Four Simple, Kid-Friendly Summer Meals

Whoever said summertime living is easy probably didn’t have kids – or at least wasn’t trying to figure out how to feed them. Meal planning during the regular routine is hard enough, but doing the meal prep to make healthy dinners for your family during your chaotic summer schedule can feel as impossible as getting your kids out of the pool.

Whether you’re too busy running from swim lessons to day camp to piano practice to plan a proper meal or the relentless heat has wilted your will to cook, these four simple summer dinners can help. Not only do they require very little (or no) slaving over a hot stove, but they’re also fun enough that your kids may even pitch in to put them together. Use them to help you chill out a little this summer – and be sure to check out Parent Lab’s “Meal Planning – What’s on the Menu?” kit for great ideas on how to bring your family to the table in any season.

Simple Summer Meal #1: Waffles for Dinner

When the temperature rises and your kitchen’s way too hot to turn on the stove – don’t! Grab your trusty waffle maker instead. While waffles are generally considered breakfast fare, they’ve recently been turning up as a sidekick for fried chicken on dinner plates everywhere. Of course, fried chicken doesn’t have to be part of the deal (since it’s probably too hot to stand over a pan of bubbling oil), and luckily there are a variety of other ways to enjoy savory waffles for dinner:

• Top them just like baked potatoes – with cheese, chili, veggies, sour cream, and more.
• Make waffle sandwiches, adding meat and cheese between two waffles and throwing the whole thing back into the waffle maker for some squishy, melty deliciousness.
• Mix your diced fixings – like ham, cheese, and broccoli or turkey and mushrooms – right into the waffle batter and cook your waffles as you normally would. Instead of syrup, try topping them with fried eggs.

You can use your favorite waffle batter recipe or pancake/baking mix to prepare your waffles – even if it includes a little sugar. Any sweetness will only add to the deliciousness – and your kids’ delight – of this clever and easy summer dinner concoction.

Simple Summer Meal #2: Veggie Boats

Set sail for a dinner adventure with adorable and easy-to-make veggie boats that may even get your picky eater “going green.”

Choose Your Boats

Pick from these vegetable options:

• Zucchini or summer squash (sliced lengthwise, hollowed)
• Celery stalks
• Cucumbers (sliced lengthwise, hollowed)
• Mushrooms (stems removed)
• Radishes (trimmed and hollowed)
• Tomatoes (hollowed)
• Sweet mini peppers (halved and deseeded)
• Lettuce leaves
• Avocados (halved)
• Boiled eggs (halved)

Filling Ingredients

• 1 pound ground meat of your choice
• Diced vegetables (any combination):
  • Carrots
  • Peppers
  • Onions
  • Mushrooms
  • Peas
  • Corn
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• ½ cup sour cream
• Seasoning options:
  • Taco seasoning
  • Spaghetti seasoning
  • Ranch seasoning

Instructions

1. Prepare the filling:
   • Sauté ground meat
   • Add diced vegetables and cook until slightly crunchy
   • Stir in cream cheese and sour cream
   • Add your chosen seasoning
   • Cook until thick and creamy
2. Prepare the boats:
   • Clean and cut your chosen vegetables
   • For firmer vegetables like peppers and mushrooms, optionally sauté or grill first
   • Fill each vegetable boat with the meat mixture
3. Add the finishing touches:
   • Create “sails” using triangles cut from firm cheese
   • Or make “masts” using thin zucchini ribbons on toothpicks
   • Serve on a “green sea” of broccoli mash or “ocean” of blue mashed potatoes

Simple Summer Meal #3: Sunny Day Sundaes

Next time the sun zaps your appetites and you’re looking for a light and refreshing summer meal, indulge your kids with this healthy twist on ice cream for dinner.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of fruit (about a quart of berries, six bananas or peaches, or roughly two 10-ounce bags of frozen fruit)
• 1 cup of your family’s favorite yogurt (use Greek for extra protein)
• 3 Tablespoons of sugar

Instructions

1. If using fresh fruit, slice if needed and freeze on a cookie sheet.
2. Combine the frozen fruit (slightly defrosted if needed), yogurt, and sugar in a food processor or blender.
3. Blend for 2 to 4 minutes until creamy.
4. Serve in decorative ice cream dishes.

Top with heart-healthy nuts, rolled oats, granola, flaked coconut, chopped fresh or dried fruit, crushed graham crackers or peanut butter sandwich crackers, rice krispies or another healthy cereal like shredded wheat.

Simple Summer Meal #4: Burrito in a Bag

This take on everyone’s favorite Frito Pie mixes things up – literally!

Ingredients

• Single-serving size bags of your family’s favorite salty snacks (one per person)
• 1 pound of cooked ground chicken or diced ham (or deli meat)
• 8 ounce package of shredded cheese or melted nacho cheese dip
• 1 can of refried or black beans
• Salsa or diced tomatoes
• Sour cream
• Sliced black olives
• Chopped green onions

Instructions

1. Arrange all ingredients in a buffet line.
2. Give each family member their selected single-size snack bag (remove some snacks if needed to make room for fixings).
3. Let everyone walk through the line, spooning their chosen ingredients right into their bag.
4. Hold the top of the bag firmly and give it a gentle shake to mix.
5. Grab forks and enjoy right from the bag!