No matter the size of your family or the activities you are involved in, there will be days you need to get your children fed fast. But, you don’t want to sacrifice nutrition or your budget. You don’t need to be a meal prep ninja and have the week’s meals prepped ahead of time. You can keep a few things on hand to make fast food that you won’t hate for your children.
Fresh produce is just one of the things to keep on hand to be a step ahead in the fast-food game. We love using Misfits Market to get fresh, organic produce to our door – and on budget. Use my code COOKWME-EP1SEU to save on your first box.
Are you looking for some fast foods that aren’t going to make you feel guilty about what you’re feeding your kids? Well, you’re in luck because there are some great fast meals that you can prepare for your kids. Some of these are only going to take ten minutes. Are you ready to get started?
Stir Fry
We might as well start with a stir fry because this is a tried and true option for a fast meal. You can definitely prepare this in ten minutes if your ingredients are prepped. All you need is some noodles (or cooked rice or cauliflower rice) and then you’ll have to decide what veg you want to include. Throw in a few sliced or chopped veggies and then you’re pretty much good to go with this one. You don’t even need to include any meats which could make the perfect treat for vegetarians or a more budget-friendly meal. Don’t forget, if you want to improve your children’s diet (and how well they eat when grown), adding a couple of servings of veg each meal is a great choice.
Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are absolutely delicious and highly presentable too. A key benefit of stuffed peppers is that it will typically involve the use of a full pepper. So, you are already getting a lot of benefits here. You might be thinking that stuffed peppers are quite tricky to get right. Particularly, if you want to ensure that they look great on a plate. Perhaps you’re whipping up a meal for more people than just your kids? Well, you’re in luck because you can find recipes for unstuffed peppers too. I found this “unstuffed bell peppers” recipe and found it incredible so I’m sure you could discover some great options like this as well.
Bolognese
You might think that bolognese is going to take quite a lot of time and effort to prepare the right way. But it really doesn’t need to. All you have to do is whip up some minced/ground meat and wait for it to cook through – keep breaking up the lumps so it is more crumbly. Chop up on peppers and onions, throw them in, add the tomato sauce with a dollop of red wine (the alcohol cooks off but you can use beef stock for a less flavorful version) for good measure. Bring it to a boil and then lower the temp, leaving the bolognese to simmer to ensure that you unlock the flavors. At most you’re looking at a total twenty-minute preparation and the meal will be ready in under an hour. The pasta options are limitless – you can even keep it low carb and grain-free with cabbage prepared as a noodle substitute. Chop and toss a simple salad to go alongside – better yet, set your children to work preparing the salad.
Wraps
Finally, you might want to think about giving your kids some wraps for dinner. The benefit of wraps is that they are far healthier than a typical sandwich – especially if you choose lower-carb wraps like lettuce or paleo wraps
We hope you love these ideas for fast meals for your kids. If you’re looking for some great dining and dash options, then these could certainly fit the bill. The best part is that they deliver the health benefits that you want. We have even more kid and parent-approved recipes in our book, Keto Family Cooking.