Family Meal Ideas We’ve Been Loving Lately
It’s been a while since I’ve done a post like this, and I figured it was time! I love hearing what other moms recommend when it comes to feeding their family, so I wanted to share with you what we’ve been enjoying!
I usually keep a list of meal ideas and recipes on my free Evernote account (my FAVORITE note-taking service, because it syncs between your phone and computer). Some of our recent favorite meals also come from a quick screenshot I took when someone else shared a meal idea on Instagram. So, today I wanted to combine all of these into one easily accessible blog post for you!
As much fun as it can be to peruse Pinterest and save gorgeous-looking recipes, we busy mamas need meals that are feasible without being totally unhealthy or bland! The kinds of recipes I gravitate toward are the ones that look delicious, of course, and are pretty healthy and not overly ambitious.
In this post, I’m only sharing meals that we’ve actually made and have enjoyed! Thank you for reading!
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Family Meal Ideas We’ve Been Loving Lately
Easy Korean Ground Beef // This one is so, so good! I’ve made it maybe…6 times already? And we all love it just as much as the first day we tried it. This Korean Beef recipe is extremely simple, it comes together quickly, and it is most definitely kid-approved! (I think it helps that there is brown sugar in the sauce, haha! They love it!) Most of the ingredients are things you likely have on hand already. As far as more “unique” ingredients go, there is fresh ginger in it, but fresh ginger is something you can grate a bunch of and freeze in little chunks to pull out for recipes! I do about 1/3 to 1/4 of the sriracha they call for, because otherwise it’d be a bit too spicy for my kids. And I make extra servings of rice. This Korean Beef meal is a great recipe to double, whether for meal prep for lunches or just for a hungry family. Thank you to Heidi for recommending this on Instagram! Heidi always recommends good food!
Asian Peanut Chicken Wraps // I love this meal because it’s different from so many family meals out there, and it’s a great way to mix things up! The kids enjoy this one, too. I’ve made it multiple times. I like to use broccoli slaw in place of the coleslaw, and I omit the red pepper flakes. The peanut sauce that you mix throughout is so delicious! My friend Courtney recommended this recipe to me and I’m so glad she did! It’s a great fresh meal idea to keep in our rotation.
Taco Salad // There are a lot of ways to put together a taco salad, but this is probably my favorite one! I love following Abbie from M is For Mama on Instagram (she’s an inspiring mom of 10!) and she shared their family’s taco salad recipe a while back. We’ve made this many times and it’s always delicious! Abbie shared this recipe on Instagram – and it’s also saved in her Good Eats story highlight.
Taco Salad:
– Taco meat (like ground beef or turkey with taco seasoning)
– Chopped tomatoes
– Lettuce
– Diced scallions
– Ranch Style Beans (that’s a brand of beans – you could also try a can of “chili beans”)
– Shredded cheddar cheese
– Fritos
– Catalina dressing
Easy Lasagna Stuffed Shells // This is another simple one that the kids love! This recipe is presented as part of a meal prep idea including a salad, but I just make the shells and do my own side salad. The flavors of traditional lasagna with ricotta are mimicked with Laughing Cow cheese wedges, which may sound a bit odd, but it’s so good! It’s a filling recipe that gives you lasagna flavors without complicated steps. It comes together quickly if you boil the pasta shells while working on the meat mixture! I think your family will love this meal.
Baked Chicken Tacos // I find myself coming back to this recipe again and again. It’s even – dare I say it? – easier for me to make than regular tacos! We’ve made this many times, and it’s delicious. When the hard taco shells are baked like this, they’re easier for the kids to eat, too. We like to serve these with sour cream and sliced avocado. Using rotisserie chicken makes this yummy meal come together even faster!
BBQ Ranch Pork Nachos // This is a meal idea I came up with one night and it’s been a favorite of our family’s ever since! The flavors are so, so good! We don’t make it too often because it’s a bit of a more “fancy” or expensive meal, but I highly recommend trying these delicious pork nachos sometime!
Chicken Burrito Bowl Bake // Madison from Espresso & Cream came up with this recipe, and it’s a keeper! Anything that involves a crockpot always piques my interest, because it makes things even easier! This is the kind of meal I’d love to bring to someone. The kids love it! We serve it with avocado slices, sour cream, and tortilla chips! The flavors are awesome. You’ll want to try this meal idea!
Snack Plates // This is a simple meal idea but it’s so good, and it’s easy to add variety to in so many ways. My friend Jordan recommended this idea to me, and it’s been a favorite go-to summer lunch for us since then! The basic idea is deli meat, cheese slices, and crackers – but then you can add in fresh fruits and veggies. Our favorite add-ins are cherry tomatoes, tiny cucumbers cut up, and blueberries! This is a wonderful meal idea to just always have on hand each week, and I use it to “fill in the gaps” when morning errands get too long and we need a quick lunch instead of cooking…situations like that. The kids love these cute little snack plate lunches, too!
Another fun place to get recipes: the Now That I’m a Mother Health account on Instagram! The two sisters who run it have a couple story highlights with a good number of healthy and delicious meal ideas that they add to each week!
There you have it! I hope this post gave you some fun meal ideas for your family! I’d love to hear what your favorite family meal is these days! Let me know below!
PS – I pin a lot of recipes, so be sure to follow me over on Pinterest to see what meal ideas I’m gathering at the moment! 🙂