Here’s What I Actually Make For Dinner During a Busy Week
I may know what to eat and how to cook those foods. I’m constantly tossing new ideas and recipes around in my head. But this doesn’t mean that getting a healthy dinner on the table is always easy for me. It also doesn't mean that cooking dinner is something I want or like to do some days, if I'm being completely honest. And during extra-busy weeks, those feelings tend to flare.
Want to see what our family meals look like during an extra-busy week? Last week, I didn’t do as much planning and prep since Monday being a holiday, so I’m sharing what we ended up eating for dinner Tuesday through Friday. If you’re envisioning picture-perfect menus, think again! You’ll see our meals are not always balanced; they utilize convenience products. You’ll also notice there are slight variations for each person — sometimes completely different.
So why am I sharing this?
Here's why: No one eats perfectly — even dietitians, yet there's a lot of pressure to do so. And if you buy into Instagram and Facebook, it’s easy to think you’re the only one not eating perfectly or cooking a balanced meal from scratch every night. Yet, this perspective hurts more than it helps. So my goal in sharing my not-so-perfect dinner table is to alleviate a little pressure, stress or guilt that may be weighing on your when to comes to what you “should” be eating or feeding your family.
Healthy eating is about progress, not perfection. So my goal each week is not to serve perfectly balance dinners every night. (And yes, I have to remind myself of this regularly.) Instead, my goal is to be prepared. Some weeks then means really prepared with groceries stocked, recipes pulled, and food prepped; other weeks this means having a loose menu and making sure I have some key foods on hand to pull quick meals together. But if I’m prepared at some level, then I always have the ability to make a good (or better) choices depending on the day and situation.
Now, could I have planned and prepared more last week? Absolutely! But I did the preparation that I could manage before the crazy 4-day work week started. Then, I made the best choices based on what I had and where I was in life.
Tuesday Dinner: Grilled Chicken with Summer Veggies
Monday, I made a big batch of the Best (and Easiest) Grilled Chicken using a combo of skinless boneless breasts and thighs to have on hand as a quick cooked protein to use for quick lunches (or dinners when I don’t want to cook). I warmed the chicken and paired with corn-on-the-cob, fresh tomato slices, and greens with Zoe’s Kitchen vinaigrette. Granted, I may have been the only one to eat the tomato slices, but that’s fine. More summer goodness for me!
Wednesday Dinner: 15-Minute Spaghetti & Meatballs
I combined a bag of frozen Italian turkey meatballs and a jar of organic marinara from ALDI which I brought to a simmer in a saucepan until hot throughout. I served the Griffin’s over whole-wheat spaghetti. Madeline just wanted meatballs and sauce by themselves, and I ate mine over spaghetti squash strands I’d prepped earlier in the week. I paired with roasted broccoli, and dinner was done! And leftovers were great for lunch the next day.
Thursday Dinner: “Have It Your Way” Thursday
Thursday night was busy: Griffin had soccer practice, Madeline was studying for two tests, and I had plans to meet some girlfriends out. Everyone was going different directions, and there wasn’t time for a sit-down family dinner. Rather than feel guilty about this, I rolled with it. And it turned out pretty good (and healthy) for everyone! Here’s what we each ate:
Griffin: He’s 10, and lately there are days where I can’t seem to get enough in him! I knew he’d be hungry after soccer, so I made him leftover grilled chicken, ready-to-heat brown rice and steam-in-the-bag sugar snap peas both of which I tossed with a little butter and salt, and sliced strawberries.
Madeline: Made a smoothie for dinner using frozen berries, plain Greek yogurt, and a splash of orange juice.
Me: I made myself a quick skillet quesadilla using corn tortillas that I sprayed lightly with avocado oil cooking spray and topped with a Mexican cheese blend and baby spinach. I served it with some fresh salsa. Later, I had some yogurt with blueberries.
Friday
Out to dinner to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday!