical, livable way to do dinner ’round here! It’s not perfect, but it works for us!
With that being said, here’s what we do!
- I usually make two really healthy (more time consuming) dinners a week.
- I make an easier, but still healthy-ish dinner once or twice a week.
- We usually have leftovers once or twice a week.
- We usually go out to eat once on the weekend. Kev and I may go out another time just the two of us.
- On weekends, I keep it simple and we have leftovers or very easy dinners (quesadillas, sandwiches, hot dogs, breakfast, etc.)
But, most importantly, I don’t overthink it! There is no set plan. I just make an effort to make decently healthy dinners and I just do the best I can!
I used to struggle with how to fix dinners that my kids would like/eat and that would still help me stick to my healthy goals! That’s a tough thing to do BTW.
One of the best things I ever did was to FIRST, fix things my kids would eat and like and that were still healthy-ish (they don’t have to be perfect, but decently healthy) and THEN if it didn’t fit into my goals at the time, THEN I made ME something else. So, instead of trying to get all the kids to like my kind of meals, I make things that I know they will like and then adjust ME if I have to!
I have a ton of very simple, easy things I make myself all the time (protein pancakes, eggs, oatmeal, protein shake, leftovers) that I enjoy eating and that help me to stick to my goals.
I just learned it’s SO MUCH easier to cater first to what my family would like to eat and then if it works for me too, great. If it doesn’t work for me, then I just make one of my very quick and easy healthy dinners for me!
Another thing that has really helped me is to make healthy-ish dinners for my kids/family and then make a slightly tweaked version of the same recipe for me on the side. For example:
- Pizza for the family/a small pizza on a Flatout for me.
- Breakfast for dinner (I eat the eggs, bacon and pull some protein pancakes out of the freezer for me!)
- Hamburgers/Turkey Burgers for the fam, no bun for me!
- Spaghetti for the fam, zucchini noodles or just sauce on veggies for me!
You catch my drift? This has been a very easy way for me to stick to a healthy diet, but keep my family happy in the process!
Sooooo, here are the typical healthy dinners that we make on the regular!
Breakfast for Dinner
I typically make things like waffles, pancakes or french toast for dinner (ain’t nobody have time to make that for actual breakfast, ha ha!)
I often make eggs and bacon on the side. My kids love this meal and never complain. I love it because it’s quick and easy to make! Whenever I make this meal, I usually pull out protein pancakes or waffles (that I made before) from my freezer and pop them in the toaster. Easy peasy.
Hamburgers/Turkey Burgers
My kids always love it when I make burgers and nobody complains! I love it too because I can easily make me one without a bun and I love it. I usually make baked fries or sweet potato fries on the side and usually have some kind of fruit too. Super simple.
I really love this Turkey Burger recipe OR I like to just mix 2-3 pounds of ground beef or turkey with 1-2 eggs, some Worcestershire sauce and some burger seasoning (I’ve been using this one lately and it’s bomb.) I just mix all that together and form them into patties and cook them either on the grill or on a pan inside on my stove.
They are so good!
Tacos
Tacos are one of the easiest meals to make because all my kids love them and they are so versatile! I can easily make them into a taco salad for me or have my taco in a Flatout.
BTW, I really love Flatouts and eat them all the time! They are a game changer for me and allow me to eat so many yummy things, (wraps, tacos, pizza, etc.) not feel deprived and still stick to my goals!
Quesadillas
Sometimes when life is crazy I just make the typical “run of the mill” quesadillas, but when I have more time, my kids love me to make my Taco Bell Copycat Quesadillas. I try to make them on healthier tortillas (I love Tortilla Land) or I can even make me one on a Flatout.
I really like these Taco Bell quesadillas because they have chicken in them for an added boost of protein and they are more filling!
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
My kids love these homemade, baked chicken nuggets. I don’t make these too often because quite frankly, I forget about them! They’re a little time consuming, but I love that all my kids eat them and they can still fit into my goals too!
I like to serve them with fruit, veggies and bread on the side.
Spaghetti
Spaghetti is one of the simplest and easiest dinners to make! Whenever I make it for my family, I will make some zucchini noodles for me or just serve the sauce and/or meat on top of roasted veggies.
I always like to make a salad and fruit on the side, so it’s a really easy way to get a lot of good stuff into the body!
Soups and Stews
Soup/Stew is one of my all-time favorite meals to make around here because it’s an awesome comfort food, most of my kids love it, it’s a very easy way to sneak in a bunch of veggies and the leftovers freeze very well!
This Cheesy Vegetable soup is my kids very favorite, although I don’t make it too often because it’s quite time consuming. We also love Taco Soup (super easy!), Chicken Stew (an easy Crock Pot meal!), White Chicken Chili (also super easy!) or this Turkey, Kale and Brown Rice soup (so good and so healthy!)
Grilled Chicken with veggies and fruit
This is my typical “I don’t know what in the heck to make for dinner, but I want to make something healthy” meal.
I usually make some sort of grilled chicken (I’m not a big fish lover, sadly or I would also make fish) and I serve it with various veggies, fruit or a salad on the side. I usually cook up some rice or quinoa too.
I will either serve everything separately or I’ll mix it up like a big stir-fry. This meal is really versatile and I make it a little differently every time!
You can click here for my very favorite chicken marinade recipe or sometimes I’ll use various stir-fry sauces from Trader Joe’s or different seasonings (Lemon Pepper, Feast Mode, various seasoned salts, etc.)
Pizza
The top picture is what the homemade pizza I make for my kids usually looks like and the bottom pictures are various versions of pizzas that I make for myself.
Homemade pizza is great because all the kids love it and it’s fairly quick and easy to make. I can also throw together a healthier version for me in just a few minutes. I usually make mine on a Flatout (shocker) or something like Joseph’s Pita Bread or Flatbread (this is just harder to find at the store!)
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Well, that about sums up the typical things we cook around here! I love finding easy, tasty, healthy meals that my whole family loves! I hope some of these ideas have helped you!
Oh, and I sometimes make things for my kids like homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Chicken Pot Pie or Hot dogs that are harder for me to tweak and make healthier for me. When I make stuff like this I usually just have a small portion (or don’t eat it at all!) and then make one of my simple, healthy small meals on the side.
Most importantly I don’t sweat it! My kids are fed, alive and loved and that’s what is most important! Ha!
Remember, don’t overthink it, don’t be so hard on yourself and just do the best you can!! I hope you all have a fabulous night!
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