It’s that time of year again, the time when kids are home from school, the weather is hot, visits to the pool are part of the regular itinerary, and you’re trying to plan vacations around everyone’s summer camps and extra-curricular activities. It’s hard to plan meals during the busy summer and so we have a tendency to fallback on quick fixes like fast-food. Hopefully, this article will help you find any ways to still make a good meal for your family even though you’re busy.
Summer is definitely the time of year for salads
Salads are perfect for the summer, whether they’re the cold, crisp salads or mixes like pasta salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, and potato salad. Cold salads are a great way to ensure your family gets the good meal they deserve without sacrificing any of the nutrients for simplicity. It could save you time if you prepare these items in bulk and store them in the fridge for easy meals throughout the week. Each of these salads takes only minutes to prepare and can save you a ton of time during the week.
Picnics are an easy dinner solution and great activity
Picnics are delightful in the summer. They’re a great way to spend quality time with your family while enjoying nature. They are quick to throw together, really easy to plan last minute, and will occupy your children and keep them out of trouble. You’ll love the time away from screens, enjoying nature with your family. You can even pick dining spot with easy access to trails so you could hike as well. All you need to do is prepare some sandwiches, bring some fruit and raw veggies (broccoli, celery, carrots, etc.), and some pudding or Jello and you have a full meal! You could even throw in some of the cold salads you prepared in bulk.
Finger Foods
Another great family activity is a family game night or movie night and the perfect dinner for that is finger foods. Prepare some taquitos, chicken nuggets, mini corn dogs, diced cheeses, raw veggies and fruits, etc. and lay them out on platters for all to enjoy. You can even opt to use paper plates (recyclable) and utensils to make the evening even easier and cut out dishes. A family night with finger foods is sure to delight your entire family and be an evening all about fun.
For kids, summer is the time for playing all day long, going on vacations, and, most importantly, no school. But for parents, this time of year means hectic scheduling between play dates, trips to the pool, camps, vacations, and work, there’s practically no time to plan dinner, let alone make it. I hope this list helps you find a quick and easy solution to get your family a better meal than fast food and not require you to sacrifice quality time with your family.