I was recently with a friend who shared that the suggested recipes that accompany her veggie box each week can be too complicated, and that week, she decided to go back to basics. She inspired this week's post about keeping the "simple" in Simply Unprocessed.
This post is meant to give you permission to take dinnertime down a notch - that our meals don't need to be complex or take hours of prep time or meal planning to achieve. Because some weeks, the energy just might not be there, and that's okay. Here are easy, kid-friendly, vegetarian, and minimally processed dinner ideas to make when you don't feel like cooking:
Loaded Baked (or Sweet) Potatoes
Keep this modest vegetable in its most simple form by baking it. The only resource you need here is time because they can take up to an hour to bake, depending on size. Preheat the oven to 425, wash the spuds, poke holes in them, and wait!
I prefer sweet potatoes, and, alongside, I include the following assortment of low-effort toppings:
plain whole yogurt (sour cream substitute)
brown sugar
green onions
My girls (8, 7, and 5) loved this dinner. They asked for another sweet potato, AND they clocked the longest butts-in-seats time at dinner to date (if you know, you know).
Interestingly, the night I made this, I was planning to DoorDash our dinner. My energy was super low, and I didn't feel like cleaning up.
At the last minute, I remembered the sweet potatoes in my pantry and that I didn't need to be all extra by peeling, cubing, and roasting them like I normally do. It felt like an act of self-care to not have to let myself off the hook while still nourishing our bodies with real food.
Avocado Toast
Trendy? Yes. Nutritious and filling? Yes. Easy? Super yes. Nothing simpler than toasting bread, smashing up some ripe avocado, and seasoning it with salt and pepper. If you have a bit of extra energy, fry an egg to add on top, along with grape tomatoes and feta cheese.
Cheese Pizza
A simple cheese pizza can be a quick meal once you master the preparation of the elements you need to make this a fast dinner. Purchase pre-made dough balls from your local deli, grab your pre-shredded cheese and already-made homemade pizza sauce, and this dinner is on the table in less than 30 with minor cleanup and effort.
Breakfast for Dinner
Fried eggs on toast are a big hit in my house, mainly because my children have watched me eat it all the time. And I probably eat it because I watched my Dad eat them when I ate at diners growing up. (Gentle reminder: kids watch what you do, not what you say.)
Fried, runny eggs are silky and just the right amount of salty. Soak up the runny egg with toast, and the family has a filling meal. My kids will eat three eggs, and I'll cut up some fruit alongside it, as well as jam and yogurt (mixing low-sugar jam with plain yogurt).
I hope these ideas help you at the end of a long day when the inevitable question, "What's for dinner?" arises. Listen to your body and let yourself off the hook at dinnertime. It doesn't have to be grand every night to be healthy and nourishing.
What meals do you make on nights when you're just not feeling it? Share in the comments below!
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