new meals needed

we eat lots of the following:

breakfast: always accompanied with a fruit
- waffles
- pancakes
- cereal in snack traps upon waking
- cinnamon toast

lunch: always accompanied with a fruit
- grilled cheese
- pizza nuggets
- chicken nuggets
- quesadillas
- uncrustables

dinner:
- pizza
- chicken nuggets
- burgers
- they really like rice and veggies

snacks:
- yogurt
- cereal bars
- goldfish
- pretzels


i just feel like i want to make more or do better things for the kids now that im home with them for the summer.
any other meal ideas?
they dont really like pasta or cold cuts. i did pick some up and i want to attempt sandwiches this week but i doubt it will work!! lol!

 

Here's a few that are popular around here:
Breakfast- scrambled eggs, oatmeal, sausage biscuits, smoothies

Lunch/Dinner- baked tortilla chips w/ cheese and guacamole (really just mashed avocado), meatballs, chicken sausage, fish sticks, spaghetti, Mac & cheese, cooked ham

 

You could add things like muffins, cereal bars, eggs and oatmeal in the morning.

Other lunch/dinner ideas:
hard boiled eggs
crackers and cheese
rolled lunch meat
peanut butter and honey or pb and banana sandwhich
macaroni and cheese
meatballs
fish sticks



Snacks:
cottage cheese
cheese sticks or cubes
raisins
smoothies
trail mixes
pretzels

 

Oatmeal is great, you can add a little honey or all kinds of different fruit to change it up.
There are lots of ways to cook eggs. One my kids especially love is when you take a cookie cutter and cut a hole in a piece of bread. Then put the bread on a griddle or hot pan and drop an egg in the middle and fry it up that way. I usually just toast the cutout piece on the griddle at the same time.
Maybe crepes? Similar to pancakes, but easily rolled up with yummy stuff inside or to dip in nutella or something else delicious. If you haven't cooked them before, they seem intimidating, maybe because there are special crepe pans. But a small saute pan works fine for them, IMO.

For lunch or dinner, maybe add in some sweet potato fries? They're easy to make, but you can also buy them now from OreIda.

I like to boil a variety of veggies together, like potatoes, carrots, broccoli, etc. When they're done, drain the water and toss in some mayo and seasonings and have sort of a potato salad, but a little healthier with more variety of veggies (vitamins).

Do they like soup? Split pea soup is a favorite here. I make it in the crockpot, throw in a little barley or brown rice for added texture, and add whatever veggies I have in the crisper. Then some good seasonings and right at the end, I crumble in a couple of slices of cooked bacon (I cook up a pound at a time, and then divide it into freezer baggies, about 4 strips each... when I need it I have some on hand). It's nice and thick, very filling.

Quiche is another one my family likes. And instead of a pie crust, I use leftover rice for the base. I mix in a little soy sauce and press it into the bottom of the pan. Then just mix eggs, milk, cheese and whatever random meat and veggies I have in the fridge. But looking up a quiche recipe would give you ideas on various fillings and ratios of things.

My nephew's favorite snack (and one my kids like, though I don't usually remember because it just doesn't sound good to me) is banana slices and a chunk of peanut butter. Also boiled eggs, string cheese, apple slices to dip in yogurt or peanut butter, carrots or celery dipped in peanut butter. In fact celery with peanut butter in it and raisins on top, my kids call ants on a log. We also like a spreadable cheese in celery. Also, cutting cheese and lunch meat into little squares, and letting them put them on crackers is a huge hit with all my kids. Who am I kidding, I love crackers with ham and cheese.

How about a fruit salsa with cinnamon tortilla chips? Take a flour tortilla and spritz with water then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on it and bake in the oven until crisp. For the salsa, mix a variety of fruits like apples, oranges, strawberries, etc. I usually toss in a Tbsp of brown sugar and maybe a Tbsp of jam to sort of hold it together. Then dip the chips in it. Yum!

Speaking of dip, pretty much anything you can think of dipping is a hit with my kids, especially the younger ones. Veggies in salad dressing, fruit in yogurt, all kinds of things in ketchup.

Oh, and here are a couple of great cookbooks I own: First Meals and Family Meals

 

Breakfast:

Oatmeal mixed with yogurt and fruit
Smoothies
Cereal
Pancakes
French toast
Bagel with cream cheese
Cinnamon raisin toast
Scrambled eggs with cheese and veggies

Lunch (protein, carb, veggies and fruit, with milk):

Sandwiches- PB&J, Ham, Turkey, Grilled cheese
Pasta and veggies with parm cheese
Fresh fruit and/or fresh veggies with sometime to dip it in.

Dinner (protein, carb, veggies, with milk):

Rotisserie chicken or turkey breast
Ravioli with cheese/veggies/or chicken
Meatloaf
Spaghetti and meatballs
Pasta salad
Chili
Quesadillas (chicken and cheese)
Stir fry chicken with rice
Burgers
Tilapia or other white fish

I can't think of anything else right now...

 

We do brunch for lunch or breakfast for dinner sometimes to change things up and the kids get sooooo excited....all we have to say is who wants pancakes for dinner and everyone cheers...it is the little things in life I guess

We also make ants on a log for lunch or snack...cut celery with peanut butter and topped with raisins.

Bean burritos is another fav. Refried beans with cheese rolled in a soft tortilla.

sliced canned peaches in a bowl topped with cottage cheese is another hit in our house.

Peanut butter "sandwiches" where we take 2 saltine crackers with peanut butter in the middle is another thing we do or peanut butter and jelly pancake sanwiches...mini pancakes with peanut butter and jelly in the middle to make a sandwich.

My kids also love tomato soup with their grilled cheese...easy way to sneak in a "veggie". For my really young ones I put the soup in their sip cups and they slurp it right down.

 

What about try subsitutue almond butter for peanut butter. I serve veggies with every meal, sometimes steamed (so simple to cook), baked or even raw - brocolli, cauliflower, peas, corn, snow peas, cellery, carrots, eggplant, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes. Some with butter, cheese, spices or plain.

Fish - so simple! Buy some frozen white fish, and put it in a steamer with some veggies and potatoes or rice - mine LOVE white fish now! We also do salmon once/wk, with a tomato sauce.

What about trying cous-cous (it is super easy to make and takes only 5min), I sometimes mix the rice or couscous with tomato sauce, or I use baby food (pureed carrots, squash etc) as a sauce.

But, they do say you need to introduce a new food to kids approx 10 times before they will accept it - so keep trying, they will come around.

 

Great ideas, everyone! For breakfast I'd like to add yogurt parfaits. We do plain yogurt with granola (I make my own) and fresh or frozen berries. My kids love them!

My kids also like nuts a lot. I know they can be a choking hazard, but my kids do well with them and they are really healthy. We usually give them a handful of almonds or other nuts at breakfast.

 

these are wonderful ideas! TY :grouphug:

 

Such good ideas! Mine also do well with cereal and milk now that they are used to spoon feeding. They LOVE Special K. We also do eggs both scrambled and over easy (DS only eats them that way).

You mentioned yours don't like pasta but I would say experiment with the type of pasta and the sauce. For the longest time, DS would only eat pasta if it had pesto sauce on it! He also goes gangbusters for ravioli.

Mine also love rotisserie chicken, pot roast, etc. A good lunch or snack protein that my kids also love is hummus.

We are trying to get more into having the kids eat what we eat but it is hard with work schedules. Since you are home all summer I would try to experiment with some things you and DH like and the kids might surprise you and eat it.