Tag Archives: dinner

Jan 11 2012

Healthy, Lazy Dinner


From Happy Healthy Mama

After a long day at work and the commute home, it is hard to muster up the energy or enthusiasm to cook.  On days when my oomph has deserted me, I like to open a bottle of red and make up a new recipe.  The adventure lies in the fact that I have absolutely no idea about the outcome…will it be edible?  Will I like it?  Will the kids eat it?

I always know it will be healthy, but edible is another matter.  I am typing as I am waiting for the concoction to cook, so I really don’t know the answer!  Here is what I decided to put together:

4 organic boneless/skinless chicken breasts sautéed in coconut oil, garlic, organic tinned tomatoes and a good dose of wine – all simmered down to a mush (my technical term) and I cut up the chicken into strips. I also sprinkled sesame seeds on the chicken as it cooked…yummy!

1 cup of quinoa most of which I add to the concoction, leaving some plain for fussy kids.

Steamed green beans

So simple to throw together…no measuring (except the quinoa) and it smells delicious!  Now I’m off to serve the meal.  I’ll report back in a few.  Oh!  I forgot to grab the camera so I’m adding pictures more for the sake of interest than to actually show my handiwork.

Okay, I’m back and we all survived.  I think the meal was pretty successful all in all.  I think the following tips helped that happen:

  • I served everything family style so the boys could be in charge of what they chose and how much they put on their plates – I’ve always done this but was reminded how helpful it can be over at Blog for Family Dinner
  • I served the concoction in one dish (chicken, quinoa, and tomato sauce) but also served plain chicken and plain quinoa (the boys were expected to try the concoction – three bites – but could then opt for the plain versions if preferred)
  • As the boys finished their chosen portion of green beans, I gently guided them to help themselves to more, which they happily did!

We enjoyed a nice family dinner with conversation guided away from the food and towards our daily evening chat:  What was the best and worst thing about the day?  We always have that talk, as I like to catch up with things going on in my boys’ lives, but also so they have the opportunity to share anything that is not so great.   I believe in creating a safe environment to talk about the stuff that might be on their minds.  My plan is to ensure that conversation is part of our family life  now, so communication is open when we hit the dreaded teenage years.