Mom's Back to School List: Takeout

There are so many great tips and tricks out there on meal planning. But…some of us just need permission to order the take out, eat cereal for dinner or to simplify our nightly meals any other way. Consider this your permission.

Whenever you are in a season of creating new rhythms and routines remember to be kind to yourself. Many of us set expectations for ourselves that are lovely in concept but don’t always meet the reality of what’s best in real life. It’s great to want to have fresh, home cooked meals to present to our family in the first weeks of the school year (and truthfully, year round). But the truth is, life always has something unexpected for us. Instead of stubbornly sticking to a plan that is making you miserable, consider plan B and do what’s best for you and your family.

Fun off beat and easy dinner ideas:

1. Breakfast for dinner. This could be frozen waffles with fruit, cereal, oatmeal or scrambled eggs. Most breakfast foods are fairly easy to make and it’s something the kids will love.

2. Muffin tins. This is a family favorite in my home and super easy. Bonus is my kids are usually more willing to eat a vegetable or two that I sneak on the tray. All I do is get out muffin tins for each kid and then fill them with random foods I have on hand. Examples: cheese, pepperoni, carrots and hummus, applesauce, nuts, fruit, crackers… Get creative!

3. Make your own sandwiches. Super simple but gets kids involved and as I’ve found through experience, when you let your kids help with meal preperation, they tend to complain less about the food and eat more. Always a bonus. My youngest son is currently 4 and when I pull out the Peanut Butter and Jelly and hand him two slices of bread and a (not sharp) knife for him to make his own he flips! Remember simply giving kids more responsibility goes a long way.

4. Kids Kebabs. All you need is some wooden kebab sticks. I like to keep these on hand for such an occasion. Just like the muffin tins you can use practically anything. Simply have the food options ready and on plates then give your kids a stick and let them make their own kid kebab. Suggested items include but are not limited to: lunch meat (folded), hot dogs, cubed cheese, cherry tomatoes, grapes, melon, berries, steamed broccoli (or raw!).

5. Takeout. Of course this is always a perfectly acceptable option. In my home we used to have Friday night pizza night every week! But then kids stopped liking pizza (what’s wrong with them!) and so we pivoted. Now we do Friday night takeout. Every week it’s a different family member’s turn to pick the place they’d like to get food from.

Share your favorite meal time hack below!