Dinner & Sport/Activities

I second getting a crock pot, and I have plenty of cookbooks with crock pot recipes, and most of them are healthy. Also, I swear by the crock pot bags. I think they are made by Ziploc, but if not, they are in the same place where you would find storage bags. They don't completely keep the crock pot clean, but instead of the food cooking on to the sides of the crock pot and having to soak or scrub the crock pot, you can simply wipe it down with a sponge. Also, get a crock pot where the insert comes out, they are easier to clean.

I don’t have any great recipes, but I've been trying something recently with my family. I'm trying to build up a freezer of some quick and easy meals to heat up. When I make things like chicken noodle dinner and spaghetti I make a double batch and throw it in the freezer. Then I pair it up with easy fruits and raw veggies….grapes, apples, pears, pea pods, cucumbers, carrots. Things that don’t need too much prep. It seems to be working for the 2 nights a week that we were resorting to picking something up on the way.

I love the suggestions that you have received! I just had one note to add... It might be nice, once or twice a week, to eat dinner picnic style at the field. Then you'd have a chance to get some quality time together with the kiddos without all of the frantic running around. Pack a nutritious meal earlier in the day and keep it in the refrigerator so it's ready in the afternoon... get the kids ready, grab your food and go!
Good luck!
-H

I do not know how many evenings this is necessary for you, but on days or evenings you have time, prep raw veggies.. Celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, yellow squash, zucchini... Peppers? Make a dip with plain yogurt and dry salad dressing mix or use lowfat cottage cheese with the mix and blend it smooth.

I also liked to try to make a fresh fruit salad with cubed fresh pineapple (or canned in its own juice), grapes, apples, oranges strawberries..The juice from the pineapple will keep the fruit from turning brown.

All of the above can always be in the fridge to snack on or to use for actual meals.

We Grill a lot. It is just too hot to always cook in the kitchen so when I find a good deal I purchase quantities of chicken . This last week chicken breast (on the bone) was on sale for $1.00 a pound. I purchase about 4 packages and grilled it all up with just salt and pepper. I then placed it into ziplocs and froze them. I will use these for Fajitas.. Heat up a few breast pull meat off the bone and add to tortillas with cheese , hot sauce and some lettuce. I can heat them up add BBQ sauce and have BBQ chicken. I can use the meat for any meal that calls for chicken.

I purchase links of sausages.. I grill them up and these can be used on tortillas as sausage wraps. Or hoagie buns with sauerkraut like a German sandwich or good with mac and cheese..

I grill lots of hamburger patties, for burgers. They can be frozen so that later you just heat hem up in the microwave.

Brown lots of hamburger meat (I actually grate zucchini into the meat, my family does not even notice. with salt and pepper and onion. Heat it up and add sloppy joe mix, taco seasoning, or spaghetti sauce.. It is already drained so you do not have to fool with all of the mess..

We also always have potatoes to pop in the microwave , all of the above is good on top of a potato for a "stuffed potato night".

Do not for get the crock pot. A salt and pepper roast with veggies an onion sliced and a garlic pod with a can of whole tomatoes. Cook on low all day and it is ready to eat when you get home. (remember to brown the roast first. I again do this when I purchase large quantities, so I have frozen
pre- browned beef and pork roast in the freezer. I move it to the fridge the day/night before I will place it in the crockpot.

Oh my - I feel your pain. We are in the same situation. I have one in coach pitch and one plays travel ball, so we are at the ballpark... every...night. I'm at my wit's end with that in itself, but it's a whole other story. So, this is what I do - because my son doesn't want to eat a meal before practice or games (too much on the stomach) the kids snack on healthy food and we don't eat dinner until we get home. It's a late dinner, I know, but there's no way around it.
1. Crockpot. I do as many meals in it as I can. Stew, roast, chicken soup, chili, etc. These are meals I typically make in the fall during football season, too, but will take a break from them from Feb. on, so that they are kind of "new" again. I also do chicken in the crockpot for enchiladas or chicken tacos. The meat is all done, so all you have to do is put the enchilada or taco together. You can do lasagna in the crockpot, meatloaf, stroganoff, pork chops, almost anything.
2. I will also buy chicken at Costco, bring it home, separate it and freeze it in either a veggie bouillon or Italian dressing, terryaki, etc. ( I have a Food Saver) That way, when I defrost it, which takes about 5-10 minutes, it's already seasoned and ready to go. You can grill it and just throw some rice, pasta, etc with it and it's a meal. I will also cut up (quarter) potatoes, pu them in a bowl with a shake of olive oil. I will season with salt, pepper and chili powder. Put them in a foil package and put on the grill with the chicken. Once they are cooked - usually taking only a couple more minutes than the chicken - you can add some shredded cheese to the top of them and lay foil back over it to melt it. You now have cheesy potatoes! You can omit the cheese if you want, but the olive oil and steaming on the grill makes these potatoes really delicious!
3. I will also take sandwiches to the park with me. I'll make turkey, ham, etc sandwiches and put them in a cooler. That way I'm not always tempted to just go to the concession stand and eat hotdogs or burgers every night for 3 months.
4. Two websites that are my saviors are www.allrecipes.com and www.supercook.com Allrecipes has all sorts of categories for different recipes - chicken, beef, main dish, side dish, quick and easy, crockpot....reviews rate the recipes so you know which ones are likely to turn out like they should :). Supercook has you type in or click on ingredients you have in your house and it will spit out recipes you can make with what you already have at home. ...lifesaver when I haven't planned ahead.
5. SInce you are doing your meal before the games, I'd suggest filling the sink with soapy water and putting your pans, plates, etc in there to get them off the table. When you get home, they have already soaked and you can just pop them in the dishwasher without really having to rinse, etc. If your kids are hungry when they get home, you can reheat some of the dinner from earlier or maybe a bowl of cereal, fruit, cheese and crackers....something to fill them up before bed. I know I really don't like coming home to dirty dishes, either, but for the sake of getting everyone ready and out the door without screaming and losing your temper - oh wait, that's me*LOL!* - sometimes you just gotta deal with a little mess when you get home.
I hope some of the info from all these posts will help. It's tough to feed your family healthy when you are always on the go. Most the families from my son's team, just drive through a fast food place. That would get real old, real fast. So, good luck and have a happy season!!

***Forgot to mention a couple other things (will this woman ever stop typing?!?! LOL!!)
If you have frozen chicken, you can put that in the crockpot frozen. All crockpots are different, so you may want to experiment before cooking from frozen, but if you forget to defrost something and wanted to cook it the next day, just put it in frozen and turn it to high or a setting that will have the heat up a little hotter than normal.

Also, I forgot to mention one of my kids favorite meals - breakfast dinner! A quick scrambled egg, sausage and/or pancakes is something my family really likes. It's easy and quick. You can even make the pancakes/waffles beforehand and freeze them. Or, make up the batter and put it in a container to keep it in the fridge, so it's ready when you are. If I make a big breakfast on the weekend, I may wait until Wednesday to use the breakfast dinner card, but they seem to really enjoy it whenever we have it.
Ok, I think I'm done, now. Ha Ha!

You could get a crock pot.
That is what I got.
Its great!

good luck, I know this is a problem for many parents and kids w/afterschool activities... me included.

all the best,
Susan

You sound like the type of mom who likes to prepare a nice healthy hot meal for dinner, which is wonderful. Easier said then done, to prevent yourself from going crazy, try to stay organized with lots of healthy foods prepped in advance; like veggies washed, peeled and sliced.

However, especially with the warmer weather, you can start thinking in terms of cold food that will make a quick simple meal.

A few suggestions..
Sandwich with carrot sticks
Chicken breast, potatoe salad, and cucumber slices
Pasta salad
Ham and cheese cut into cubes, whole wheat crackers, celery sticks w/dip

For a one pot meal, how about a pot roast, there was a post about 2 days ago with good ideas.

Tacos make a quick easy meal, you can have shreaded cheese, lettuce and diced tomatoes made ahead of time, and just worry about having to brown the meat.

Hambuger helper served with veggies on the side is good for an occasional meal (better than eating out).

Good luck.

Crockpot meals and paper plates or picnic style "lunch" for supper where everyone eats with their fingers and throws the remains away afterwards. Either can be prepared hours beforehand leaving time for getting ready and eating at the last minute.

Chicken & veggie stew with pasta (use a crockpot):
put chicken drumsticks in boiling water (or use chicken stalk from a can)
add diced carrots, potatoes, celery, garlic, onions, corn, bell pepper
add whole wheat pasta
let boil till chicken & pasta are cooked
add seasoning - herbs de provence, black pepper, salt to taste
(to save time, add frozen pre-cut veggies)

as a 'snack', you can also have fresh fruit's smoothie or milkshake. Blend the following:
plain yogurt, banana, pear, mango
or, vanilla yogurt, banana, strawberry (can be frozen)
(instead of yogurt, you can also use milk)

I also do steamed & mashed sweet potato as a snack or dessert (depending on the weather, it can be served warm or cold)

almonds & raisins provide a quick & healthy snack on the go

Here's an easy recipe: Pepperoni Pasta
1 pkg pepperonis 1 bell pepper, chopped 8 oz mozerella cheese 1 pkg rotini pasta, cooked 1 jar any flavor (I use green pepper and mushroom Ragu) spaghetti sauce (black olives, optional)
Saute pepperonis and bell pepper until tender, cook and drain pasta, mix all ingredients on low in saucepan until cheese melts. DELICIOUS! Good luck, just use easy, fast recipes and cook them in advance, if possible, then just re-heat and eat.
Another is Chicken Fettucini
Boil 1 pkg chicken breasts, drain and cut into bite-size pieces. Cook and drain 1 pkg fettucini noodles. Mix chicken and noodles with 2 jars Ragu alfredo sauce and some black pepper to taste. Enjoy!