On the Go Meals

You have gotten some great ideas so far, but I wanted to add my 2 cents! Since they are at the sitters until 5, would it be possible for them to eat in the 15-20 minutes BEFORE you pick them up? That way, you can bring whatever dinners to the sitters in advance, and not have to worry about portability. Hopefully you find something that will work for you!

Use muffin tins to make highly portable meals.
corn muffins with hot dog chunks, cheddar, jalapenos and salsa baked in.
elbow macaroni with egg, ham and peppers.
mini quiche
bisquick with ground beef, onions.
quiche lorraine

eat hand held foods from around the world -
quessadillas,
cornish pasties
jamaican beef patties
sausage calzones
lahmajun (mediteranean beef "pizza")
burritos
spanikotiropitera

why not pack thermoses of hot foods (think things which can be eaten with a spork)
mac& cheese
spaghetti-os
chicken and broccoli
chili

good luck to you and yours,
F. B.

You are so good! On the days we are late like this we do Spaghetti'O's and other semi nutritional canned stuff or pop it in the microwave stuff. At least I am getting some vegetables in them on those days.

If hubby had a choice on those days it would be Raman noodles and nothing else....yuck.

I wish we had the time and ability to do some crock pot stuff on those late days but it is so hot now that cool foods are just more tasty.

Try some sandwiches and side cauliflower or broccoli florets with some ranch dressing.

Quesadillas! Put shredded cheese and refried beans between two tortillas and microwave for 1 to 1.5 minutes. You can cook them anytime that day, cut them up into triangles, and serve them right out of the fridge if needed.

I saw some really yummy looking tortilla rollups on the Pioneer Woman blog yesterday. They had shredded lunch meat, veggies and a cream cheese spread that held them together. They look like something that would be easy to hold onto in the car and they would not get soggy from making ahead of time. I like the soup to go idea, too. Maybe have a carton of hard boiled eggs in the fridge at all times, too? I don't know that I would want them eaten in the car, but if the kids can hurry and snarf one down before you load up, it would be a good protein item to give them some energy. I have also seen some taquitos recipes on ourbestbites.com, have not tried them but they might be an easy thing to make ahead and even keep in the freezer and just nuke and eat. (Or just buy the frozen ones if low on time). Another idea would be muffins or breakfast cookies (something with a lot of healthy grains and seeds- and again, you could make a big batch for the freezer) or a smoothie (I like to throw 1 cup cooked oatmeal, 1 banana, 2 cups frozen berries, some milk and some water in blender- this would make a full blenders worth, it is very filling and you could pour some in each kiddos to-go mug).

I have 3 daughters, 2 play full time travel softball and 1 plays tee ball. We are at the ball park a minimum of 4 nights a week and typicaly every weekend at tournaments. My kiddos get SICK of eating cold sandwiches (because we eat them at the tournaments on the weekends). I usually make up a crock pot meal the night before (so I only have to turn it on the next morning). I keep protein/breakfast bars, cheese sticks, crackers, etc in a cooler with their drinks and they snack on those on the way to practices/games, etc. When we get home, dinner is ready and we eat. My kids are typically used to eating a little later though.

Large tortillas, spread with peanut butter and rolled up.
Cold breaded, baked chicken legs.
Sandwiches

Can you do things like burgers, chicken chunks, etc. and microwave them before you get in the car?

I have a word doc that has 20 wrap recipes. If you, or anyone else, would like to see it, message me your email address and I'll send it. I think wraps or burritos are easy on the go. Same thing for quesadillas. Good luck!

my big, big bugaboo is eating dinner as a family. I too have the crazy schedule - right now we have piano, drums, viola and competitive baseball (and this has slowed down because soccer and spanish are over.....and I only have 2 kids). but we also have always eaten fairly early, 5:30 to 5:45.

in years past, I'd do the dinner in the car or at the field thing but by the end of whatever sport season it was, it seemed as if we were all sniping at each other and behavior was not it's best (all the time, not just after the activity). and my husband was not connecting with whatever child he was not coaching and I was not connecting with the child he was coaching....

my solution this year (last fall and this spring) is fruit and an energy bar (or equivalent, such as a handful of nuts or peanut butter crackers or cheese and crackers) on the way to the activity. dinner in the oven (w/a timer) or a crock pot so that we can sit down together when we get home. many nights one of the adults is home and can make a "real" dinner. even if we only sit at the table for 20 minutes, everyone seems better off and better behaved over the long term. and, yes, we've tried the sitting at breakfast instead but it just doesn't work for us. primarily because my husband and I are NOT morning people.

yes, something has to give timewise. for us, it has been showers for children as often as I'd really like. and, pushing getting up for school such that there are mornings, one of us is literally walking the child through dressing, etc so we can get out the door in 15 minutes. but, we have been happier, kids have been better behaved and we have yet to have an illness this spring - meaning the kids are less stressed.

good luck.

There are some good sounding/looking suggestions on here, but I will add for the little one home made French Toast ... egg whites/wheat bread/maple syrup extract vs vanilla (or both), then slice it up for her to eat on the go. In addition I suggest smoothies for when they get home, you can put TONS of good stuff in them to refuel their bodies after all the physical activities.

Protein bars are very easy and they "last" a long time in terms of keeping them full.

I usually pack peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat with a glass of milk (in a to go container). All that protein helps with sports.

Sandwiches! Mix it up by making a variety, different meats and cheeses, different types of bread/rolls, grilled chicken or chicken salad, etc. You can also occasionally toast or grill them if you want to serve something warm.
I'm not a big fan of processed foods but those Campbell's soups to go are pretty good and convenient, you microwave them for a little over a minute and they come in a cup with a lid. You can also do leftovers that travel well, like fried chicken or leftover pizza.
For the little one I'd probably just pack a bag of cheese, crackers, fruit, veges/dip, stuff like that and feed her while the older ones are working out :)

We tend to just combine a bunch of snack foods on days like this. Larabars, Go go squeeze, Buddy fruits, sliced apples, baby carrots, sugar snap peas, cucumber slices, crackers, Cuties oranges.