Fast Real Food Not Fast Food

[itlw8]

The old thread got me thinking How many working parents think prepared food is the only way they can feed their families. How about some ideas of time saver ideas for healthy food.

I avoid chicken nuggets but take boneless chicken breast and cut into nuggets and grill on a grill pan. Kids love them and do not ask for the breading either.

boneless chicken breast flattened and then frozen between wax paper they thaw easy for a fast meal.

Those are not new ideas how about some new ones???

I have asparagus in my garden I cooked some and quick chilled in ice water It has been yummy this week on salads Poached some chicken and used it for 2 different meals... no 3 I put some on a salad for dh.

There is a pork shoulder roast in the crockpot for pulled pork but when I forget I use the pressure cooker.

Your turn

[snbauser]

I tend to try and cook in larger quantities on the weekend and freeze items so that I have stuff for during the week. I just made pulled pork last weekend. We had it for dinner and then we had enough left over for 3 more meals that I separated into individual ziploc bags and froze. I will also do things like cook extra chopped meat when we have taco's and freeze the leftovers so it is just heat and eat. Beef stew, chicken and dumplings (minus the dumplings because they don't freeze well), baked ziti, pretty much anything will freeze well.

[AmyKidsCo]

My friend does Wildtree and I've done a couple of freezer workshops where you prepare the protein for 10 different meals in about 2 hours. It's not cheap, but then you've got meals ready to go.

[Meyou]

Almost every time I make something casserole-ish I make 1 or 2 meal sized extras to freeze. I always have "fast" food but it's in my freezer and I made it myself. I try to make one soup per week and freeze half. This helps for daycare lunches too! I also stock up on healthy options at the farmers market. There is a stall that makes to-die-for fish cakes but they sell them frozen. 12 min in a frying pan and they're ready!

Some of my quickie meals are stirfry, nachos, spaghetti and quiche.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

I always try to make an extra meal with my meals, I freeze it for dh's lunch so he doesn't eat out!
We make chipotle bowls. It takes me about 25 minutes to cook the cilantro rice, meanwhile I heat some black beans, cook onions and peppers and make guacamole. Yum. In 30 minutes, yummy meal!
We make homemade pizza, refried beans for burritos etc., fried rice. We like veggie trays and mixed fruit.

[Blackcat31]

My DH is super into his smoker lately and once a week he smokes something.

Things he has smoked are pork butt, brisket, whole chickens, turkey breast, ribs and beef tenderloin.

He smokes everything in LARGE quantities and then breaks them up into meal size servings and then uses the Food Saver to freeze them.

Then he takes the bags out of the freezer and takes a couple minutes to heat them up and viola` pre-made super good meal.

He does the same with things like meat balls, lasagna, meat loaf, pork chops wild rice soup, and even French Onion soup, etc.... he cooks in bulk and freezes for later.

When ever he notices that we are getting low on something, he will do it all over again.

He is currently experimenting with cold smoking and trying to smoke cheeses....

I LOVE his interest in cooking because I HATE it.

He cooks. I clean.

[NeedaVaca]

There are a ton of websites out there dedicated to making meals for the week in a day. They even help you prepare the shopping lists etc. There is just no reason a parent can't make decent, healthy food. In the fall/winter I love my crockpot. Whenever you make a casserole or soup make an extra for the freezer. Heck, on a busy night it's not even hard or time consuming to make burgers on the grill, dice up some fruit, toss a salad or make corn on the cobb & there you go. Takes just as long (possibly less time) as the drive to McDonalds and back

[RosieMommy]

The old thread got me thinking How many working parents think prepared food is the only way they can feed their families. How about some ideas of time saver ideas for healthy food.

I avoid chicken nuggets but take boneless chicken breast and cut into nuggets and grill on a grill pan. Kids love them and do not ask for the breading either.

boneless chicken breast flattened and then frozen between wax paper they thaw easy for a fast meal.

Those are not new ideas how about some new ones???

I have asparagus in my garden I cooked some and quick chilled in ice water It has been yummy this week on salads Poached some chicken and used it for 2 different meals... no 3 I put some on a salad for dh.

There is a pork shoulder roast in the crockpot for pulled pork but when I forget I use the pressure cooker.

Your turn

Crockpots and pressure cookers are like gold in my book. I also have a schedule of meals for the week, e.g., Mondays are pasta, Tuesdays are tacos, Wednesdays baked chicken and veggies and rice, etc. I shop and prep my ingredients on Sundays so dinner prep takes about an hour. It can definitely be done.

[craftymissbeth]

Crockpots and pressure cookers are like gold in my book. I also have a schedule of meals for the week, e.g., Mondays are pasta, Tuesdays are tacos, Wednesdays baked chicken and veggies and rice, etc. I shop and prep my ingredients on Sundays so dinner prep takes about an hour. It can definitely be done.

I just got my pressure cooker for Christmas this past year and I already cannot live without it. I use it at least once a week for everything from cabbage & smoked sausage soup to even "baked" potatoes. So easy!

[heyhun77]

I bulk cook for a month or two at a time. Takes me the better part of a weekend but then we just thaw and bake/crockpot/stovetop heat dinner each night. It's been almost a year of doing that now and I don't think I'll ever go back.

[Cradle2crayons]

I have two crock pots and a pressure cooker. Gosh I couldn't live without any of them... I also do a lot of food prep on the weekends. Because I have my almost five year old still here as well as a second shifter, I try not to do a lot of repeats. My son doesn't mind leftovers for lunch though so it's not usually a big deal. Things that freeze really good like taco meat, spaghetti, etc i do lots of bulk and then I separate into quart ziplock bags so there isn't much waste. Lima beans and peas freeze really good too although those only take 5 minutes in the pressure cooker. I pressure cook whole chickens and de bone them and put them into freezer bags and freeze them with barbecue sauce. As it freezes, the sauce goes into the chicken nicely. Some of the de boned chicken I freeze with a little broth and then put it in a boiler and do dumplings with that. We also do deer and sometimes even rabbit in the crock pot thanks to my husband

[cheerfuldom]

I really dont understand parents that rely on fast food and packaged food. A lot of it really only saves seconds....does it really take THAT long to cut up cheese and meat and throw that and some crackers into a container? instead of purchasing a lunchable that is full of perservatives and such? or slicing an apple instead of buying prepackaged individual servings of apples? One of my daycare kids came in with one of those packages of apples, and it was strawberry flavored apples. do we really need to add a fruit flavoring OVER A FRUIT?

my kids are all young. they make meals real easy on me I slice a huge container of fruit at a time and mix it all up....whatever is on sale. Grapes, different kinds of melons and berries. and then everytime we need a serving of fruit, all I have to do is scoop it out. same with meat. I will cooked a whole chicken, shred all the meat into a container and then scoop it out as needed. It literally takes 2 minutes of prep time to roast a chicken and a few minutes after to get all the meat off. same with cheese....just buy the huge pieces and cut it into cubes and its ready to go. Kids dont need big fancy meals although it is nice if you have time to do a good variety of options. but there are plenty of ways to provide healthier options that are not hugely time consuming. I just personally dont understand parents that never provide anything fresh for their kids. One of the providers here said they offered a daycare child a whole apple and the child didnt even know what it was! They have never eaten a whole apple. The only thing they ever had was the presliced, prepackaged ones from McDonalds.

Anyway, I really feel that families should work on priorities sometimes. Sure fast food is handy in a pinch but I do think there is something wrong when drive throughs are the norm for a family. Crock pots are so easy, a kid could put together a meal. Throw in veggies, water, a roast and some seasoning....maybe 15 minutes prep time at the most and then you have a full meal right there when you get home. It would be FASTER at that point then trying to hit the drive thru dinner rush.

[Cradle2crayons]

I agree. Heck I live not close to fast food and although we do eat out rarely, maybe once a month, it's not really quicker. And it's sure not cheaper. I had one mom who always complained about being broke but constantly fed her kids and ate fast food. How in the heck. With fast food the price it is, I don't see how anyone affords it. And that's not even accounting for the lack of nutrients in fast food. Personally, it's just easier for me to throw something in the crockpot. Last time I took my to and a dcg to McDonald's we waited fifteen minutes for our food. My crockpot cooks while I'm asleep . When I get ready for lunch it's ready I just have to serve it .

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I LOVE my crockpot. I loathe cooking and using my crockpot doesn't feel like cooking to me, even when I have to "pre-cook" something before putting it in there with the remainder of the ingredients. It's pretty much the only way I cook now that I think about it.

[RosieMommy]

I really dont understand parents that rely on fast food and packaged food. A lot of it really only saves seconds....does it really take THAT long to cut up cheese and meat and throw that and some crackers into a container? instead of purchasing a lunchable that is full of perservatives and such? or slicing an apple instead of buying prepackaged individual servings of apples? One of my daycare kids came in with one of those packages of apples, and it was strawberry flavored apples. do we really need to add a fruit flavoring OVER A FRUIT?

my kids are all young. they make meals real easy on me I slice a huge container of fruit at a time and mix it all up....whatever is on sale. Grapes, different kinds of melons and berries. and then everytime we need a serving of fruit, all I have to do is scoop it out. same with meat. I will cooked a whole chicken, shred all the meat into a container and then scoop it out as needed. It literally takes 2 minutes of prep time to roast a chicken and a few minutes after to get all the meat off. same with cheese....just buy the huge pieces and cut it into cubes and its ready to go. Kids dont need big fancy meals although it is nice if you have time to do a good variety of options. but there are plenty of ways to provide healthier options that are not hugely time consuming. I just personally dont understand parents that never provide anything fresh for their kids. One of the providers here said they offered a daycare child a whole apple and the child didnt even know what it was! They have never eaten a whole apple. The only thing they ever had was the presliced, prepackaged ones from McDonalds.

Anyway, I really feel that families should work on priorities sometimes. Sure fast food is handy in a pinch but I do think there is something wrong when drive throughs are the norm for a family. Crock pots are so easy, a kid could put together a meal. Throw in veggies, water, a roast and some seasoning....maybe 15 minutes prep time at the most and then you have a full meal right there when you get home. It would be FASTER at that point then trying to hit the drive thru dinner rush.

It isn't faster but I really think because of the way things are marketed, people really do feel like it's quicker. And some people Are. Just. LAZY. I know a woman who feeds her family tons of Stouffers etc and I've told her, it's really not that hard to do lasagne for example and seriously, you can do that in the crockpot, but even that is too much effort for her. I have high blood pressure so aside from it not tasting that great (mine ALWAYS tastes better whatever it is), I can't eat all of that because of the high salt content. Also poor planning...It's so important especially if you work outside of the home to be organized because that will throw your whole week of meal planning off.