7 Fast & Healthy Dinner Ideas Your Kids Will Actually Eat Besides Veggie Pizza
My wife is an amazing cook. But she’s also a busy ER doc who’s not always around for dinner.
So while she’s out saving lives, I have to do something slightly harder: cook a healthy dinner for three picky little kids.
I was told I couldn’t keep feeding them chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, or veggie pizza (my go-to). I had to expand the menu.
To make things a little easier on myself, I’ve put together a list of quick and healthy meal ideas.
Here are 7 of them I’d like to share with you:
1. Not Your Cafeteria’s Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- Boil noodles
- Heat meatballs
- Pour sauce on the noodles
- Mix in meatballs
Insights:
- It’s super fast & easy because you don’t have to make the sauce or cook the meat.
- It’s way healthier than traditional spaghetti & meatballs because of the ingredients.
- Make sure you choose a pasta sauce with simple ingredients that tastes good.
- Looking for a veggie option? Just skip the meatballs. The chickpea noodles are packed with protein.
2. Sloppy Foe (Meatless Sloppy Joe)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- Break up & brown patties (medium to high heat)
- Add water (1 1/4 cups)
- Add tomato paste & seasoning
- Simmer for 5 minutes, slop on buns, and serve
Insights:
- Whole grain is healthier than whole wheat if you can’t find buns. Slightly toasted whole-grain bread does the trick.
- Beyond burger looks, cooks, and tastes like beef. Tons of protein. Healthier than real beef. No weird ingredients.
- The McCormick seasoning mixed with plain tomato paste & water is just as healthy and way faster than trying to make your own sauce. Also, 1 packet goes a long way.
3. Quasi Quick Quasi Quesadillas
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- Saute chicken taco skillet (10 mins)
- Stir in refried pinto beans & sprinkle cheese
- Add a scoop from the skillet to Flatout bread
- Grill quasi quesadillas in a smidgen of olive oil
Insights:
- Follow the cooking directions on the side of the Frontera chicken taco skillet bag — it’s easy.
- Before adding the beans, mince the chicken taco skillet so that the chicken and veggies are fine.
- Add a little water when stirring in the re-fried beans.
- The texture is important. Don’t burn the quasi-quesadillas. The outside should be golden & crispy.
- Organic, fat-free, BPA-free refried beans are the way to go.
4. Hidden Veggie Simple & Speedy Stir Fry
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- Boil brown rice noodles (1 minute) and add a splash of olive oil per directions on the box — set aside.
- Stir fry riced cauliflower & broccoli in olive oil (high heat 3–5 minutes).
- Add frozen carrots and a pinch of onion powder, if you have it (cook another 3–5 minutes).
- Stir in half a shot glass of sauce (simmer for 1 minute).
- Mix in rice noodles and serve.
Insights:
- Using simple frozen, pre-cut veggies makes things fast & easy.
- The riced cauliflower & broccoli almost becomes part of the sauce, so kids don’t even know it’s there.
- You can substitute brown rice noodles with regular brown rice if you’d like.
5. Tomato Soup & Cheese Toasties (a slightly healthier version)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- Heat the soup
- Slightly toast bread
- Make cheese sandwiches
- Grill the sandwich in a smidgen of olive oil
Insights:
- It’s way healthier than traditional classic grilled cheese & tomato soup because of the ingredients.
- Make sure you make enough soup. It goes fast and can get messy.
- The texture is important. Don’t burn the toast. The outside should be golden brown & crispy. The inside should be only slightly toasted.
- A little olive oil goes a long way, and it’s way healthier than butter.
- High-quality cheese is better than low-fat cheese.
6. Instant Sweet Italian Sausage With Quinoa & Brown Rice
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- Heat the sausage in a skillet (medium heat for 8–10 minutes)
- Microwave quinoa & brown rice (90 seconds)
- Chop up the sausage and mix it with quinoa & rice
- Drizzle a very (very, very) small drizzle of olive oil and add a pinch of salt & pepper — serve
Insights:
- For a pretty healthy dish, this is as fast and as easy as it gets.
- Make sure you slice the sausage into safe & manageable bites for little kids.
- Look for meat with no nitrates, no nitrites.
7. Crispy Honey Mustard (Meatless) Chicken Sandwiches & Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:
- Whole-grain buns
- Crispy chick’n patties
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Olive Oil Based Mayo
- Honey
- Dijon mustard
- Yellow Mustard
Instructions:
- Oven cook sweet potato fries per directions (15–18 minutes).
- Oven cook meatless chicken per directions (10 minutes).
- Mix equal parts honey, dijon mustard, mayo, and a small squirt of yellow mustard into a small bowl to make the sauce.
- Lightly toast buns.
- Put it all together to make sandwiches with fries on the side.
Insights:
- The meatless chicken and the sweet potato fries are ready-made and cooked at the same temperature (425°F).
- Play around with your homemade honey mustard sauce to get the taste right. Consider adding a dash of garlic powder if you have it.
- Brushing on just a touch of olive oil to the outside of your buns before you toast them will give them a slight crisp.
