Easier Dinners

 
 
 

Let’s face it, many of us love food and wish we could have Instagram worthy meals each day but the reality is that feeding a family can be hard and is a lot of work. So aiming for perfection or for fancy meals just isn’t in the cards and that is ok! Creating instagram worthy meals might not be possible due to lack of skills in the kitchen but I’d argue that it is more likely the issue of time. Who has the time to cook restaurant quality meals day in and day out? With multiple kids, work, keeping up a home, a global pandemic and virtual school in addition to other priorities and responsibilities it’s just too much to also expect gourmet meals. Although seeing delicious meals on Instagram is awesome and can be inspiring, more often than not it just makes us feel bad and guilty that we are not preparing these meals for our families too. Remember, instagram is only a snippet of someone’s day and might highlight that one out of this world meal they’ve had all month. So what we need to be aiming for is food that is nutritious, yummy and both easy and quick to prepare. We should be working towards a family meal that is made with love and checks all the boxes when it comes to nutrition. This means meals that contain whole grains, a source of protein and veggies. Surprisingly, this doesn’t have to be difficult to pull off.

Chances are that many of us are in need of meal ideas that are realistic, sustainable, nutritious and simple. Although this might seem boring there are ways to switch things up so its not always the same meal. When you have time to prepare something a little fancier, got for it and when you are pressed for time, don’t sweat it if dinner is quick and easy.

Here are 6 of our top dinners. They are top dinners for us because they don’t take too much time to put together (remember, I have 4 kids, one is baby, one is a toddler and the other two are school aged and doing virtual school, the days are crazy). I need meals that I can get on the table in 30 minutes or less and that require only a tiny bit of prep ahead of time to pull it off the night of. No recipe required here, just prep and go! Remembering that the goal here is feeding our families, not preparing gourmet meals.

For the most part, I try to follow a simple formula for meals

  • Some kind of whole grains or starch: rice, pasta, bread, barley, bulgur, whole wheat couscous, quinoa, potatoes, sweet potato, pizza or foccaccia,

  • Some kind of protein: beans, lentils, eggs, chicken, salmon or beef (once per week),

  • A cooked vegetable: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beets, peas, corn, lima beans, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini and green beans are top choices at our house and,

  • A crudités plate served with hummus or salad,

  • Most nights there is something sweet that follows our dinner meal, this could be a square of dark chocolate, a homemade or store bought cookie, banana or strawberry “ ice cream” or fruit

Here are a few of our top meals that are easy and quick to get on the table, each meal is served with a crudités plate and hummus:

  • Soup (Squash, Chicken or Red Lentil and Veggies) and grilled cheese on whole grain bread

  • Couscous with finely diced and sautéed zucchini and carrots, bean stew and roasted or steamed broccoli

  • Pasta e fagioli, crusty bread with cheese and green beans

  • Rice pilaf, salmon and peas

  • Roasted white and sweet potato, roasted chicken, cauliflower

  • Homemade pizza and salad

To make these meals happen, I do a little bit of preparation on the weekends to make things move more quickly each night. I prepare a big pot of soup which can be used for lunches and one dinner, I cut up the vegetables that will be needed for our couscous and pasta fagioli, to keep things simple, I use the same veggies in both dishes (finely chopped or grated zucchini, carrots and onion) and I wash and cut any other vegetables we need, both those that will be served raw and cooked. I also take advantage of some convenience foods such as frozen vegetables, which are just as nutritious if not more nutritious than fresh. We love peas, corn and lima beans here but there are many options to choose from at the grocery store.

Keeping this simple formula in mind really helps when making my meal plan and grocery list. I even keep certain nights for certain foods and just switch things up by preparing the main ingredients in different ways and offering a different veggie side. For example, on Tuesday’s I always serve potatoes and chicken but I change how I prepare each and serve it with a different vegetable, similar to Thursdays when I prepare rice and salmon but I prepare each of these differently each week and change the side vegetables too. This keeps things simple and easy to plan and prep for.

So, trust me when I say that feeding a family is no easy task, but you can take steps to make the process a little easier for yourself by following some of the tips here. Above all, remember that perfection and gourmet meals are not the goal, far from it, we are all just doing our best to get a filling and nutritious meal on the table each night.

Don’t forget, skipping a night of food prep and opting for pizza delivery or take out from your fave local place is a great choice too!

Hope this makes getting dinner on the table a little easier!

 
 
Nutritionmelinda lamarche