Having a hard time getting your family to sit down together for a meal that ALL of you will enjoy?
Kels here! Before I had kids, I told myself, “I’m going to make sure my kids sit with us at the dinner table every night and eat what we eat”….. YEAH RIGHT….In my dreams. As most parents know, getting your family to eat together is WAY easier said than done. My son went from eating anything and everything when he was a baby to, I swear overnight, becoming the pickiest eater of all times. I picked my brain forever trying to figure out where I went wrong. While we all know there are some good habits parents can utilize to help our kids have a healthy appetite, let’s leave that for another post. For now, let’s be more realistic and just accept that often kids go through phases of picky eating.
This past year I really tried to focus on cooking family friendly meals that the kids AND adults in our family would enjoy. Some were successful, others were not.
Here are the meals we make often that are a complete hit for my 2 and 4 year old as well as my husband and I. These helped to finally made us able to do the unthinkable: Have our kids sit down with us, all eating the same meal, and doing it with smiles on all our faces! Big bonus is that they are all pretty healthy as well.
Here Are My 4 Favorite Family-Friendly Recipes That All Ages Will Drool Over
Aloha Burgers
The whole family is sure to devour these and ask for more! This recipe, adapted from one of my favorite recipe blogs Half Bake Harvest, is so makes burgers that are SO flavorful, healthy, and best of all, incredibly easy to make.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons pineapple juice
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- pinch of pepper
- Slices of your favorite cheese (we like pepper-jack or swiss)
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 pineapple round, sliced and drizzled with teriyaki sauce
- 6 burger buns (my husband and I normally try to eat low carb during the week so go bunless)
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat.
- In a bowl combine the ground turkey, soy sauce, pineapple juice, pinch of cayenne and a pinch of pepper. Mix until just combined and then divide the mixture into 6 equal patties.
- Grill the burgers for 5-6 minutes per side until fully cooked. During the last minute of cooking add the cheese. At the same time grill the pineapple for 4-5 minutes per side or until caramelized.
Serve alone or on burger buns topped with the grilled pineapple, your favorite teriyaki sauce, and sliced avocado!
Grilled Tortilla Pizzas
Pizza is probably our entire family’s favorite food. I mean, who doesn’t love pizza? Here is our go-to version that’s both easy and light, as we use thin whole wheat tortillas as the crust. (Fun right?!) Using tortillas leaves you with a light, crunchy, cracker-thin pizza that is delicious without any guilt! If I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll roast and puree some veggies to add to the pizza sauce to add a little sneaky nutrition. 😉
Ingredients
- 1 Package of Whole Wheat Tortillas
- 1 jar of your favorite pizza sauce (even any pasta tomato sauce will work in a pinch)
- 1 zucchini
- 1 bunch of spinach
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Any other pizza toppings you love!
Instructions
- Heat the grill to low heat
- Roast or saute’ the zucchini and puree along with the spinach in a blender or a food processor
- Mix the pureed veggies into the pizza sauce
- Assemble your pizzas with sauce, cheese, and any other toppings you want. I’m personally a pepperoni, sundried tomato, and yellow bell pepper girl
- Carefully slide the tortilla pizzas on the grill until cheese is melted and the tortilla is crispy around the edges (the oven at 450 degrees will work too)
Crockpot Chickpea Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce + Ground Chicken Sausage
When I first heard about chickpea pasta from a friend, I immediately didn’t believe her that it tasted like actual pasta. Boy, was I wrong! It is SO good and loaded with nutrients. With twice the amount of protein, four times the amount of fiber, and half of the amount of carbs as regular pasta, this is a winner for everyone! The below recipe is adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe – so delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 cups broth (I use low-sodium chicken broth)
- 2 cups cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 16 ounces uncooked chickpea pasta (our favorite brand is Banza)
- 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons basil
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 lbs ground chicken sausage
Instructions
- Coat Pan with olive oil and brown ground chicken sausage over medium-high heat.
- Pour in the browned chicken sausage, broth, cream, salt, pepper and garlic into the crockpot.
- Pour the crushed tomatoes into the crockpot and stir, then sprinkle the oregano and basil over the top.
- Turn the crockpot on cook on low for 4-6 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Once the sauce is finished, cook the chickpea pasta according to the directions on the box. Serve the chickpea pasta with the sauce immediately with chopped, fresh basil, and additional Parmesan!
Chicken Quesadillas with Cilantro Lime Corn
This corn is something we have been making for years but the addition of adding it to a quesadilla is new and a huge success! Next to pizza, Mexican food is a close favorite for our family. Our kiddos BEG for us to make these weekly. The best part is, we use rotisserie chicken so they are incredibly simple to make! These taste pretty good with a nice cold margarita for the adults if I do say so myself!
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
- flour or corn tortillas (depending on your preference)
- shredded mexican cheese
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 bag of frozen sweet corn OR use 6 ears of fresh corn in the summer, corn cut off the cob
- 1 Tablespoon of sesame seeds
- Salt
- Pepper
- Your favorite salsa, taco sauce, greek yogurt, or any other topping you love!
Instructions
- Pour olive oil into pan over medium heat and saute garlic for 2-3 minutes
- Add corn and stir until heated through
- Meanwhile, bake sesame seeds in oven at 325 degrees until lightly toasted (about 5-7 minutes)
- Remove sesame seeds from the oven. Add sesame seeds, lime juice, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to the pan with the corn and stir it all together
- Take 1 tortilla and layer cheese on the bottom, followed by rotisserie chicken, then top with the cilantro lime corn and a little more cheese to help the tortilla stick together
- On a new, dry pan, cook quesadilla on medium heat, flipping to the other side until the cheese has melted
- Serve with your favorite mexican toppings and enjoy!
I hope these easy, family friendly recipes are helpful to your family and add as much delicious joy to your lives as they have for our crew. This parenting thing is no piece of cake, but we are all in it together!
Do you have any family friendly recipes that have been a huge hit with your kiddos too? Would love to hear in the comments below!
PS – Toddler Approved Recipes, How our Family Approaches Parenting and Gender Roles
