Baseball Season

Chicken ceasar salad wraps, or wraps in general. To make it even easier you can buy a bagged salad, and the whole chickens they sell at the grocery store. Chop up the chicken, place the chicken and salad (with dressing)in a tortilla, roll it up nice and tight, grab some apples or pears and you have a quick and fairly healthy meal. You can put whatever you have on hand. I did chicken, shredded carrots, and raisins and sunflower seeds mixed with ranch and my kids loved it. Cream cheese (fat free) and turkey is another favorite. They are easy to eat nd relatively mess free! You could also do kabobs with chunks of cheese, meat, and fruit. Hope this helps!

How about lunchables?
Apple slices.
Oranges.
Raisins.
Popcorn.
Capri Sun Drinks.

Hi J.,
We have this same issue with sports and other activities. The first thing we do is eliminate the after school snack on those days and just have our dinner meal about 30 minutes after the kids get home. An old standby for us is chicken sandwiches. We actually use the vegetarian style "chick" patties. In the oven for 15 min and lettuce and tomatoes and such on the buns, fresh veggies alongside. Scrambled eggs and cheese wrapped in a tortilla with some fruit is also a favorite. I also do meals that I can make in the morning or the day before such as lasagna or casseroles. That way all of the work is done and cleaned up ahead of time. I just put it in the oven, we all need one plate and one fork and it's really easy that way.
Have fun,
B.

It may be a bit of effort on your part, but if all the kids are going to be with you at the game, you could make it a picnic night for them. You know kids...it doesn't matter if they ate a whole cow before the game, if there's a concession stand, they're going to bug you about getting something from it. If you feed them picnic style AT the game, you'll have a better chance of competing with the concession stand. Pasta salads are pretty cheap and go a long way, especially if you add lots of veggies to it. Or cold hamburger patties with potato salad. Of course, sandwiches always are fun if you cut them up into shapes. Boiled eggs and veggie sticks. You could even make a lasagne, bring it in one of those portable casserole thingies and serve it on sturdy paper plates. Cold chicken is always yummy, especially when you put it on bread with a bit of mayo (which the kids could do themselves at the "picnic"). And since lots of great food is good cold, you can make it all ahead of time and just bring it with you when you go to the games. You could get really creative here and have some fun! Your only problem is going to be other people casually hovering around you hoping you'll offer them some of your dinner!

J., I bought the perfect cook book at a school book sale. It is called "Fix It and Forget It". They have one now that is 5 or 6 ingredients or less! All of the recipes are for the good old reliable crock pot. I LOVE being able to put something in the crockpot before work in the morning, then in the evening dinner is basically ready so that I can eat before my church meeting, my daughter can eat before dance, and my husband can eat after work! All I have to do is have a tossed salad or another side dish ready and dinner is served.

I have 5 children, though only youngest daughter is at home now, but the crockpot worked especially well when all 5 children were at home. Also, my daughter and two grandchildren lived with me for a year and a half while having marriage problems and it worked well for their schedule and mine. Everyone has loved the recipes so far, and if an ingredient is in it that I know my husband or daughter doesn't particularly like, I can substitute something else or leave it out. My daughter's favorite is beef stew or chili. My husband likes almost anything I make, and all recipes I have tried from it are really good. They are sent in to the cookbook company by people like me and you, who have used the recipes for years. I love knowing that the recipes are ones that kids and families have been eating for many years. Some days I get the crockpot ready with all ingredients the night before, put it in fridge and plug it in when I get up in the morning. When my schedule is really crazy I will buy the pre-made green salad in a bag to help even more. But most of the time I will have enough time to make a pasta salad or green salad, some cornbread or biscuits, and then my week is so much less hectic! You can even make a bbq beef or pork sandwich recipe and take the sandwiches to the game with you!

Give it a try! It saves so much time, and I will even have a moment at work when I remember that dinner is done and I feel so relaxed and happy! I love my crock pot!

During busy times, I either make quick kid dinners (mac and cheese for example with canned veggies and fruit) or we pack sack lunches (dinners!) to take along and eat in the car or at the stables, park, whever it might be. They love taking the individual sacks...they think it's a great time!