Fast Nutritious Meals for the Family On The Go

Let's face it - for most people, the sit down meal at 5 o'clock just isn't going to happen at your house tonight, or most nights, or maybe any night. Unfortunately, in today's busy world, a typical family evening may not see all the family members together until it's time to say goodnight. Between work, school, sports, clubs, music, and other activities, we are on the go from sun-up to sun-down, and beyond.

This frenzied lifestyle doesn't do anything for your health, and before you know it, nutrition has taken a back seat. If most days are spent taking one or more trips through the drive-thru fast food joint or calling in for pizza delivery, you know no one is eating a balanced diet. This is detrimental to your family's health and happiness. But, is there a way to change this?

Actually, there is. Let's take a look at some suggestions for having nutritious food ready and waiting for your frenzied family to grab and go.

Wrap It Up

Tasty wraps are healthy & portable. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is one meal that satisfies everyone and is so easy to make and to store. Keep the ingredients simple, and don't use anything like lettuce, cucumbers, or tomatoes, or other things that wilt or get watery if you want the wraps to last for a while.

Use good whole grain, sundried tomato, or spinach tortillas. Spread hummus in the middle and top with shredded cooked chicken, black beans, or other protein like fish or tofu. You can include chopped bell peppers or celery, or cooked brown rice or quinoa. Just remember, if you want the wraps to last, limit the vegetables to non-runny kinds. Wrap these up into burrito shapes, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. You may want to wrap them up again in aluminum foil to make them easier to transport.

You can make these up the evening before and refrigerate overnight, then grab and go in the morning!

Chicken Bites

Make a big batch of chicken fingers and store them in the refrigerator for an easy, protein rich meal. But, you don't just want a bowl of chicken sitting there. Create small grab-and-go meals that are fast and nutritious.
Most kids like to dip chicken in dressing of some sort. Make your own healthier version of Ranch style dip using yogurt or sour cream and lots of herbs. You may also like to make some spicy salsa style dip with fresh tomatoes. When you package up your homemade chicken fingers with a couple dips alongside, this fast food seems more like a meal. Don't forget to include a biscuit and your kid-on-the-run will have a full tummy in no time.

Black beans are a quick protein source. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tex Mex Meal

Black beans are an excellent source of nutrition that can be used in countless ways to make a fast meal. For example, expand the classic black bean dip you might enjoy at a Mexican restaurant to a more filling dish.

Lightly smash some rinsed black beans in a big bowl, add diced tomatoes, salsa, corn, chopped avocado, onion, and any other ingredients that sound good to you. Mix and chill. Divide the dip into little bowls, then package up with a couple handfuls of good whole wheat or whole grain corn tortilla chips. Remember, black beans are loaded with protein and dietary fiber, so even though this dish is often considered a snack, with all that goodness going on in there, it is really a full-meal-deal.

Those are just three nutritious dishes that you can have ready and waiting for your busy family to grab anytime, day or night. It just goes to show you that you don't have to miss out on nutrition no matter how busy your family gets!

Video - Beans & Greens Recipe

Here is a quick and delicious summer dish that won't take but a few minutes from stove to table. Full of flavor, protein, and nutrients, this one makes a great summer lunch. For a truly from-scratch meal, just cook the beans ahead and keep them in the fridge in a jar. White beans usually cook pretty quickly, so they are easy to make ahead and have on hand.

This one will make you hungry - check it out, and enjoy!

 

Other good bean recipes:

• A Reader Recipe: Balsamic Greens and Beans (fitsugar.com)
• The Salad Bowl: Honey-Balsamic Bean Salad (thecooksnextdoor.com)
• Recipe: Pintos with Kick (frugalupstate.com)

Quick and Easy Lunches for the Cooking Challenged

Let's face it, cooking is not a top priority in the lives of everyone on the planet. In fact, far too few people have made learning to cook a priority in their lives. This means that we often exist on convenience foods and boxed mixes rather than taking the effort to prepare healthy meals for our families and our own personal enjoyment.


Image via WikipediaThe same holds true for lunches, when we often resort to a can of soup or box of macaroni and cheese or some other such product rather than putting our creative efforts into making a quick and easy yet delicious (and healthy!) lunch. You will see many ideas in this article and the hope is that these ideas will not only get you off to a great start for ending the lunch rut we all seem to find ourselves in at some time or another, but also get you to try new things on your own.

First of all, not all great lunches require actual cooking in order to prepare. Some of them will need no cooking whatsoever, while others may require the use of the microwave, and some of them will need to be cooked or at least prepared before-hand and reheated. But the choices are virtually limitless once you understand the creative concept that must be in place. You should also find that many of these ideas are so simple you will wonder why on earth you have never thought of them.

Try lettuce wraps: These make delightfully delicious lunch treats and the filling can be prepared ahead of time, which leaves only reheating the filling and wrapping when you're ready to eat. This is a fun lunch to share with your little Image by Portrait Artist - Enzie Shahmiri via Flickrones and it teaches them that lettuce is much more versatile than people often give it credit for. Some people choose to go with a teriyaki or Asian-inspired filling; some like taco-like fillings for their lettuce rolls. You are free to come up with a favorite filling of your very own, so have fun, and get creative!

Try sandwiches with different breads. Some children have a little difficulty with thick or crusty bread. Instead, try perhaps something like Hawaiian sweet rolls. Just put the meat, cheese, mustard, and pickle in the roll as if it were a bun. Other great ideas include hollowing out crusty rolls and filling them with roast beef and cheddar. You can broil this in your oven for a few minutes for a rare sandwich treat. The cooking part is very minimal and you do not have to have in depth knowledge of anything to prepare or enjoy these simple treats.

Other good bread ideas include croissants with ham and cheese or chicken salad, taco pitas (another great favorite in our household), and paninis (this works really well if you have a George Foreman grill or a panini press).

While this is by no means the end-all-be-all guide to cooking quick and easy lunches it is good food for thought. The hope is that this will get your own creative juices flowing so that you can prepare wonderful lunches for your family without needing to do more heavy cooking than you have or want to.

We'd love to hear your own ideas for quick and easy lunches (particularly ones the kids like), so please feel free to post these for our other readers to benefit from!

Related articles on Fast, Easy Lunch Ideas:

• School Lunch Ideas: Nutritious Lunches For Kids (lifescript.com)
• From Last Night's Dinner To Today's Lunch: Add Taste, Save Cash (mint.com)
• Simple Strategies for Using Your Leftover Food (wisebread.com)
• Healthy, No Cook, Easy Meals (healthadel.com)
• 7 Healthy Lunch-Box Favorites (lifescript.com)