'I'm a dietitian and mum of 2. Here are 8 ways I make kids' dinners quick and easy.'

Desperate for dinner ideas for kids? 

For any parent, making nutritious, delicious dinners that are also kid-friendly can feel like a never ending battle. Combine that pressure with the two hours between getting dinner ready and getting the kids bathed and asleep can feel like an absolute whirlwind. 

As an accredited practising dietitian and mum-of-two, I've discovered a few tricks that can help. Here are eight ways I make quick and easy dinners for the kids (plus eight easy, nutritious meal ideas as well).

Watch Jennifer Garner's pretend cooking-show fail. Post continues below.

Plan and prep

Planning the week's dinner menu ahead of time removes the decision-making energy from the nightly equation. Once you know what's on the menu, prep at a time that suits. I work from home, so I'll often do an afternoon phone call while I’m chopping the veg, or I'll add ingredients to the slow cooker at lunch. Purchasing pre-chopped options (like frozen chopped onions), utilising meal or grocery delivery services, as well as pre-made flavour mixes are also time savers = game changers.

Get the kids involved from the start. 

My oldest has been helping me cook since she could sit on the kitchen bench in the bumbo ‘helping’ with whatever I was cooking. This means that now as a three-and-a-half year old, she confidently helps stir whatever needs stirring most nights from her chef stand, while my youngest is usually tasked with setting the table (aka throwing the cutlery I hand her onto the dinner table). 

I find giving them jobs keeps them occupied, reduces meltdowns and makes life that bit easier. Please note, this is not 100 per cent effective at preventing tantrums, but definitely helps.

Chloe's kids getting involved in meal prep. Image: Supplied.

Keep easy options in the pantry. 

I’m yet to meet a kid who doesn’t love pasta. Our pantry is always stocked with a variety of types and shapes, as well as passata and herbs. So at minimum, or if in a real time pinch, pulling together a quick pasta that I know the girls will demolish is super easy. 

Pro tip: mix high protein pasta with normal pasta to keep the meal balanced. Other handy pantry options are 40-second rice, noodles, cans of tuna or beans, while eggs, tofu and frozen veg in the fridge/freezer mean quick-and-easy will always be an option. 

Look into delivery/pick-up services. 

Getting your groceries delivered – and removing the need to get to the shops – is a game changer. But if you're saving money, ordering ahead online and picking up your groceries, can save you lots of time as well.

Be firm that you aren’t making different dinners for everyone. 

This can be a toughie, but holding the boundary and only cooking one meal for the family (rather than two or three meals) will make dinner time so much easier, long term. 

What I find works well is making the same meal, but slightly different, for the adults versus the kids. For example, last week I made a tofu laksa for my husband and I, while the kids had noodles, tofu and veg with a little bit of the sauce on the side (one loved it, the other threw hers on the ground…).

Embrace the mess. 

As per the above, when kids throw food on the ground, I get it, it is frustrating. There is nothing worse than realising you are standing on multiple grains of rice, which are now squished into the floor. But, try to remember this is part of their learning. The mess can be cleaned, and they will be able to eat without covering everything in food soon enough.

Incorporate fakeaways. 

Make homemade versions of less healthy things they like. We regularly do pizza night at home, which is always a hit! 

Listen to Leigh and Tegan's tricks for helping make sure your kids are getting a balanced meal. Post continues below. 

Give yourself a break and don’t cook.

One of my favourite childhood memories is doing a Friday night picnic in the living room with fish and chips, on a blanket on the floor, with the family. Occasionally getting takeaway, or heading to your local for a meal together or with friends, helps to remove any ‘food rules’. It also teaches the kids how to behave in public (I hope). You will often find us at the local on a Friday night, and the girls are now used to taking some of the communal table veggies to have with their pub pasta.

And as a bonus... 

Here are eight quick and easy, healthy meals I know my kids will (usually) eat.

Pasta and sauce: this is usually a veggie-full bolognese or Napoletana sauce with cheese on top, and a floret of broccoli or two on the side.

Tofu stir-fry: tofu with veggies and brown rice.

Pan-fried salmon, veggies and roast potato.

Slow cooked meat and veggies.

Pasta with cheese and olive oil: with this I usually do a mix of protein and pasta to help balance the meal, and then serve it with some veg on the side.

Tray bake chicken and veggies: I usually flavour with Mingle seasoning and some Alg Seaweed.

‘Tacos': soft tacos with black beans, tomato, avo, cheese and lettuce. More like mini veggie wraps!

BBQ: prawns, lean sausages or rissoles are all a hit, with veggie sticks and BBQ potato.

Chloe McLeod is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD), Advanced Sports Dietitian and founder of Verde Nutrition Co.  You can follow her on Instagram here and at Verde Nutrition Co here. 

Feature Image: Supplied.