How to make quick, healthy meals ideas for the family 

Life can be busy; and with back-to-school events, extracurricular commitments and sports activities, it can sometimes feel completely overwhelming. When all this is coupled with the task of trying to feed the family in a timely, affordable and healthy manner, it can seem downright unsurmountable. With so many “fast food” options available, parents may fall into the routine of grabbing something on the go. Studies show that home-cooked meals are generally healthier than eating at a restaurant or getting takeout because they typically contain less sodium, saturated fat, total fat and overall calories. 

Aside from the health factors, eating at home as a family provides an opportunity to reconnect. It can actually be a time and money saver, and it’s fun preparing new recipes! Cooking together brings families closer and helps build memories that last a lifetime. It’s a great time to talk and listen to each other about the day, and share thoughts and ideas. Picking new recipes to prepare as a family can encourage healthy habits for a lifetime. 

Planning is the key

Planning for a whole week of meals can feel daunting when there’s barely time to buy the actual groceries, but with a little extra planning, meals can be planned and ready to go! The first step to make the meal planning task feel less intimidating is to make a menu.

Thinking about meals ahead of time make it possible to be more efficient at deciding quantities and avoid throwing away too much food. As families gear up for changing seasons and all the holiday madness, there is no shortage of fun autumnal recipes out there. And now is the perfect time to choose all those kitchen necessities ahead of Black Friday sales! Keeping an eye on various options at popular shops as Costco, Aldi, Morrisons is worth doing, as well as the Costco Black Friday deals. Checking prices across these vendors can save money on any missing kitchen items.

Simple tips for easy meal planning

When the right items are stockpiled and it’s easier to plan ahead, weeknight meal planning and prep is easy! For example, a pulled rotisserie chicken can go a long way and be used in a variety of recipes. A few ideas would be Easy Chicken Taco Bowls, Buffalo Chicken Salad or Chicken Orzo Soup. Using one ingredient in multiple meals is a great way to stretch a quid, save time and make meal planning simpler. Just like that, three different meals for the week are taken care of! 

In a typical house with children, finding something they all agree on and will eat, that is good tasting and good for them, is one of the most difficult challenges parents face. A great way to combat this is to make the recipes fun and use ingredients they can identify. Spaghetti with a quick meat sauce is generally a safe option. This is also a chance to sneak in some extra vegetables (recipes like this one offer tips). Another great way to get kids interested is to make it fun Using canned crescent dough to make pepperoni pizza rolls is something their little hands can handle, and they will think it is so exciting that they get to help prepare the family meal.  

If the kids like things that are more on the sweet side, they’ll be sure that to love blueberry muffins – a quick and easy recipe to follow. Along with their delicious taste, blueberries contain fibre that aids the digestive system and heart health.

With little effort there are six nights of meals tackled! 

Comfort food ideas

There will be times when all everyone wants is comfort food. That can mean many things to many people, but a tried-and-true comfort meal recipe is one like this for beef stroganoff. Paired with a favourite glass of wine plus a salad or a vegetable, and you have a well-rounded weeknight meal.  And, of course, when the whole family is involved there has to be dessert. These delicious Philadelphia Cheesecake Parfaits will hit the spot and keep them coming back for more.  

Final thoughts

So that’s a whole week of relatively easy meals taken care of. Parents could also spread these ideas out over two weeks and allow some more nights of leftovers and breaks from the kitchen. We all want to have a picturesque family dinner, but the truth is dinner can be whatever the family wants it to be, as long as they are all together. So shop those deals, pick those meals and enjoy! 

The editorial unit