It’s Meal Prep Monday! This month I have partnered with Think Beef. The Special Kayes and I are “meat-a-tarians!” Yes, we made that word up, but we do love our beef. Every Sunday we cook up a great roast beef dinner and we use leftovers for wraps, salads, you name it. Over the next month we are going to introduce you to some of our go-to meals. As a busy mom I want to make sure the kids are getting healthy meals. With the girls’ activities and my work schedule, our meals have to be quick and easy. It’s all about prepping.
On the weekend, my family and I write down what we want for dinner that week. I shop for the groceries and then get the girls chopping and prepping. It’s great to get your family involved. Oh, and starting January, the Special Kayes are registered for a cooking course. Yup, it’s never too early to get them prepping in the kitchen. My girls are 10, 7 and 6 and each of them have a job when it’s dinner time.
For a nutritious and quick meal, beef is a go-to for our family because it’s a great source of iron. Health Canada has even changed its guidelines on when to introduce beef to babies. You can read about it here (link will be clickable on blog) http://thinkbeef.ca/canadian-guidelines-recommend-meats-babys-first-solid-food/
My girls love meatball subs. I always choose lean ground beef and make our meatballs ahead of time. I pick it up at our local butcher, where they tell me about the farm the beef came from. My girls love learning about the farms.
Once we make the meatballs we freeze them. We can then reheat them in the oven or sometimes we just cook them right in the sauce on the stove. If you have kids of different ages, there is no reason to make different meals for everyone. You can cook one meal and make it work for the whole family. Believe me, I know. Years ago, everyone wanted a different meal and I stopped that. It was impossible! So how did we change it? When you get the kids involved in the kitchen they are making good choices and you can avoid the “What’s for dinner, mom?” question because they’re making it with you.
See the chart below for some suggestions on how to serve meat to children at different ages and stages. Of course, check with your healthcare provider before introducing any new foods to your babies or young children. Also, you can watch our meatball sub video where special guests Chef Andrea Buckett and Baby Florence joined me in my kitchen. This is so easy to make! Get your beef meatballs, favourite sauce, cheese and buns and go for it! Throw a salad together to serve alongside this dish and you have a well-rounded dinner. There are no rules. Just eat and enjoy.
My girls and I just found the sweet and sour meatball recipe on thinkbeef.ca and we are going to try that next week. Visit www.thinkbeef.ca for more beef recipe ideas.
This post was sponsored by Think Beef.
Leave a Reply