Quick and healthy are at odds with each other in many households. For many, quick means fast and that means fast food take out. The reality of fast food for a family like mine is that it is more time consuming and outlandishly expensive than fixing something at home. We do, of course, have the array of frozen pizzas, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, and fish sticks available, mainly for lunches, but we prefer to eat fresh whenever possible. We have yogurts, cheese, and fresh fruit ready all of the time. (When you buy something like a watermelon or pineapple, take time to cut it up into small pieces so that it is always ready to go.)Rollups with sliced meats, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes are a quick item that the older kids can make for themselves. Need some good menu ideas, check out Family Fun Magazine Online. It’s owned by Disney, so you KNOW it’s family friendly.
Get your children involved with side items. My nine year old makes the Mac and Cheese. My twelve year old bakes and can handle biscuits and banana bread. We have an herb garden out front and while I make spaghetti sauce, the girls can go with Mom and gather the basil, sage, oregano and thyme.
I love to cook in general, but especially love to grill. Grilled chicken, pork chops, and ribs don’t really take that long to prepare or to cook. Baste them with olive oil, garlic and a little Tony Chachere’s and you’ve got good eating. Throw potatoes into the microwave at the same time that you put the meat on the grill and you’ve got the whole thing ready to go in about 15 minutes. At the other end of the spectrum, though, putting on a rotisserie chicken gives you several hours of downtime for studying. One advantage of eating big and healthy is that you end up with leftovers for the next lunch or dinner, buying you a little more time to study.
One thing that we have found to be very successful is to make up double or triple batches of pancakes or French toast when we are having those items. Spread all of the leftovers out on cookie sheets and freeze them individually. Then bag them in large zip lock bags and freeze them. It makes it easier to grab one or two at a time than fighting with a bunch of them stuck together.
Looking for more idea of cooking for kids, check out the Food Network’s Kid’s section. (It is one of my children’s favorite channels to watch. Diners, Drive-Ins, and Drives always has them wanting me to cook something and my 12 year old made me an Iron Chef mask for Father’s Day!) There are also great recipes at Kids Health and at EatingWell.
What are some of your children’s favorite quick and healthy foods? What do YOU do with your picky eaters? Share some recipes with us!
