As a parent, I strive to keep my kids active and feed them healthy foods. My children are in so many sports and activities that we find ourselves spending more time in the car than in our house. Going through the local drive thru would definitely keep things moving but, we can’t afford it both financially and physically. Here are five healthy dinners I have made that we can eat in the car. We have large reusable bottles that we fill with water to drink on the go as well, so no need to grab a can of soda or juice box to go with these meals! Now I can rest easy knowing my children are getting the good food they need while getting to those activities that keep them active and healthy.
Monday Mini-Pizzas (Ingredients: English muffins or refrigerated biscuits, shredded mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, pepperoni or other pizza toppings, and applesauce cups)
Take an English muffin and top it with some tomato sauce, cheese and any other topping. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes until the cheese is melted. Load on a heavy paper towel and you are out the door and on your way. I also like to take a cup of applesauce with as well. If your kids don’t like English muffins you can also take refrigerated biscuits and roll them out and bake them the night before. They make perfect mini pizza shells.
Tuesday Deli Dinner (Ingredients: large pretzel sticks, mozzarella cheese sticks, celery or carrot sticks, lunchmeat of your choice, mustard or ranch or other condiment)
Grab a cup and load it with some large pretzel sticks, a mozzarella cheese stick, celery sticks or carrot sticks, and 2-3 three pieces of your favorite lunchmeat rolled up. In a separate cup or container put mustard, or ranch, or your favorite condiment for dipping. To make this even easier, the next time you do eat out save the large cardboard drink holder. Now you have something to put your cups in as you travel and eat.
Wednesday Walking Tacos (Ingredients: hard taco shells (broken into pieces) or tortilla chips, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and onions or fresh salsa, sour cream, and taco sauce)
Take all the ingredients of your favorite hard shell tacos and put in all into a large Ziploc bag. Zip and shake and you are ready to go. Just grab a fork and eat right out of the bag. This allows kids to get protein, grain, dairy and vegetables all in one bag. I prefer to use the freezer bags since they hold up better to the fork going in and out. The best part is when they are all done their napkins and fork can be zipped up in the bag for easy clean up. You can also use reusable plastic containers instead of Ziploc bags and wash them when you get home.
Thursday Tasty Wraps (Ingredients: soft tortilla shells, shredded or thinly sliced carrots, lettuce, purple cabbage, and cucumbers, chicken (from the crock pot), shredded cheese, and ranch or honey mustard dressing, a banana, apple, or other easy to eat on the go fruit
Put chicken tenders or breasts in the crock-pot in the morning so it will be ready to shred and add to the wraps when you get home from work. Fill a soft tortilla shell with some shredded chicken, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, carrots and cheese. Drizzle with ranch or honey mustard dressing. Roll up and then wrap with plastic wrap or foil. Grab a banana, apple or other easy on the go fruit to go with it. Make sure you make a few for each person!
Friday Fruit Kabobs (Ingredients: pineapple chunks, grapes, hard block of favorite cheese, ham cubes, cherry tomatoes, and vanilla yogurt)
You can use metal or wood skewers for this meal. Just load up the skewers with ham, cheese, pineapple, grapes and tomatoes. Wrap the skewers in aluminum foil and you are ready to roll. Take a cup a vanilla yogurt along for a tasty dip. You can also put all these items in a reusable container or baggie and take along toothpicks to grab the items and dip. My kids love poking their food with the toothpicks and eating it that way.
The best part about all of these meals is that I can even eat them easily while I wait for the kids to finish their sport’s practice or activity.