Hi I need help! I have wonderful 21 mth old daughter and an amazing husband. I need food ideas for both. I grew up in single parent home and my Mom worked full time to take care of me therefore I ate lots of canned, packaged and fast foods. She didn't have time to cook and sure didn't teach me how to cook. I try to eat healthy but as a busy stay at home Mom that works I find it very difficult to cook fast and healthy. Most foods out there that are fast aren't healthy. I need quick meal ideas or cookbooks that are simple, fast and most importantly healthy. I find myself reverting to chicken nuggets, fish sticks, and pizza on crazy nights. I do try and pick up something healthy from places like Crazy Bowls & Wraps etc but that gets expensive. We are on a budget too! And my husband is a meat and potatoes kind of man. My daughter is picky too which is normal I hear but really frustrating coming from both of them.
I would love your ideas for meals and snacks. Much appreciated!
S.
Thanks to everyone that responded. I have to try any of the ideas but looking forward in trying something different. Thanks again!
Bake Chicken Brest(boneless-skinless) and put pizza sauce on it then some Cheese and serve it with pasta...
I use allrecipes.com all the time for ideas.
Stuffed Green Peppers- I use ground turkey instead of hamburger. I do this in the crockpot. Take about 4 green pepers, cut the tops off and clean them out. Take ground turkey, small can of tomato sauce, sliced mushrooms, instant rice (use brown if you'd like) and mix it up with salt, pepper and garlic. Stuff the this in the green peppers. S Place the stuffed peppers in the crockpot. Pour a big can of tomato sauce, with a some minced garlic and cook on low.
They will be a bit more mushier than cooking in the oven, but still good.
Another thing I like to cook.
Fajita:
Cut chicken breast in strips and marinate in lime juice and 1/2 package of the powder ranch dressing for about 30 minutes. Throw the chicken in a skillet and cook till almost done, add a bag of frozen fajita veggie mix (it has red/yellow peppers, and onions) Finish cooking.
Use whole wheat tortillas, and your favorite toppings to make fajitas.
S.,
The Standard American Diet (SAD) is a very poor way to eat...and that is why Americans are one of the sickest groups of people in the world. You husband's meat and potatoes diet is a recipe for disaster. He's preparing himself for arthritis, heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases. He problably has two or more colds a year besides others health problems. How is his stomach? Has he developed a ulcer yet?
If you really want to learn to eat health, follow this:
Goto: mail.yahoo.com
Enter user name: biocardi
And password: Health
Then read all of the emails. You'll be surprised!
I have tons of meals/snack recipes that you can prepare in a hurry, in advance, or in a slow cooker.
One of the best & most versatile is "Carnita" filling.
You need: A medium Crockpot set on low with a lid to cover.
1-bay leaf-dried is fine
1 package of taco seasoning-any brand
2 cups of beef or chicken broth
1 pork shoulder roast-about 3-4 pounds
Place the bay leaf in the bottom of the Crockpot, rub the roast with the taco seasoning, place on top of bay leaf. Slowly pour the broth down around the roast down the sides of the Crockpot and cover.
Let cook for 5 hours and turn the roast over.
Continue to cook for another 5 hours. When done, shred the pork with 2 forks in a separate container & put the broth in the fridge to cool. After the broth has cooled, skim off the fat that is on the surface and return the shredded pork to the broth to reheat in Crockpot.
This meat stores well in a Tupperware container in the fridge and can be heated in the microwave. I use it for tacos, sandwiches, with fried eggs for something different than sausage and bacon. You can really use it in a lot of different ways and it makes a ton! I usually buy about a 10 lb roast, cut it in half and freeze one half to cook about 2 weeks later. For about 10-12 bucks, you have lunch for a month! If you would like some more of my recipes just email me!
http://msalishaskidkare.tripod.com
-A.
S., I have the same issues. Meat and potatoes husband, picky child, so it's a challenge to create meals that work for everyone. I am a full time working Mom and can understand "fast food" but yes, it's expensive. we just learned about Bubble Pizza that they serve at my daughter's daycare and they both seem to like it and it's cheap and quick. I found recipes doing a google search for bubble pizza. It's basically biscuits, pizza sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you want. My 3 year old likes to help with it too! I also buy pork roasts that are preseasoned (you can buy pork tenderloins this way too, which are a little cheaper)pop them in the oven for about an hour and make an instant potatoe and canned veggies for agood meal. I go to foodnetwork.com and do searches for quick family meals and find lots of great recipes. Hope this helps!
I've found some great recipes at kraft.com They seem to be very easy to make, plus they're healthy. I've been making them for my family for a while now. My husband is like yours with the meat and potatos, and he likes most of what I've tried. Good luck!
Hi S.,
First I have a George Forman grill and this is what I cook all of our chicken breast, pork chops and Hamburgers on. The grill cooks the meat in about 10 minutes and is very quick . I have the one that has the removal grill plates with them so it is very easy to clean up.
I also take chicken breast and marinate them in Itailan dressing and then bake them in the oven for an hour. I also do the samething but bake it with BBQ sauce on them.
Hi,
Have you tried Dream Dinners, Simple Suppers? When I started doing that is helped my meal time a lot! I got a Dream Dinners gift certf as gift. You go for a session assemble the meals, store in your freezer and thaw and prepare as needed. They all come with instructions, and DD will give you a list of suggested things to go with each entree, and a shopping list too. It's easy to prepare the meals and follow the instructions. They have different plans and offer different specials each month, so it's pretty affordable too.
I also get some good ideas from Parents Magazine and Parenting, they have new recpies each month.
Hope this helps!
My favorite cook book is: "Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book" it is Red and White and a best seller. You can find it at all bookstores. The recipes are basic and easy to follow.
Fruits, fresh veggies (frozen as back-ups), and yogurts are staples in our home. Baked snacks are better than chips, i.e. gold fish (no added colors, though), baked crackers, rice cakes, pretzels (low salt--only).
Also there are great web-sites to check out to give you advice on daily, weekly and monthly planning. Also, I am new here and yesterday I was grocery shopping at Schnucks and they were having a cooking class. I had my son with me, so I did not go in, but they do them quite often. What a neat idea.
What a fun adventure for you. God Bless, M. N.
A healthy option is a bean and rice burrito.
All you need:
Salsa
Rice
Can of black beans
Chicken (if desired)
Cheese
Sour cream
Cook rice...once cooked add in black beans and a little salsa. Mix together. If you want to have chicken with it then add it Cooked at this point. Then warm tortillas and add the mixture with the toppings of your choice.
To make it healthier try wild rice and no meat.
For your husband add more chicken and have some guacamole and cheese dip and salsa for sides.
For your baby she may enjoy just the rice or chicken.
Enjoy!
I just recently made a chicken casserole for the first time and it was easy and delicious!! Set oven at 325. Take desired # of chicken breasts and place them in pan. Mix together 1 can cream of mushroom, 1 can cream of celery, 1 package of dry onion soup mix, 1 cup milk, 2 cups of rice. Mix all this together and spread over top of the chicken. Cover and bake for 1 hr. 30 minutes. The prep was very easy and it tasted wonderful!! Good luck and God bless you.
