Beauty...
Listen mommas— I know how hard it is to get dinner on the table while juggling work, nap schedule, laundry and everything else us supermommas have on our lists. I used to be that girl who only had skim milk and rose in her refrigerator. When I married my husband, he’d come home and be like, “What’s for dinner?” I’d respond… “Huh, I don’t know… what are we having for dinner?!”. Now, I can meal prep like it’s nobody’s business.
Catherine McCord is one of my cluster of stars who gave me some of my many secrets that have saved my life. She wrote a chapter in my book, Everyday Chic, called Everyday Superkiddo Secrets about hacks to get your picky eaters to eat.
Hack #1 Keep Key Ingredients
The most efficient way to get dinner on the table for a family is to have ingredients on hand. I cannot stress this enough. Here’s Catherine’s list of what she keeps at home no matter what:
Whole Wheat Tortillas Vegetables (i.e. broccoli, butternut squash and carrots)
Rotisserie chicken
A dozen eggs
Cooked pasta
Brown Rice
Edamame
Mozzarella Cheese
Pesto
Sweet Potatoes
I am pretty much on the same path as Catherine when it comes to those ingredients but I have to add a few:
Hummus
Turkey
Meatballs
Yogurt
Cauliflower
Rice
Hack #2— Mix & Match
Catherine is such a pro in the kitchen and I like to say I am too but in all honesty, I’m just doing the best I can. They key to feeding a family is mixing and matching your key ingredients to make it look like you’re a pro.
Take the brown rice with some egg, mozzarella and salt then make some rice cakes and pan sear them.
Or you can take the tortillas and make quesadillas, roll up sandwich, PB&J, breakfast quesadillas. It’s all about figuring out what your family enjoys.
Steam your vegetables, sometimes you can add Braggs or dip it into pesto, sprinkle cheese.
Use your sweet potatoes as a “ptaco.”
Stuff your sweet potatoes with any of the ingredients your kiddos love and it’s much more nutritious than a normal taco.
Hack #3— Keep It Simple
All of these ingredients are so easy to keep on hand where you can have a meal put together within minutes. If you don’t have time to go grocery shopping, Catherine’s One Potato Box is the easiest option for you.
When my mom was sick and in and out of the hospital a few months ago, I sent my parents her box and it made their lives so much easier. They’re simple, healthy and nutritious… and make you look like you’re a real chef. I love this meal service box because all of their food is organic!!! Shocking— what other meal delivery service can say that? Plus, you’re saving so much money and not wasting food. If none of that entices you… every box comes with a roll of free homemade organic cookie dough!
Let me know if you used any of these meal hacks for your family and I want to know if you have any hacks that I can use in my life. Leave it in the comments below!