Need Meal Help

So, both DH and I work FT. We pick up the babies from daycare around 4:30 and get home around 5pm. We pretty much have 1 1/2 hrs (if we are lucky) to feed the babies dinner, give them bathes and their bottles and off to bed by 6:30. Lots of days it's closer to 6:00 because they are tired and get cranky.

They are starting to eat a lot more table food, but I still give 2 containers of baby food to make sure they are getting their fruit/veggie servings in for the day. The problem is with our schedule, I don't have time to prepare a meal when we get home, so I need ideas for quick (like under 15 minutes quick), easy and healthy dinners for the babies. We usually eat after they go to bed. I would of course like to work towards changing that, but until we can push their bedtime later (or get Mom more organized) that's just not going to happen.

Right now they are getting a lot of whole grain breads, luncheon meats, cheese, meat off a rotisserie chicken, single servings of frozen veggies.

Any ideas are appreciated!
Suzi

View attachment 2434
View attachment 2435

 

Two websites to try...

www.allrecipes.com
www.kraftfoods.com

Both of those have been lifesavers for us.

 

One thing to try for you and DH is crockpot meals. You can get it ready in the AM and it cooks while you are at work. When I was working it was a huge relief to come home to dinner already made!

Lisa

 

Before I had the babies I made a ton of freezer meals to have on hand for weeks. It was so easy, and such a huge help--I've done it a few times since. It is so nice to have a homemade meal ready to just throw in the oven. There are lots of websites with freezer meal recipes. Here's one I use a lot http://christysclipart.com/oamc2.html I also agree that crock-pot meals are a huge help. Good luck.

Reyna

 

I make a lot of food on Sundays and portion it off into bowls for the girls. Then we can just pop them in the microwave.

For example, I cooked a whole ham and froze it in chunks. Every few weeks I'll defrost it, cut it up and have that. I also will cook chicken or turkey and chunk it all up. I make raviolis, egg noodles, pierogies etc as well. Also steem veggies like carrots, peas, green beans. I try to have at least 3 days worth of meat, veggie, carb already in a bowl so I an just heat up.

We do eat with the girls though (they don't go to sleep until 8:00 and my DH is home with them by 4:00 every day so we have more time). They often just get what we eat at this point with an applesauce or baby food veggie.

 

You may want to browse through our cooking forum, 5th forum under diversions.
those ladies there always have great ideas!

 

Are you wanting easy recipes for the babies or for you? Or do you want them to be the same? If it's just for the babies I'd say get some steamer bags and steam veggies and cube them, then put them in snack size zip locks for the week so you can just pull them out and serve them with a little cubed turkey or tofu or something and some chopped up whole grain bread. I can't imagine that taking longer than 15 minutes...more like 3! It sounds like they are eating that stuff now. I'm wondering how to feed babies and a family with our night time schedule too...

good luck

 

if you are talking about food for you and DH you can look into doing a premade frozen meal. Since I'm on bed rest we got a few to try out to see if we like them and may continue to use them once the girls are born. There are a bunch of different companies. We have a Super Suppers in our neighborhood. Dream Dinners is also another company. At Super Suppers it's about $15 per meal that serves 2-3 people. It can get pricey, but it's decent food that you just throw in the oven.

 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions - I'm actually talking about meals for the babies. They will pretty much eat whatever we eat, but the problem is - we don't eat until later because of the timing issue.

I've also started thinking that I will just keep whatever is left over from the night before for the babies for their next meal?

Keep the ideas coming!
Suzi

 

I agree with pp's crockpot or make big batches of something on the weekend that you can heat up quickly for your cutie pies (wow they are cute!!!). Here are a couple of things I do that my girls eat-

1) big batch of pasta and meat sauce. yes its messy, but the girlies LOVE it!
2) baked chicken breasts. I will make a bunch and then keep them in the fridge to use during the week.
3) canned veggies. I was them off and buy the no salt added kind. my girls go nuts for green beans and its super quick and easy.
4) cheese cut up in chunks (no prep time there!)
5) crockpot stew with lots of veggies. this is something I'll make and we'll eat all week. the veggies and potatoes are perfect for the girls because they are very soft.

GL!

 

I have not read the pps but:

-I like to take low sodium soups and heat them up and then drain them in a strainer and use the veggies and the pasta that remain. I also tend to run the strainer under water to get off any excess of the soup base that is sooo salty.
-I bake sweet potatos during the day and cut them up with something like canned (no salt added) green beans which I cut up and put into a tuperwear thing to heat up when they eat.
- DH and I also eat after they go to bed but I premake our dinner during the day so that he can heat it up while I am putting them to bed. If our dinner includes any pasta or chicken, etc. I will cut it up at the same time and put it in the fridge for the kids for later.

Typical baby menus in my house:
Breakfast - whole grain waffles (eggo) or whole wheat bagels and a fruit (usually banana or peach) cut up and rolled in crushed cheerios. We have also done blueberry pancakes and whole wheat english muffins with applesauce spread on top. Whole wheat toast.

Lunch - turkey or ham lunchmeat, cubes of cheese, yo-baby yogurt, cottage cheese, veggie crackers, graham crackers, apples in the mesh feeder things (my kids love those!).

Dinner - drained veggie, minestrone, or chix. noodle soups, boca meatless burgers, turkey meatballs, pre-cooked roasted chicken (buy in a bag from grocery), cheese, mac -n- cheese or pasta, mixed frozen veggies (cook a bunch and refrig and use for days), sweet potatoes, fruit (bananas, peaches, blueberries, melon), broccoli

My Jack and Lily are almost 9 months old and seem to do well with these foods.

HTH,
Amy