It’s a busy week here, which means I haven’t had time to find a recipe for Tasty Tuesday! It also means I have no groceries and no time to cook. I’ll probably pick my daughter up from daycare, grab some take out, and take her to the park for a picnic. I’m going to try and find a way to slip some veggies in there, so I don’t have to feel too guilty. But there’s a distinct chance she’ll be enjoying McDonald’s chicken nuggets for supper. Healthy, right?
Yeah.
Which got me thinking: What sorts of foods do you give your kids when you’re short on time with a nearly bare pantry? I swear by those little Chef Boyardee individual pasta bowls. I also am a big fan of microwaved hot dogs. (What parent isn’t?) I’ve found that broccoli steams up nicely when placed in a covered microwave-safe bowl with a few tablespoons of water, so – again – I can relieve the guilt that comes from serving my child crap. But some nights, honestly, I try not to think about it too much. Overall, my daughter has a pretty healthy diet. A few french fries aren’t going to hurt her.
So share, WMAGs. What do you eat when there’s nothing to eat and no time to cook it even if you had food in the house?
Anything that involves noodles is usually a big hit-ramen with frozen veg works and is super quick, but they’ve been known to eat pesto.
Fish sticks, chicken nuggets, chicken baked under a broiler, hell, we’ve even had opposites dinner and had pancakes. 🙂
Eggs are great too. I find I have to take care to let up on myself with the “must make big meal” guilt
We just order pizza. Lame, but true. At least we get a salad, though!
Instant oatmeal is always a hit. It’s good for him, takes about 3 minutes to make, and he loves it.
We eat quesadillas at least once a week.
Breakfast for dinner is always a hit. I make eggs to order and toast up english muffins or whatever bread we have on hand.
I also make shrimp pasta a lot. In the time it takes to boil and cook the pasta, you brown onion and garlic with some olive oil and add shrimp. Once the pasta is done, just toss and you’ve got a meal.
I constantly struggle with coming up with ideas for adding protein to my 14-month old’s diet. My default is typically hot dogs.
When I do have time, say on the weekend, I have taken to making a batch of turkey meatballs, freezing them on a cookie sheet individually and then throwing them into a ziploc bag in the freezer. I micro one or two and give them to baby girl with whatever else is on hand for dinner. Unfortunately instead of this being a back-up one night a week, it has become my default two or three nights a week….
I am LOVING the comments and writing them down furiously.
I wish I had something to add.
My daughter is such a picky eater it’s hard to feed her on the run.
Hates hotdogs, hamburgs, eggs, cheese, steamed veggies (but will eat raw). Honestly if I fed her bread and water every night, she would be in heaven. She has a future in prison!