If You Were To Eat the Same Dinner Every Night...

[Kinguk]

I'm broke and am lacking time and energy. I plan great breakfasts, lunches and snacks ahead of time. But, I never get around to figuring out dinner and will usually just eat a boring sandwich or have breakfast for dinner.

I am thinking if I just ate the same healthy, well-rounded meal every night for the next three weeks it would relieve me of so much stress.

Tonight I had rice, black beans with cilantro, eggs, salsa -- it's pretty good and I might still like it in a week... Does anyone have any other suggestions for a healthy, easy dinner? I can eat anything.

[~Megan~]

If I had to eat it really often it would probably be a grilled chicken caesar salad with lots of fresh veggies mixed in. You could mix it up though by using a different dressing every now and then.

[lil_earthmomma]

I agree with megan that dinner salads would be a great choice because you can throw a different fruit, veggie or meat in with a different dressing.

Soups are great. You can make a huge batch and just warm up a bowl.

[BetsyS]

If I had to, I could probably eat the same supper every night for about a week. But, after that, I'd need to switch it up.

For me, soup or a salad would work every night, plus be really easy. I'd also probably eat pasta with butter or ramen every night. Not so healthy, but definitely my comfort food.

[cristeen]

I could never do a single meal every night for 3 weeks... but I'd probably make 2 or 3 casseroles, divide them up, freeze individual portions and then decide which one sounded good that night, add a green salad and be done with it. There are any number of casseroles that could be tossed together in a matter of minutes.

[Sol_y_Paz]

Take a day and premake foods. Freeze. Then have variety.

[mrs joe bubby]

For awhile I had little pizzas for dinner pretty much every night. I'd take some time one day to make a make and parbake a batch of individuals crusts while making a huge batch of sauce and shredding cheeses. It actually worked pretty well because I could grab whatever for toppings and mix it up pretty well...any veggies I had around, tofu, veggie burgers crumbles, just cheese, no sauce, whatever. Lots of possibilities and I could really load up with veggies for a fairly healthy meal. I've also done quesadillas and wrap sandwiches.

[Ola_]

I'd get bored too, but having a few of these meals in mind (and ingredients on hand) would probably make it easier for you to make them. I swear the hardest part of making dinner is figuring out what to make!

My "eat often" vote will go for stir-fry. You can do any veggies (fresh or frozen) to vary the taste, your choice of protein (literally any will work), and serve on some rice, rice noodles, shredded cabbage, whatever floats your boat. The only trick is to use a healthy sauce as some of them have awful ingredients.

[cymbeline]

This is pretty much what we do post-partum for the first couple of weeks!!

I am a crock-pot fan, so we buy four whole fryer chickens for a week of chicken dinners.

I grease my crock with Pam, rinse off the chicken, take the parts out of the middle (neck, liver, etc), and throw it in the crock with a little lemon pepper Dash. I put it on high and let it sit there all day. By evening, it falls off the bone.

Chicken is versatile, so you can serve it just like that the first night with steamed broccoli on the side, then take the leftovers the next night and serve with BBQ sauce and corn on the cob. If you have more leftovers, throw them on a cheese quesadilla and serve with salsa the third night.

Then cook up another chicken. This time, serve with Teriyaki sauce and more steamed broccoli. The next night, mix the leftovers with egg noodles and a small bag of frozen peas and a packet of Hollandaise sauce. See where I am going with this? The next night, I put the remaining chicken and a few chopped new potatoes back in the crock with any remaining peas and a jar of Masala sauce and some water and serve with rice for an Indian dinner.

DH doesn't like to cook, so this keeps it easy for the first few weeks after I give birth. The crock is virtually no-fail, and everything else he can microwave or serve straight from a jar You could pick just one of these meals and easily eat it until you run out of ingredients.

If the kids are feeling picky or if I don't have time/money for a special meal every night, usually some plain chicken re-heated and served with soy sauce and a little rice or even just an apple or a banana and we are good to go!

[Kinguk]

Mmm yummy ideas The prepare-everything-on-the-weekend-and-freeze-it hasn't been working out for me. My weekends go by so quick (I've hired a personal organizer who just annihilated two closests of stuff in 2 hours!). She's coming one more time and then I'll have my weekends back -- I'll get to make muffins, freeze casseroles, and most importantly hang out with my baby!!

The chicken ceasar salad has worked out great as my neighbour has been dumping so much of her delicious garden fresh lettuce on me. I literally have 8 heads of organically grown, the crunchiest, most tastiest lettuce I have ever had. I bought some organic chicken, a bottle of ceasar dressing (a good kind) and had some wraps & fancy cheese on hand.

I also managed to make a spinach lasagna and another casserole. My little one broke her arm 4 days ago so I stayed up until the wee hours cooking and baking muffins. I have this whole week covered as I watch another toddler fulltime during the week and had to make sure I was with them 24/7 to watch her arm...she's not in a cast.

For the sake of simplicity, I don't mind if meals get boring. As long as it's nutritious I can get past eating something over and over again. In two weeks my situation will change and I can start having fun with planning and cooking proper meals like in the good ol' days. Last summer I had stirfry everyday for a month as I had broken my foot. It was good b/c you can switch it up. I'd just by a new sauce everytime I went to buy groceries.

[Liquesce]

For a while I was basically living on a formula of throwing into a pot: lentils, split peas, or (precooked, towards the end) beans; a grain (rice, barley, or whatever); a leafy green (towards the end); canned tomatoes; onions; mushrooms; sometimes sliced carrots; garlic; ginger; dark miso (also towards the end); chili powder; cumin; cinnamon or garam masala; lemon; and enough water to cook into a thick stew; served with more lemon, a (very) little oil, and a little plain yogurt on top. A lot of ingredients, but it's cheap and it's all just dump and simmer ... no effort, and very satisfying.

[Kinguk]

Originally Posted by Liquesce

For a while I was basically living on a formula of throwing into a pot: lentils, split peas, or (precooked, towards the end) beans; a grain (rice, barley, or whatever); a leafy green (towards the end); canned tomatoes; onions; mushrooms; sometimes sliced carrots; garlic; ginger; dark miso (also towards the end); chili powder; cumin; cinnamon or garam masala; lemon; and enough water to cook into a thick stew; served with more lemon, a (very) little oil, and a little plain yogurt on top. A lot of ingredients, but it's cheap and it's all just dump and simmer ... no effort, and very satisfying.

Mmmmm that looks nutritious and very cheap! I already have almost all those ingredients -- I may have to try it.

[LeahBoo]

For me it would be sloppy joes. Or roast chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies.

[Althetrainer]

Eat the same dinner every night

That would be us... we eat grilled chicken and tossed green salad all the time. Three or four nights a week, my husband will use our George Foreman to grill the chicken and I do the salad. Our 7 year old doesn't like the tossed salad but he will eat veggie strips with some yummy dips that I make with homemade yogurt and a bit of low fat mayo and salsa.

Little man does get bored with the same dinner so our crock pot comes to the rescue. I buy a large pack of lean ground beef, marinate and mix some chopped veggies (whatever I have at home) in with the meat. Use half of the mixture to form a ball for a crock pot meatloaf. Don't forget to put a long piece of tin foil (double fold) in the crock pot before putting your meat in it or you will have a hard time getting the meatloaf out when it's done. I put some ketchup on top of the meat and let it cook away. The second half of the marinated meat, I use it to make meatballs and leave them in the freezer. For the evening I have more time and energy, I make BBQ meatballs to go with some steamed rice and veggies. Our son loves these two special dishes. Occasionally I make omelets for dinner: whole eggs with cheese and frozen mixed veggies, topped with ground flax and salsa. It's fast and easy and loads with good nutrients.