Easy & Healthy Meal Ideas for the Entire Family

While I absolutely love my life and enjoy being a wife and mother, I will openly admit that the job can be stressful and that I get a little overwhelmed from time to time. This generally happens right around summertime when our schedules begin to fill up more quickly. It just doesn’t seem like there is enough time in the day to get it all done.

Like many people, I’m often tempted to swing through a drive-thru somewhere and get dinner for everyone to save time. While there is nothing wrong with doing this occasionally, if we aren’t careful “occasionally” turns into two or three times a week. Not only is that expensive but it’s definitely not healthy for your family to eat that much take-out on a weekly basis.

However, I get that preparing healthy meals for the family takes up even more time in your already tight schedule. In addition, dishes are dirtied in the process and I imagine you are like me and hate having to leave dirty dishes in the sink because I didn’t have enough time to clean them up before running out the door again. While this may seem discouraging, it doesn’t have to be. Below are a few quick and easy healthy meal ideas to ensure your family eats a meal that’s good for them and that you still have plenty of time to prepare and clean up before heading out the door again.

• Baked Tilapia – We all know that the recommended intake of fish is three times a week due to the Omega-3’s and other important nutrients found in fish. I try to hit the three time a week rule, but fish can get pretty boring if you don’t learn how to cook it a few different ways. My favorite, as well as, all three of the guys living with me now (ages, 31, 6 and 1), is baked tilapia. All you have to do is melt some butter, brush both sides of the fish with the butter, season (both sides) to your taste and bake for 10-15 minutes at 375° Fahrenheit. For the veggies, simple steam a bag of frozen vegetables (they make those microwaveable now…super easy!) and you are ready to go!
• Spaghetti – This is another great healthy dinner choice that’s easy to make. To make it healthier use 100% whole wheat spaghetti and the more expensive spaghetti sauces. Choose a sauce with only three or four ingredients – the more natural, the better! To make it a quick dinner with little clean up, prepare everything the night before except the pasta.  Aside from the noodles, everything can be reheated an still taste wonderful. It’s a fast, healthy recipe that everyone in my family loves!
• Rotisserie Chicken Wraps – This is another favorite at my house that is pretty much a staple in the fridge in case we need a healthy meal on the run! All you have to do is buy a rotisserie chicken when you’re at the grocery store, take it home and shred it (do not save the skin) and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use it (within a few days, hopefully). Make sure you have 100% wheat tortillas, honey mustard and some pepperjack cheese on hand (and whatever else the family will like) and ready to get out. I simply spread a little honey mustard on the tortilla, topping that with 2.5-3.0 ounces of shredded chicken and then ¼ cup of Pepper Jack cheese on top. Microwave for about 30 seconds and you’ve got a fast, easy and healthy meal ready to be eaten.

As a mom, we are under a lot of pressure from our spouses, kids and other outside influences to keep up with everything. The last thing we should have to worry about is whether or not we have enough time to feed our families a nutritious dinner. Hopefully the meal suggestions above have given you some ideas for how you can achieve it all!

Do you have any favorite meals that are both easy to prepare and nutritious that you would like to share with us? Please do!