5 Quick, Healthy Meals – For Moms Only!

I’d love to tell you my kids and I eat delicious, gourmet lunches but they want nothing but grilled cheese, every darn day. I used to settle for just eating the cut off sandwich crusts they’ve deemed “gross” or the “yucky” peels from thier apples. And then I’d find myself exhausted, impatient and starving an hour later and grab a handful of fish crackers to tide me over. That is until I decided to end the vicious cycle. I created a list of some quick, healthy meals I could make for myself in a jiffy….my mom-only meals!

Mommin’ ain’t easy and without proper fuel how can you be expected to deal with tantrums, meltdowns or missing toys? (Why are the best toys always missing?!?!) Listen ladies, with minimal prep and effort, you can ditch the kid snacks and leftovers and create awesome healthy meals just for yourself. Meals that you can truly enjoy and provide the nutrition and energy you need. Here are ideas for 5 quick, healthy meals – for moms only!

You know those days when all your kid wants for lunch is a grilled cheese? For the 9th day in a row. Or those nights when there are practices or games to get to, so frozen chicken tenders and fries it is? Chances are those days and nights are happening all. the. time. And I don’t know about you, but those meals just don’t excite me. And though my kids can get away with eating all the carbs, I certainly can not!  So, I have a few quick, easy meals that are my go-to lunches or dinners for when I need healthy meal fast. I call them my mom-only meals, but feel free to share with your husbands or kids if they ask!

1. Garden Scramble

   Eggs make an awesome quick meal. A single egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals plus 6 grams of protien. I actually make my kids scrambled eggs for breakfast or lunch quite often. But when I make them for myself, I add in some diced vegetables and a sprinkle of cheese to create a delicious Garden Scramble. This is an amazing 5 minute meal.

2. Tuna Fruit Salad

   Salads seem like an obvious choice, but they can get boring fast. When I want something a little different, I love to make this Tuna Fruit Salad. Tuna is another great source of protein and offers an easy way to get omega-3 fatty acids which help maintain blood pressure. This salad takes 5 minutes to prepare: slice up some fruit, add a serving of tuna and drizzle with delicious, creamy yogurt dressing. Get the recipe here!

3. Stuffed Sweet Potato

   When it comes to eating potatoes, choose a sweet potato over regular to get more fiber, minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants. I love to pop one in the microwave for a few minutes to cook, slice it in half and use up some leftovers to create a Stuffed Sweet Potato meal. The are many possibilities here, but my favorite is this Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweet Potato with Slaw. Find my Pulled Pork recipe in the Preserves Monthly newsletter…be sure to sign up to get bonus recipes and seasonal inspiration delivered to your inbox once a month!

4. Spinach Quesadilla

   Quesadillas are another favorite lunch at my house. A simple cheese quesadilla can be on the table in about 3 minutes! But with 2 extra minutes, you can boost the nutrition by adding some sauteed spinach and smashed black beans. Spinach is a super food and cooking it actually increases it’s health benefits. 

5. Stirfry

   Stirfry makes an awesome quick meal; by definition it means to cook food rapidly over high heat! There are countless stirfry recipes you can try with fresh veggies and sauces. But for when I need a super fast meal, I always keep bags of frozen chopped vegetables on hand and a bottle of my favorite stirfry sauce – Organicville Sesame Teriyaki. I also like to keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer and take few pieces out to add to my stirfry. You can even get bags of frozen brown or white rice to serve under your stirfried veggies! A minute or two in the microwave for the rice, a few minutes in the skillet for the vegetables and shrimp, and you’ve created an awesome healthy meal!

I hope this list has given you some great inspiration! Any of these meals can be easily adapted to suit your particular tastes or nutrional needs. And all of them are truly easy enough to make right along side your kids meals.  Once you get in the habit of keeping a few simple ingredients on hand, then you can take the time to create easy, healthy meals for yourself…you deserve it!