Weekday Recipes for Busy Families
Today I want to share five of my favorite weekday recipes. As a busy mom (and a solo parenting mom) on the weekdays I try to ensure our meals are easy, delicious and have some nutritious factor. Before we go on I need to make it known I am NOT a chef or professional recipe creator nor am I master in the kitchen. Additionally, I am in no way pretending that we don’t indulge in a good frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese dinner (add hot dog).
a few tips for easy weekday recipes
One of the main things I do is MEAL PLAN, each week, as it takes all the anxiety and worry out of dinners. On Sunday’s I sit down with my Pinterest (follow me) and I figure out what I am going to make each night of the week. Next step is to do the grocery shopping. I leave the menu up all week (tapped to the refrigerator) to remind me of the menubecause let’s be real, I need the reminder. Lunches are a different story as Declan takes a packed lunch to school but I am home so I try to ensure there are left-overs from at least one or two meals.
Another thing I do is try to vary the methods I use for cooking. Meaning, I try to not only do oven meals, or stove top but to switch it up with slow cooker, grill, oven and stove. The variety takes the monotony out of cooking. Additionally, I tend to select recipes that do not take longer than 35-45 minutes to cook (unless it is a slow cooker) but allow me to practice different skills in the kitchen.
Altering, adding or changing the recipe to meet the needs of your family can help keep everyone happy and may lead to emptier plates! For Declan I may substitute the meat or add an additional side, like sliced avocado. And same for myself. For example with cheesy pasta of any kind I tend to add shrimp for myself. As many mothers know hiding veggies in food is a great way to sneak in some extra nutrition. Throw it in the meatloaf, dice it up into Bolognese sauce or simply add butter to it! Ha.
Last quick tip is let the little ones help. As you have seen on my Instastories you know Declan is always in the kitchen with me. For me having Declan be part of making the dinner helps him to feel a sense of ownership in his meals and in turn helps him eat better. It is also a great way for us to talk about life, practice counting, learn to follow steps and just be close. Cooking with Declan is one of my favorite things to do.
5 days of sample recipes
monday: meatloaf with potatoes and sliced avocado
tuesday: chicken cheese pasta (sub shrimp) with steamed broccoli
wednesday: spaghetti bolognese with whole wheat pasta and steamed peas
thursday: chicken sliders with left over cheesy pasta from tuesday night
friday: creamy cilantro salmon with rice and slice avocado
meeting the needs of your family
I am sure I will get a few comments about how toddlers don’t eat salmon or meatloaf. And in response I would say I am lucky that my son loves both of those things. This was just a quick sample to show a few recipes we make frequently at our house. BUT always make sure you meet the needs of you individual families. This is also to let you know that while I may present these wonderful meals for Declan he doesn’t always eat every bite. Some days he loves salmon and some days he wont touch it… he is a toddler. But we believe that presenting him with varrying options is important and we through in a favorite once a week to ensure he will eat at least one dinner. Ha. So, while this may seem a bit of a push for a normal toddler and/or family I try to keep it easy and delicious while meeting the taste preferences of my family.
Share some of your favorite recipes below! I am always looking for new ideas to throw into the rotation. Also, all my recipes are from Pinterest– follow me to see what other great recipes I am cooking up.
With Love,
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