Expert: Michele Dortch - 1/2/2009

Question
My husband and I both work full-time outside the home.  We have three children: 15, 8, and 7.  All three play sports after school which require practices and coaching several times per week.  As you can imagine, both my husband and I have to communicate well to get all the kids where they need to be.  The problem is dinner.  How/what can we feed them on the go without having to drive through for fast food?  We want to all watch our weight and provide the best nutrition for their growing bodies.  My first thought was prepare ahead casseroles and/or crock pot meals, but we might not be coming home first.  Any ideas you can provide would be very much appreciated!  Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Answer
Thanks for the questions Kirsten.

There are options for food-on-the-go outside of traditional fast food. On the evenings when your children have back-to-back activities, plan to pack a meal that will keep over the course of the day (assuming you work in an office that has a fridge & microwave).  

For instance, chicken burritos is an nice meal that packs well and is easy to prepare. Things to pack - flour tortillas, cooked chicken breast (buy pre-packaged or prepare your own), lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese). Snag some hot sauce packets from your next Taco Bell run. Bring the items to work and refrigerate them during the day. As you're leaving the office, warm the chicken meat, roll the burritos and wrap in foil. Distribute the burritos to your kids, with a small bottle of water.

Of course, you can also eat healthier at a fast food restaurant. For example, order the hamburger (no cheese), swap the fries for apple slices and ask for water instead of a soda.

And finally, the best way to overcome these challenges is to plan ahead. This may go without saying, but often our schedules are so jam-packed, it's easy to miss the details like meal planning. Every Sunday, look ahead in your calendar and plan the meals you'll have each day. Knowing that you'll eat have a fast-food run on Wednesday because of back-to-back practices may be OK if you know that you've planned other healthy meals in the week.

I hope this helps!
Michele