When I’m raising a solo parenting, I’m sharing some of my go-to simple dinner ideas.
Hello friends! What do you think? I hope you’ve enjoyed the week so far! Today we have a podcast interview and Pilates. You’ll probably hit the pool. We are about to live our last bit of summer before we return to school madness.
In today’s post I wanted to share some of my favorite simple dinner ideas for solo parenting. The pilot has returned to the airline, so he is back on his trips more regularly, holding it down with the crew here. When he’s gone, the food is more casual. They are things I can make within 20 minutes of knowing that we all love. Usually you can make something with leftovers and enjoy it for lunch the next day.
For our family, diet includes some type of protein, some type of starch, fruits, and vegetables. It becomes a clean plug and play, and when kids are rounding up a meal like this, they are happier (no blood sugar collisions) and perhaps a little less insane? (We’re trying to get real, but in the summer it’s a snack avalanche all day.)
That’s just me and when I want to cook something tasty, healthy and fast, here are some of the things I have in the rotation.
Easy solo parenting dinner ideas
– Dinner breakfast.
Do this at least once a week, whether or not the pilot is here. Because it’s a crowd and you can customize it based on what you have. Make Hello Kitty Gluten Free Waffles, Pancakes (I still love these banana pancakes after these years), French toast, serve breakfast sausages, bacon or eggs as protein, and fruit.
– Tacos, rice, beans.
Place chicken in an instant pot with oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder and chicken soup and cook manually for 12 minutes. I shred it in a blender and served with tortillas, beans, Mexican rice and guac. We cut the fresh fruit we have on hand and serve it sideways.
– Spanish tortillas.
This is one of our greatest favorites of all time. I cook the tortillas and often serve with sliced vegetables and guac, as well as a side of fruit.
– Greek salad bowl.
This is another family favorite: chopped salad (you can use the kit to make life easier. Or simply add romaine, tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, calamata olives and feta, and cooked chicken (rotisserie or left over chicken), hummus (storage or homemade), stuffed leaves (I can buy from tradeware). Serve pita on the side.
– Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets
I order something from the butcher and serve with salad and fruit. It’s easy.
– Ramen with finely chopped chicken or shrimp.
Buy ramen from Whole Foods (there are some gluten-free options), add shredded chicken or shrimp stir-fried, and cut the fruit on the sides.
– Slightly Fry Noodle Bowl.
Fry lots of vegetables (peppers, onions, broccoli, carrots, what you have on hand), add peanut butter, tamari, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sriracha, honey and peanut sauce, and add pre-cooked noodles and peanut sauce. The sauce is made while the vegetables and noodles are cooked, everything is done very quickly. I usually top off sesame and cilantro.
– Salmon sushi roll bowl.
This happens frequently too. It’s just cooked rice (cooked in an instant pot with soup/water and rice equivalent parts), salmon (cooked in an air fryer), cucumber, edamame, avocado, seaweed.
– Egg rolls in a bowl.
Stir-fried ground meat seasoned with cabbage/slow mix, garlic, ginger, tamari, sriracha and sesame oil. Everything except bagel seasonings are on top. I serve fresh fruit – whatever we have in our hands.
– Homemade pizza.
Serve with dough, sauce, pepperoni, cheese, salad or roasted vegetables.
– Seat bread meal!
We especially like organic chicken sausages with Costco, peppers and broccoli
– Kevin sauce meal.
This is another fan favorite. Kevins makes great sauces – I buy them from a thriving market – and I just cook a large amount of vegetables, add chicken, steak, salmon or shrimp, and add Kevin’s sauce before serving on rice. We love tiyaki, Korean barbecue and coconut curry.
– Turkey meatballs with pasta, sauce and vegetables.
I usually pre-make turkey meatballs and freeze them for a simple/fast meal. This is my go-to recipe
So, please tell me, friend: If you need something quick and delicious, what is your go-to recipe? Share and link all your ideas. We hope we can provide each other with new ideas.
xo
Gina
Some of my favorite healthy eating hacks:
Shopping at Thrive Market. This link gives you 40% off your first order!
Order meat and seafood from butcher’s box
Eating occasionally from Sakara to make life easier
