Easy healthy suppers?

[mom2p.m.]

Okay, so i am new at this single parent thing and have sooo many questions.  This might be a goofy one as far as things go, but I just need help/ ideas.  None of my friends are single moms.

What are some easy kid friendly, single mom friendly dinners that are still healthy.  What is your favorite healthy go to meal?

Thanks

[josybear]

breakfast for dinner

stramed veggies & rice with melted cheese

beans & rice with veg

fried rice

[Subhuti]

Burgers, veggie or otherwise. And sliced roasted potatoes

Home made pizza

Chicken noodle soup ... Even hone made is eat and quick

Stir fry ... Veggies and beans or tofu

[VisionaryMom]

Baked chicken w/ herbs & sauteed or steamed veggies are a go-to dinner for us. If the chicken is defrosted, it takes about 20 minutes. I can put it in and get everything else ready so that we're sitting down to eat when the chicken's done.

[Learning_Mum]

I do alot of platters. Usually with some sort of meat like ham, some cheese, crackers, fruit, maybe some hummus or similar.

I really hate cooking though so platters are great for me! Take two minutes to prepare and I try to make sure they're balanced with carbs, protein, and fruit / veg.

[rubelin]

I enjoy cooking but hate rushing to find something to eat when we're all hungry so I've really worked to come up with things that can be put together fast. I do a lot of bulk cooking a few times a month (pasta sauce, chili, burrito filling, etc) so that we have easy to prepare, healthy stuff on hand that I can heat up quickly on busy days. My pasta sauce is partly homemade -brown some ground turkey (or beef or even ground fake meat), add a few cups of chopped spinach, broccoli and zucchini, a big can of crushed tomatoes and a few jars of marinara (I found one that is pretty close to what I'd make from scratch if I had more time). For burritos I use ground chicken browned with some chopped spinach (I add chopped spinach to everything that is made with ground meat even chili), simmer with the seasoning, add a large can of refried beans (way low fat ones).

I've also started relying a lot on TraderJoes frozen stir fried meals and froz grilled chicken. The meat is all pre-cooked so it's just a matter of cooking it up & adding extra veggies.

[hillymum]

pasta (cooks in 13 minutes) with tomato sauce and chicken. Maybe a veg with it like brocollie. The whole meal cooks in 13 minutes!! 

   Chicken with some sort of sauce (can do a really nice bourbon sauce of brown sugar, soy sauce, crushed garlic, peach or apricot jelly, ground ginger and a splash of vinegar) over rice with left over veg. AAgain, whole thing including prep is less than 20 minutes.

I make up sauces to stir fry chicken in. The boys wolf it down!

[*MamaJen*]

Not a goofy question at all!

My standby for superfast dinner is scrambled eggs. Add some fruit, maybe some avocado or toast, and it's nutritionally pretty complete.

I like to keep those tubs of pesto on hand. They're pretty affordable and it's nice to have a brainless pasta ready to grab. 

Whenever I make something that freezes well, like lentil soup, I always make a big batch and freeze some. I have a bunch of those single serving freezer containers and I use those. It's a lot easier to defrost one or two servings at a time, rather than having a big one that might go to waste. Like that saying goes, the most expensive food is the kind you don't eat.

I always have cans of refried beans on hand to make soft tacos.

Ds eats a lot of mac and cheese. It's organic. Whatevs. 

[SeekingSerenity]

I get the filets of tilapia that are frozen individually, they defrost in cold water in about 10 minutes. Sprinkle them with lemon pepper or Old Bay, bake for 9-12 minutes, serve with brown rice and a veggie. Kids LOVE this.

I also get the individually frozen chicken breasts, tenderloins or thighs. If you forget to defrost them the day before, they thaw with just a couple of minutes in the microwave at 50% power. I use a lot of frozen veggies (and I get yelled at, the kids prefer the fresh stuff) and rice, pasta or quick-cook potatoes. That may not be the healthiest but I serve them in small portions and they are fast way to round out the meal. I also second a PP's suggestion of a baked chicken. We always have leftovers from that, and I shred it and freeze it for later use in burritos, soup or casseroles. Any time I have leftover meat (not fish) I dice it up and freeze it, to stir into a pot of mac & cheese later. That makes a good quick weekend lunch.

I also try to stir chopped fresh spinach into all my sauces. I learned that trick from a friend, back when I was looking for ways to sneak in some healthy stuff without being noticed. It still works, even though the kids know I do it. They love "leaves"!

Also, the breakfast for dinner is another awesome idea.