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Lately I have been doing pretty well with meal prepping, freezer meals, and meal planning. I fit it in during Theo’s naptime and make sure I have a full list so I only make 1 grocery trip a week which saves money and my sanity. I have yet to try and run errands with 4 kiddos by myself!
But I thought I’d share 5 of my go to meals when I don’t have time (fussy baby) to make dinner or on a day that I forgot dinner time was coming (ehem..oh, that doesn’t happen to you?! #liar).
1. BBQ chicken and roasted sweet potatoes.
One of the items I prep for the week are sweet potatoes. I just peel the skins and chop them into bite size pieces and store in a glass jar in the fridge. It’s one of the few vegetables all the kids will eat, but only if they are oven roasted tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. As for the chicken I could eat it lots of ways but the kids will go for the chicken if it has BBQ sauce on it. .. And since both cook in the oven (if thought out ahead of time I like to use my crockpot for the chicken) it’s a pretty hands off meal!
2. Quesadillas.
Tortillas are one of those items I always have on hand. So many options on what to do with them, but a current favorite combo is ham/broccoli/cheese/ranch. Served with some fresh veggies and fruit.
3. Pancakes!
If we are short on time I will just reach for the Kodiak cake mix. If we are having pancakes for dinner I don’t normally let the kids have syrup so we will add some almond butter and bananas.
4. Smoothies.
Always a hit! I buy the big bags of organic fruit at Costco and I also have a gallon bag of bananas that I freeze if they are starting to brown (I peel and cut into 3rds before freezing- helps my blender mix a little easier!). I also throw in flax seeds, and any greens I have on hand. SO many combinations. Sometimes we add almond butter and cocoa too. I love making mine into a smoothie bowl and adding extra goodies on top like coconut flakes and granola. I usually serve it with toast or muffins (which I try and have at least one batch in the freezer).
5. Baked Ziti.
Because it’s a little fancier than spaghetti 😉 But really, my kids think so! I just use whatever noodles on hand, spaghetti sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bella actually requested this for dinner tonight, with meatball!
I would love to hear your go to meals! ??