Here’s one of the things I fear most: My kids coming home from school/activities crying, “I’m starving!!”
Typically they only have 15 to 30 minutes before they have to rush to a sporting event. Sometimes we have to bring them food in the car because they need to eat on the way from school to the gym.
My daughter does gymnastics for 3 hours, my sons play basketball or soccer for 2 hours – we’re not just talking about a snack, they need a hearty meal to replenish their energy tanks before they burn it all off!
After much frustration and trial and error (which I will spare you), I will now simply share my SOLUTIONS with you. This is how I learned to use my kitchen/freezer so we can provide quick, yet nutritious meals to three children who love delicious food.
First, Here’s what I stock my freezer with. You can either do this yourself or hire someone (or ask your mom, friend or sister) to come over and cook for two days/month to prepare and freeze all the stuff for you:
- Chicken strips (GF or regular)
- Grass-fed beef burger patties
- Lasagna, cut into individual portions and frozen
- Individual pizzas made from spelled dough, raw cheddar, mozzarella, natural meat (without nitrates)
- chili
- Tomato Vegetable Soup (made with all fresh roasted vegetables – zucchini, round yellow squash, parsnip, onion, tomato – pureed together)
- Chicken broth
This is the stuff I Buy it at my local health food store (no preservatives, organic ingredients) and throw in my freezer:
- Frozen perogies
- Ravioli stuffed with goat cheese
- Tortellini filled with organic chicken
For my tomato sauce, here’s my trick: Use 1 bottle of store-bought organic marinara sauce (my kids like Muir Glen brand or Simply Organics) mixed with 1 can of tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, and about 1/2 cup of water. This doubles the sauce, so I use half and pour the other half back into the bottle to store in the fridge for next time. The children love it.
Wherever cheese is used, I use RAW cheese. Organic and ideally grass-fed butter, lacto-fermented mayonnaise or keto-gut-friendly mayonnaise, lacto-fermented ranch dip and homemade Caesar dressing provide additional nutrients and high-quality, good fats. Raw milk provides important nutrients for tooth and bone development as well as probiotics. If you don’t have time to make your own mayonnaise, buy one with extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil – not canola! – Read the label.
And then this is the list I put on the fridge. It is VERY IMPORTANT to have this printed out and kept in the fridge for all of us when things get hot and no one knows what to make!
MEALS FOR THE CHILDREN
Chicken burgers – warmed chicken strips in a bun with cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato
Beef burgers – Burger patty, bun
for Hugo with cheese, cucumbers, ketchup, salad
for Oscar with double cheese and ketchup
for Zara with cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo (NO ketchup)
Tortellini or ravioli with tomato sauce, chopped vegetables, ranch dip
Bowtie noodles with organic butter & lots of freshly grated Parmesan OR with tomato sauce, Caesar salad
Chicken strips with Caesar salad
Perogies with chopped vegetables, ranch dip
lasagne – in the freezer; Unwrap the wax paper, place it on a square white plate, and place in the toaster oven on the lowest rack at 375°F for 45 minutes
Ramen soup – Check out my recipe for ramen using whatever veggies you have on hand. Add chicken, beef, or shrimp for a quick protein boost
pizza – Bake in the freezer directly on the rack in the toaster at 400 degrees for 8 minutes
Chicken Melts* – Diced chicken with small cubes of celery and cucumber mixed with mayo. Spread on half a toasted bun, top with cheese and bake in the toaster on the grill for 3-4 minutes. I usually make this easy fried chicken dinner and then dice leftover chicken to make the chicken salad used in these chicken melts
Chicken curry – I can also use meat from the same roast chicken dinner to make a kid-friendly chicken curry. Can be frozen in individual portions for quick reheating on the stove later, defrosting frozen naan bread in the toaster at 250 degrees Celsius for 15-20 minutes. Or prepare fresh rice if you wish
Annie’s Natural Mac ‘n Cheese – Make with additional organic butter (cell membrane is 40% fat!) and add 2 egg yolks for a super creamy sauce and better nutritional value. Don’t let the kids watch you add the yolks or they’ll never know
chili sprinkled with grated raw cheddar
Tomato and vegetable soup sprinkled with grated raw cheddar
Teriyaki chicken – My children’s favorite recipe along with vegetables (green beans, carrots, asparagus, etc.) and steamed rice
Chicken noodle soup – Chicken broth with diced carrots, diced chicken, maybe a handful of frozen green peas, 1 bouillon cube and thin German egg noodles
Tuna melts* – Canned tuna with tiny cubes of celery and pickles mixed with mayo. Spread on half a toasted bun, top with cheese and bake in the toaster on the grill for 3-4 minutes.
Hot chocolate – Heat a cup of raw milk with 1 tsp. Cocoa and 1 small spoon (1/32 tsp) stevia. Stir until warm (NOT hot – so don’t leave the pan and walk away – otherwise the probiotics in the milk will be killed).
Chocolate protein shake – 1 scoop of chocolate whey protein powder in 1 cup raw milk, 1/4 cup water. Shake well in the BlenderBottle
Chocolate smoothies – Mix: 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder, 1/2 cup ice, 1/2 cup raw milk and:
5 strawberries, stevia if necessary (1/2 measuring spoon)
or
1 tablespoon peanut, almond or cashew butter, if necessary stevia (1/2 measuring spoon)
*If you can’t make your own healthy mayonnaise, replace half of the mayonnaise in the chicken and tuna melts with plain Greek yogurt. Children won’t be able to tell the difference.
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
