Healthy Dinner Menus for the Whole Family 2014

I make breakfast and dinner for my family most every day. I have a full time job, and work another half time job. Both of my littles play sports and my husband works a crazy shift which means he is only there to help about 25% of the time. If I can cook most of the time, I bet anyone can if they plan accordingly.

Why do I cook most nights? There are actually several reasons for this:

• My husband is in law enforcement, so when you go out to eat in a small town- chances are the he has arrested someone along the food line... trust no person. Sad but true.
• I can control what goes into what I am eating so it is easier to manage calories and contents.
• It is cheaper than eating out, and actually faster most of the time.

I have two littles that are somewhat picky- but the older they are getting, the more accustomed they are to eating what my husband and I eat.

Get ready for a tangent here....I think that is a HUGE mistake that many parents do- thinking young children need to eat something different that the rest of the family because they will not eat what you serve. I will admit that I am guilty in the past! My husband and I would have chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, and broccoli at dinner for example, and I would cook my kids chicken nuggets and fries. WHY DID I DO THAT?! They need to eat healthy too! But instead of getting their palates accustomed to what we were eating- nutritious whole foods, I got their palates used to eating junk! And now it has taken several years to get them accustomed to a better diet. Kids will come around though, just continue having them take a "no, thank you" bite and eating what they like on their plate. They do not have to eat it all. Rant over.

I plan out my menu for the week, then shop on Sunday afternoon for the whole week.

Breakfast

Most mornings the kids have-

• a frozen breakfast sandwich or
• a PB sandwich

I have my morning coffee and a protein pancake topped with nut butter. Recipe HERE. I cook enough for the week on Sunday afternoon so that all I have to do is warm them up and go.

Lunch

Lunch is leftovers from the night before. The kids eat at school or take a lunch.

Snack

The kids usually have a granola bar and fruit of some type. My husband and I usually have a Pure Protein Bar (I like Chocolate Deluxe and he likes the Chocolate Peanut Butter). I also like Quest bars a lot. My favorite flavors are coconut cashew, banana nut, or white chocolate raspberry.

Dinner

Here are some ideas of what I cook on a weekly rotating basis for dinner.

Monday: Healthified hamburgers and sweet potato fries - Recipe HERE

Tuesday: Chicken Enchilada Soup - Recipe HERE

Wednesday:  Spaghetti 

I make mine with broccoli slaw - Recipe HERE  or with zucchini (sauce in the crockpot) - Recipe HERE

I make regular spaghetti noodles for the fam :)

Thursday: Crockpot shredded pork and pineapple coleslaw - Recipe HERE

Friday: Southwestern Slowcooker Chicken Cups - Recipe HERE

Saturday: Cabbage and Turkey Stir Fry - Recipe HERE

Sunday: Texas Oven Brisket - Recipe HERE with a side of Bacon Broccoli Salad - Recipe HERE

Other meals that rotate in:

• Mango Chicken Avocado Cups - Recipe HERE
  
• Jenny's Asian Broccoli Slaw Stir Fry - Recipe HERE
  
• Jenny's Tex Mex Beefy Broccoli Slaw - Recipe HERE

Dessert

Yep I have it almost every night. The key for me is to choose something that is sweet, high in protein, and moderate calorie-wise. I try to keep it below 200 calories which is how much I allocate in my daily calorie budget.

I have two current go to recipes that I keep the stuff for on hand.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Protein Fluff (or another flavor variation)  - Recipe HERE

Greek Cheesecake with strawberries (sometimes I sub cocoa powder for the pudding) - Recipe HERE