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As we head into one of the busier months of the year, I hope these easy winter dinner ideas help you feed your family well. You’ll find quick dinners, make-ahead meals, freezer meals, and 4 weeks of dinners designed to feed your entire family!
Winter Dinner Ideas
As with all of my other meals plans, each dinner here can be customized as needed for your family. I usually add simple sides to round out any dinner and to ensure that my kids always have something on the table that they like—even if that’s a side dish of fruit or a veggie.
Feel free to simplify as needed since I am sure you have a lot going on!
Free Meal Planning Rotation
You can download a copy of the free Meal Planning Rotation. I do my meal plans using the idea of a rotation where you use general categories every other week to reduce decision fatigue and also give the kids a chance to see foods regularly to help them learn to like the.
Above here is our rough meal plan for this month.
Yes, really, THIS IS IT. I have two options for breakfast and dinner that we can choose from—I usually alternate each week—then a set rotation of lunch ideas.
This allows me to the number of decisions I need to make since I’m starting with narrow categories, but still have flexibility, variety, and spontaneity with all of the choices available within a category.
So when you want to be having fun making salt dough or sugar cookies, you can also have a simple plan for the meals around those times.
TIP: Download the printable in my Resource Library.
December Week 1
Breakfast Ideas
This quick bread works really well to bake ahead and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to serve it. We love it topped with cream cheese, but butter and honey also work.
For the best flavor and sweeteness, use bananas with a lot of brown spots.
If you make the roasted sweet potato ahead of time, this balanced snack or meal component comes together in minutes.
Lunch & Snack Ideas
These work well to make ahead and warm up for an easy lunch or dinner. These taste best served warm.
These soft breakfast egg cups are packed with protein and vitamins—and can be made ahead of time! Add any veggie you like, whether carrots, butternut squash, broccoli, or spinach.
This makes a small batch of lightly sweet cookies. Double it to make more. If at any point the dough seems too sticky, pop it into the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm up a bit. Or dust your parchment paper and cookie cutters with flour.
These take at least an hour or two to set in the fridge, so plan to make them a little in advance of when you want to serve them.
Classic loaded Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with lower sugar for the whole family. Choose your add-ins based on the kinds you like!
Dinner Ideas
Add simple sides of fruit, cheese, crackers or muffins to round out any of these easy winter dinner ideas.
You can use fresh or frozen shrimp in this recipe. If using frozen, defrost according to package directions.
Any pasta shape works in this recipe, so choose your family’s favorite! Omit the garlic if you think the flavor might be too strong for your people. My kids prefer this without the garlic. I like it with it for myself!
Serve these quesadillas with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole as desired. You can leave them as simple vegetarian quesadillas or add in a protein like chicken or beans.
Serve this easy family meal with optional toppings according to what everyone likes.
When serving this to a little one, I like to drain off much of the broth. This makes it a little easier (and less messy) for them to eat. If your family likes spice, add in a dash or two of cayenne pepper.
For delicious homemade pizza without the work and in a lot less time, Flatbread Pizza to the rescue. Adjust this for allergies as you need.
December Week 2
Breakfast Ideas
Like a cross between a fluffy blueberry muffin and baked oatmeal, these muffins are moist and packed with yummy nutrition.
These bars are tender when warm out of the oven, so do be sure to let them cool completely before slicing.
You can make this in about 15 minutes on any morning, or make the whole recipe ahead and simply warm right before serving. See the Notes for variations to make it with other types of oats.
Lunch & Snack Ideas
You can vary the beans if you like in these simple burritos. Serve them with salsa and/or sour cream.
Use yellow or white cheese according to your child’s color expectations!
Made with a base of applesauce and whole grain flour, these easy mini muffins are sweet enough to taste like a treat!
If you start with dried beans in this salty-sweet snack, make sure to cook them until they are very tender. If making these for a kiddo under one, use maple syrup instead of honey or skip the sweetener all together.
You can also do this with full size spinach if that’s what you’re able to find. Just discard any stems before starting the recipe.
Flavorful, whole-wheat gingerbread with just a hint of natural sweetness. These are a perfect holiday cookie to make with the kids. Double the batch to make more.
Dinner Ideas
Make a double batch of the meatballs and stash them in the freezer for a future easy meal.
With the texture you expect from a traditional meatball, but added nutrition from three types of veggies, your whole family will love these.
We like this with rice or rice noodles, but you can adjust how you serve it to fit your family!
You can try serving this to your toddler with the components separated if they aren’t quite up to holding and eating a regular taco. Simply arrange the filling, the tortillas, and toppings on a plate and let them eat them however they like!
Finish the adult servings (and more adventurous kid plates!) with a squeeze of fresh lemon and maybe crushed red pepper. Note that you’ll want to reserve some of the cooking water, so plan to take some out in a cup before you drain the pasta!
Add some warmed frozen peas, whole grain toast, or a side of fruit to add a few simple sides if desired. This recipe was updated in September 2019 to ensure the rice cooks through.
You can do a big family-style platter or individual ones for the kids depending on your preference. Add anything else that sounds appealing and know that the nutrition info will vary according to what you use.
Plan to make the sweet potato ahead of time or use canned puree. Otherwise, this one-bowl recipe is super simple!
December Week 3
Breakfast Ideas
You can make this overnight the and enjoy it for breakfast the following day, or make a whole batch ahead and eat it throughout the week.
*To do this overnight, choose the LOW heat option and cook time.
With mellow, yet flavorful warm spices and a super easy method, these Gingerbread Muffins are (dare I say it) perfect.
Very ripe (with brown spots) bananas will give these pancakes the best flavor. Dice them up or serve whole, according to how the kids prefer to eat them.
Lunch & Snack Ideas
Be sure to grease your pan well and roll the dough up fairly tightly around the fillings for best results. (But it’s okay if they don’t look perfect when they go into the pan!)
Try serving these parfaits for a fun breakfast or snack. Adjust the amount as needed for your child.
With an easy method and a yummy, satisfying result, this quick toddler meal is one of our go-to shortcut kids meals.
With just 4 ingredients, including a veggie that blends right in, this Veggie Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a yummy kids lunch to share. It packs extra nutrition in the filling, yet only takes a few minutes to make. Such a great easy meal!
These fluffy cookies are not super sweet, so you can add 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar to the batter if desired. (We like them just fine as is with the chocolate chips for sweetness!)
Transform fresh pears into the most delicious fruit sauce with this simple method. It’s a delicious fruit puree to share with a baby or toddler that you can serve on its own or mixed with yogurt or oatmeal.
Dinner Ideas
Use the leftover black bean soup as taco filling for an easy lunch, or as enchilada filling for another easy winter dinner idea.
Adding beans and extra veggies helps make this easy baby pasta satisfying, nutritious, and yummy. Serve it more or less saucy as you like. (You can even freeze the sauce for easy future meals.)
You can also do this with full size spinach if that’s what you’re able to find. Just discard any stems before starting the recipe.
You can cook the rice ahead of time and do Step 1 ahead. Or make the whole dish ahead and warm to serve when needed.
Learn to customize yummy smoothies for your toddler by starting with one simple recipe, then adjusting based on which fruit and veggies you’d like to use.
These are called “breakfast” burritos since they have eggs, but you can serve them for any meal of the day!
Serve these assembled as shown, or with the toasted pita bread alongside the hummus and toppings depending on how your child will prefer it.
I like to frost these soon before serving. You can make the frosting ahead, transfer it to a zip top bag, and store in the fridge until ready to add to the cupcakes.
December Week 4
Breakfasts
You can make this recipe ahead of time and warm up a few sticks for a quick breakfast on future days or make the whole batch as a family breakfast.
Be sure to blend this super smooth for the best texture. Use any or none of the optional ingredients. See the Notes for how to make this with regular milk.
I like adding the thyme in these for extra flavor, but it’s optional! Be sure to grease your muffin tin well.
Lunch & Snacks
Plan to prepare the sweet potatoes at least an hour—and up to 3 days ahead—before you start making the muffins so it has time to cool. See the Notes for options for the sweet potato. These are very lightly sweet. Add ¼ cup brown sugar if desired to make them sweeter.
Pair a soft sandwich bread with your filling of choice to make this easy toddler lunch or school lunch. You can even make them the night before.
Prep the rice, beans, and veggies ahead if you can or want to. They store well in the fridge and simply need to be reheated. The nutrition information in this recipe will vary based on the ingredients you choose to use.
These soft cookies are a perfect afternoon snack (pair them with milk!) or dessert. (Recipe updated September 2020 to reduce the flour slightly to ensure the batter isn’t too dry.) These cookies are soft baked and very tender!
Dinner Ideas
Since each family has its own unique traditions, I don’t expect to tell you what to have for Christmas, but these meals is what my family likes to have in case if gives you some ideas!
You can do a big family-style platter or individual ones for the kids depending on your preference. Add anything else that sounds appealing and know that the nutrition info will vary according to what you use.
The method on this recipe is streamlined to cut down on dish washing. Add the optional spices for more flavor if you like! Double it to make more.
Taste the soup after pureeing and add a little more salt if needed. The sweet potato adds creaminess without dairy—and so much flavor!
You can use frozen peas or broccoli in this recipe according to what you have or prefer. See the Notes for vegetarian options.
You can break or cut these into any size you prefer. I usually just break them in half.
I prefer to use Yukon Gold potatoes in this recipe. They are usually very widely available at grocery stores.
Since the saltiness of your ham may vary, taste at the end and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. You can add more ham if you prefer more.
With sweet-tart flavors and an easy method, this pie is perfect for the winter holidays! Use fresh or frozen cranberries in this recipe for the best results. Discard any that are blemished or shriveled.
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I’d love to hear if there’s a recipe you’re especially excited to cook this winter so please comment below to share!
This post was first published November 2020.
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