Sadly, after summer means back to work and school and reality (Noooo!). It also means a mom back to attempting to plan quick weeknight meals that the whole family (including picky toddlers) will eat. This is not an easy task. One must be innovative while remaining to keep some comfort and routine on the plates.
As I’ve tried many different meal options, I figured I’d compile a list of our family favorites (yes, even meals my kids will eat). I’m also hoping you’ll share your family’s favorite meals and we can all help each other out! I’m paying it forward, moms, to all of you in the mac and cheese and dino nuggies rut! I will also add, if your child is a little older, he/she should be helping to prepare the meals. My two older kids help me every night and the chance that they are excited to eat what *they* prepare is much greater.
Here’s some of our faves:
- MYO pizza: Okay, you can’t have a list like this knowing you are feeding kids and not have this on your list. Every kid likes pizza, and when you make your own, each kid can customize what they want on it. My kids are plain and choose cheese only every time, but my husband and I can always make ours with toppings and still enjoying eating the same dinner as the kids.
- Items you’ll need: Boboli pizza crust (we like thin crust), pizza sauce (we use Prego but any will do!), shredded Italian cheese, and toppings of your choice
- Chicken Noodle Casserole: This is a feel-good family comfort dinner. Perfect for cold nights, this casserole is beyond easy to throw together on a weeknight.
- Items you’ll need: chicken (precooked), frozen peas/ carrots/ corn, egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, milk, and seasonings
- Air Fryer French Toast: Not the healthiest item on the list, but paired with fresh fruit it’s a decent dinner thrown together pretty quickly thanks to the air fryer! French Toast is one of my daughter’s favorite meals!
- Items you’ll need: brioche bread, eggs, cinnamon, syrup, fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries are our faves)
- Quesadillas: For our Mexican food craving, we usually do a variety of quesadillas on a weeknight. We have tried to sneak in some veggies in the quesadillas for the kids, but they can tell by the color and the bell pepper is not their favorite! My kids stick to just cheese, but you can get the veggies you want for them.
- Items you’ll need: tortillas, shredded fiesta cheese, sour cream, any veggies for inside (bell pepper, onion, etc), chicken if desired
- Lemon Broccoli Pasta: Okay, let me be clear here. My son *loved* this pasta the year between year 1 and 2. It was his absolute favorite thing. When he turned 3, he decided dino nuggies were life and refused any other food (as a typical toddler will do), but the fact remains that this was a fantastic choice for weeknight dinner-easy, tasty, packed with veggies. My current toddler loves this dish, so hopefully she won’t fall into the same rut as her older brother!
- Items you’ll need: 2-3 lemons, butter, garlic, Cellentini noodles (my sons favorite), broccoli, spinach, red pepper flakes, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil
- Cheeseburger sliders: Getting my kids to try burgers wasn’t too difficult- we turned regular sized burgers into sliders and it was like a miniature size burger perfect for the kids.
- Items you’ll need: ground beef, slider buns, sliced cheese, toppings if preferred
- Cauliflower Mac and Cheese: You heard me right. When my son was little there was a time when I successfully got him to eat what we called “cheesy pasta”, which was essentially mac and cheese with cauliflower. Mom win!
- Items you’ll need: Cellentini noodles (you can use any, but these are my sons favorite), cauliflower, Velveeta, instant pot for cooking
- Baked Ziti: Yes, let’s keep on the pasta list because my daughters favorite food is pasta, and the more seasoning and garlic the better! Take this traditional baked ziti recipe-easy weeknight meal, throw some veggies on the side and you’ve got a decent meal!
- Items you’ll need: Ziti noodles, shredded Italian cheese, traditional red sauce. Serve with a side of veggies and garlic bread.
- Turkey Roll-Ups: My 1 year old loves a good turkey roll-up. It’s quick and easy, plus perfect for warm summer nights! You can mix it up and add different veggies to it (bell pepper, lettuce, tomato, etc.). Personally my toddler loves just plain turkey and cheese, with a little mayo.
- Items you’ll need: Deli sliced turkey (brand of your choosing), sliced cheese-we use white American, tortillas, and fixin’s of your choosing!
These are just a few of the dinners that frequent our family weekly list. I’ve started to get more adventurous as my kids are growing in hopes that I can expand their palettes to a variety of foods. With every kid I have learned to experiment as early as possible. So please don’t fret, first time moms, if you are sitting here thinking There is no way my kid will eat any vegetable. With my first-born, I was hesitant to introduce too much at one time. I’ve learned from my mistake and by my third-born, I am serving avocado, spicy garlic meals, carrots, oranges, broccoli, and more. It is working because my second and third children are by far better eaters than my son! So have hope, moms. Try some of these out a little at a time. Hopefully, if anything, it’s a starting point to add something new. Bon Appetit!
