We all have busy schedules to keep up with, but eating regular, healthy meals should still be a priority. After all, keeping your body fueled the right way gives you the energy you need as you care for your family, work hard, and chase goals. We know heading through the drive-thru to pick up dinner is a tempting solution, but you are not doing your loved ones or yourself any favors by eating unhealthy fast food on the regular. Instead, you might try some quick and easy meal ideas for busy people. These are meals that you can make in no time flat; some can even be prepped ahead of time to help your evenings run smooth (or, let’s be real, more smoothly, because anything that involves kids is never totally stress-free). With recipes like these, you can eat good meals at home and keep up with your jammed packed schedule.
Quick & easy meal ideas.
1) The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich
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Your veggies never tasted so good between two slices of bread. This is one of my favorites to make that doesn’t take long to put together and satisfies those hungry tummies. I like to prep the chive and onion spread ahead of time and have the veggies sliced and ready to stack. If you can’t imagine a sandwich without some protein, go ahead and throw on a couple slices of lean turkey.
2) Cherry Tomato Basil Spinach Pasta
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This pasta, as well as the name, are both a mouthful and you can easily whip this up in no time. With the few and simple ingredients this one is also budget friendly. If you prefer a low carb version, try substituting the spaghetti noodles with zucchini noodles. You can buy the already packaged zucchini noodles from your local grocer or purchase a gadget that spirals them for you like this one. Because who doesn’t need another fun kitchen doohickey.
3) Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
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This is a family favorite and is an easy one to prep ahead of time. I like to put it all together in a pan and either pop it in the oven as soon as we get home or set our automatic cook timer to have it ready when we walk in the door from practice or whatever activity we happened to be at. It’s a low effort meal that pleases a crowd.
4) Taco Pizza
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Who doesn’t love tacos and pizza? This recipes combines them both and my family loves that it is another quick and easy meal to throw together. Again, you can prepare some of the ingredients ahead of time, such as browning your ground turkey (or ground beef, your choice) and chopping up your veggies. It goes from oven to table in no time and makes feeding your family a breeze.
5) Hot Ham & Cheese Croissants
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Buttery, flaky croissants, rich ham, and gooey cheese. All the good stuff melted together to create this delish meal, and here’s DIY detectives’ little secret. You can wrap them individually in foil as the recipe says, or if you are making a larger batch for your family put them all on a cookie sheet or baking pan and just cover the top with foil. Easy peasy, dinner served.
6) Baked Tacos
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Taco Tuesday at home becomes the real deal when you use your oven. Here’s how to make this one up in a snap. Have your meat precooked. Are you starting to see a pattern how prepping food ahead of time can save your life? No joke, give it a whirl and see how much easier it makes your week. When dinner time arrives line those taco shells up, fill them with your ground meat and cheese, and pop those babies in the oven. Heat up some beans and instant rice and you have yourself a complete Mexican meal. Bam!
7) Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Pasta
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Ok, so I usually don’t like to include meals that incorporate, ugh, gulp, condensed soup, but I’m throwing caution to the wind with this one because it tastes so good. Toss the ingredients in the crock pot, and forget about it until dinner time. Serve it over pasta and just enjoy!
8) BBQ Chicken Tostados
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Grab a rotisserie chicken for this one. Top your tostados with chicken, bbq, and cheese, and slide them in the oven. Wha-lah! Serve along side a simple salad and your meal is complete.
9) Pasta with Chicken Broth, Butter, and Parmesan.
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If you are a soup fan but never have time to make it, this recipe is for you. Great for a cool or rainy day. Simple, yet satisfying, and done in 10 minutes. Add in a little rotisserie chicken or sausage for some protein if you wish.
Eating on a busy schedule just got easier.
The detectives understand that these recipes may not completely eliminate the fast food in your life. However, more of our quick and easy meal ideas and less trips into the drive-thru will give you both nourishing food and peace of mind. You can feel good that your family is getting a home cooked meal and that you are giving your body what it needs to keep up with all of your responsibilities. Trust us, you deserve it. Stay busy, enjoy it all, eat well, and live fully.
Don’t stop here. Check out our other posts for busy people, and follow us on Facebook.
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