Fast food for busy moms? You’re kidding me, right? There’s no such thing…
Seriously, there is! My friend called recently to ask what I ate for lunch but I wasn’t sure if she was kidding or not, so I told her it was good to hear from her too! We chatted for a while about nothing in particular before she asked me again, “What did you eat for lunch?”
(She’s from Georgia so we have to give her a break because they don’t think the same there as the rest of the world! ;))
I wondered if she meant what I ate today or just lunches in general but she quickly explained. She was pregnant with her 4th baby and starving. The kids had been into everything that day and by the time she finished preparing their food, they were off and running again, leaving her hungry again but without time to eat.
I totally get that! Gone are the days when us busy moms get to enjoy a leisurely lunch so sometimes we just do whatcha gotta do!
There are TONS of quick lunch ideas for moms especially if you do a little prep work at the beginning of the week:
- Boil extra eggs for lunch, like twice the amount you would think about doing and put the extra in the fridge after they cool. These are great for breakfast, salads at lunch, or snacks for you and the kids.
- Store extra rice in the fridge. We have brown rice at least once a week and I always make extra for quick Mexican burritos or soup during the week.
- Keep canned vegetables in stock (black beans, tomatoes, and anything else your heart desires!) . These are great for tossing in a quick soup, homemade salsa, or those burritos I just mentioned (recipe below!)
- Always keep any leftover meats in the freezer (shredded chicken, taco meat, etc) because they make fast meals the following week!
- Keep chicken or vegetable broth stocked up. These are the best for tossing in a few frozen veggies, leftover shredded meat, the spinach that’s wilting in the fridge, and some spices and you have a soup-er fast meal!
- My go-to lunch is turkey and spinach roll-ups which is exactly what it sounds like, turkey rolled up in spinach leaves with a slice of cheddar cheese, an apple, a teaspoon of peanut butter and “lemonade.”
Lunch (or dinner for that matter because we have done ALL of these for dinner too!) doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal but it IS important for moms to eat and take care of yourselves in order to take care of your sweet babies. Here’s a simple recipe for one of our favorites (including the kids!):
South of the Border Roll-ups:
Taco meat (here’s a great recipe for taco seasoning)
Corn
Black beans
Tomatoes
Brown rice
Cheese
Soft tortillas (I like whole wheat Mission Carb Balance)
Directions: Heat up your ingredients separately or layer them on your soft tortilla and heat it in the microwave. Enjoy!
I told you it was easy and healthy!
