⇒ Disclaimer: The affiliate links in this post will take you to the respective website. Although we are part of the “Amazon Affiliate Programs”, all thoughts and opinions are our own. If you choose to buy something I’ve shared, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting us. If you’ve already been homeschooling, you probably know how fast mealtime is approaching on school days. 🤗
Many times I find myself staring at the clock and surprise surprise, it’s more than 12 o’clock! 🕧😭 At that moment panic sets in, thinking what the hell can I prepare before we all reach the state of starvation? 😱
My favorite foods are the ones my mother or mother-in-law cooks and brings. I find them easier and quicker to prepare and eat, don’t I? 😉 Joking aside, after 5 years of homeschooling I realized that the key will be quick, easy and healthy. 😇
Broccoli is our takeaway vegetable in some of these recipes, but we also have another trick for a quick and fresh daily vegetable admission. It’s called Vitamix Blender and it’s been an absolute God sent by us. Mix any frozen ingredient into a soft, velvety consistency. 🙌 Forget your $7.00 x cup Wholefoods shake, we spend that same $$ amount to buy our kale and spinach for the week! Below you will find the friendly smoothie recipe for our children. Keep in mind that we have tried other blenders and none of them gave results like our Vitamix blender does. In the end, we found that the vegetables didn’t mix well when using other blenders. →(Click here to read my review of the Vitamix blender)
1. Naan or English muffin pizzas.
These cute pizzas are not only delicious, but also easy and quick to prepare. Between the preparation time and cooking, it will take less than 30 minutes. We keep ours very simple (I have 3 fussy little eaters), but feel free to add any ingredient to your liking.
Pan Naan;
organic simple crushed tomatoes;
McCormick Italian seasoning grinder;
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt, Oregano;
Organic grated mozzarella.
Heat oven to 350F. Place Naans on cookie trays (dark ones are best), drizzle olive oil over them, and then grind the Italian seasoning. (Go light with the oil or they will get soaked.) Place a couple of tablespoons of crushed tomatoes on each Naan by spreading it with the back of the spoon, then lightly salt and grind some more of the Italian seasoning. Sprinkle some oregano. Lastly, spread the grated mozzarella on top (too much mozzarella = soaked). Place on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on how golden you like your cheese and then, Buon Appetito! 🍕😍
2. Green smoothie. (It’s a Vitamix thing😉) 🍍🍃
My kids’
pediatrician mentioned how broccoli, kale, and spinach are very important vegetables for kids to eat. I honestly don’t know how someone without a Vitamix blender can feed their kids kale and spinach. Whether you homeschool or not, it is a very difficult task to do. I find that when I can make a meal, it’s already a miracle in itself and I don’t really have time left to put aside almost anything. This is when the Vitamix blender comes in handy.
If our food lacks vegetables, I prepare a delicious smoothie and thus, the guilt and pressure are removed by not having time to cook vegetables. Thanks to our Vitamix blender we can eat vegetables that I would not try to cook, one of them is raw beetroot and ginger. Thanks to the Vitamix blender, we now eat raw beets and they taste delicious too! Here is a basic recipe you can try and from there you can add, change or change everything, your call!
1-1/2 cups coconut water;
1/4 peeled fresh lemon (pitted);
1 handful of freshly cleaned baby spinach;
1 handful of fresh kale leaves cut clean;
1 inch fresh ginger (peeled);
1lb Frozen pineapple.
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=”https://homeschoolingalong.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_20181005_180854-300×225.jpg”
alt=”organic fast food ideas” />
Cover the Vitamix jug and rotate Variable 1 raising the speed to the maximum in a few seconds. Let mix until smooth (maybe a minute or less) and your job is done. Happy healthy living!
3. 10 minutes of Mac & Cheese. (Hello Instant Pot)
Growing up, I always loved Mac & Cheese in the box. I remember asking my sister to put some in the annual Christmas box that I would mail to Italy. Oh, how that taste reminded me of being a kid living in the U.S. Today our foods are more processed than ever. Potentially harmful chemicals (phthalates) were found even in organic boxed Mac & Cheese brands and about a year ago I completely removed it as an option for a meal, no matter how much desperate time I had. Then I started buying Amy’s frozen organic Mac & Cheese, however, it takes the same amount of time to heat it in the microwave as it does to prepare mine in the Instant Pot. After trying different recipes of Instant Pot Mac & Cheese, I was finally able to reach the consistency and flavor of our taste. Thank goodness for the Instant Pot! Follow my recipe or use it as a baseline to modify it to your liking.
16 oz + organic whole wheat elbow pasta (4-5 C cooking water).
2 tablespoons butter
2
teaspoons salt
12
oz organic evaporated milk 12
0z Organic soft cheddar cheese (grated
)
1/2 C parmesan (optional)
Place pasta with water, salted butter in the pot. Set the timer to 4-5min at high pressure. (TIP: In the Instant Pot, cook the pasta for half the time indicated on the box.) When finished, turn off and release steam. Take off the lid. (If you don’t do this, your pasta will overcook and become huge.) Press the ‘Saute’ option on Low and add the evaporated canned milk a little at a time stirring continuously. Finally, add the grated cheese and stir continuously until melted. Turn off the pot, serve and enjoy!
4. Frozen brown rice and broccoli – (15 minutes) Broccoli, broccoli. Some
🥦love them and some hate them, but they’re so good for you and so easy to cook too! We use a steam basket to steam our broccoli no more than 10 minutes. A good indicator is when they begin to lose their bright green appearance, this way we save as many nutrients as possible but don’t feel like we’re chewing on a tree still alive. Our kids eat broccoli quite often as a garnish to their organic chicken or fish fingers, but rice and broccoli are a winner in this household. 😁
1 box of “Trader Joe’s Organic Frozen Brown Brown Rice (use the 3 bags inside the box);
2 pounds of frozen organic broccoli florets;
Salt
,
salt for all seasons (or marinade),
freshly ground pepper mixture,
organic extra virgin olive oil as desired
.
Top with Parmesan cheese.
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src=”https://homeschoolingalong.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Rice-and-broccoli-1-300×225.jpg” alt=”” />
In a large pot with lid, pour 1 – 1-1/2 inch of water into the bottom. Inside, place the steam basket and fill it with frozen organic broccoli florets to the top and place it on the lid making sure it is tight and tight. Turn on the medium-high stove (about 8 for us) and let the broccoli steam without disturbing the lid or steam escape and make the process longer. Broccoli takes around 10 minutes to become tender but not mushy and a good indicator is when they begin to lose their bright green color. If you prefer a smoother consistency, you can adjust your time.
While the broccoli is vaporizing, place 2-3 tablespoons of water in Copper Chef’s 12″ electric pull-out skillet (read here why I choose to use this pan). Add the 3 bags of frozen brown rice from Trader Joe and generously sprinkle the top with seasoning salt. Cover, turn on the temperature knob to 250F and let it cook COVER for 12 minutes. Uncover the rice, add 1 tablespoon of water to allow the rice to easily detach from the bottom of the pan and stir with a wooden spatula. Top cooked rice with steamed broccoli and season with salt, fresh ground pepper mixture and more of the all-season salt. Add a generous swirl of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and give it a good blend. Cover and let sizzle now in 350F for only 2-3 minutes. Your food is ready!
Once on the plate, top with grated Parmesan cheese.
5. Fast oven frittata.
How fast, easy and nutritious eggs are! We love our eggs. Whenever we can, we buy them fresh from our neighbor (what a difference in taste from store-bought ones), but during the hot South Florida summer those hens don’t like to cooperate and we have to get our organic eggs at the store. This Frittata is an easy and quick recipe to make, but keep in mind that it requires about 40 minutes to cook, with a preparation time that would be one hour from start to finish. Warning: it’s delicious! 🤤
12 large organic eggs
1 cup organic
milk
3 cups frozen Organic wedge-cut fries
* 1
cup grated Parmesan cheese**
4-6 slices Organic bacon cut into small pieces
2
tablespoons organic olive oil
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/2
teaspoon smoked paprika and 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper purley
McCormick Italian seasoning
grinder Ovenproof skillet
. Step 1: Over medium heat, cook the bacon in a large skillet until
crispy, when ready cut into pieces of about 1/2 inch. Step 2: Over
medium heat using an oven-proof skillet, heat the olive oil and sauté the sliced green onion until golden brown, do not burn and then set aside.
Step 3: In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and then mix the Parmesan cheese, frozen potatoes, salt, paprika, pepper and a good and generous grind of the Italian pepper mixture. Pour this mixture into your large oven-proof skillet and sprinkle the pieces of bacon on top.
Cooking instructions: Bake for 40 minutes @ 350F or until all eggs are curdled and firm with a nice golden color on top. (Sometimes I need an extra 5min). Let stand for 5 minutes and then cut into slices. Buon Appetito!
* I prefer to use frozen diced potatoes but I haven’t been able to find them organic. If you can find organic diced potatoes, do it!
** Parmesan can be substituted with any grated cheese of your liking.
6. Pasta or Ravioli with Homemade Sauce. (YES, this can be FAST!)
Somewhere, someone made everyone in the United States believe that making a good homemade tomato sauce should take countless hours of cooking on a low-temperature stove. Sure there are some sauces out there that require a long cooking time (Ragu’ sauce for example), but I’m certainly not telling you to make a ragu’ sauce in the middle of your homeschooling day👩 🍳. As an Italian almost fresh off ship, I can tell you that a quick and simple tasty sauce can be made in less than 30 minutes. Yes, this is absolutely true, give it a spin!
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil;
1/4 yellow onion or a few cloves of garlic;
Italian grinding seasoning McCormick;
2 bottles of tomatoes simply crushed or a can and a half (too much sauce will take longer to cook);
salt;
Fresh basil leaves and Parmesan cheese.
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>
Cover the bottom of a
pan (not a pot) with enough oil to sauté some finely chopped onion OR garlic pressed with the back of your fork enough to break each nail. Continue sautéing over medium heat until golden brown (don’t burn it) and grind some Italian McCormick seasoning over it. Add the crushed tomatoes and salt to taste (do not salt too much and do not salt too little. Taste, taste, taste!)
Bring the tomato sauce to a good happy boil (I usually have mine cook at Med around setting 6-7. Stir to check that the bottom does not stick, if it is a lower level but not too much to lose its “happy boiling”). 😊 *TIP: Always remove the saucepan from the hot stove before removing the lid to stir! The hot sauce will splash everywhere if you remove the lid while boiling and burn the skin. While the sauce is boiling its “happy boil,” cook your favorite whole wheat pasta or ravioli. When the pasta is ready, turn off the stove for the sauce (remember to move it away from the hot stove before removing the lid), add the fresh basil leaves and mix with your favorite pasta with a good pinch of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Congratulations, you now have a healthy home-cooked meal in about 30 minutes. Now “That’s Amore”! 💘😍
7. Pasta and Pesto. (Another wonder of Vitamix)
I’m blessed to have a mom who makes the most delicious pesto I’ve ever had. For those who don’t know what pesto is, it’s made from basil leaves with oil, butter, Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts. You can probably find many variations, but I like it nice and simple. It requires no cooking time, everything is done in a blender (Vitamix Blender made my best pesto yet) and then stored in the fridge ready to be thrown over the cooked pasta. You can find ready-made pesto in stores in their fridge section, usually next to Alfredo sauce containers. Some pests are better than others, but none will be as good as my mother’s. Truly, pesto is a great nutritional sauce made from a dark leafy green rich in iron and with a base of a healthy fat from olive oil along with pine nuts. 😜
If you haven’t tried it yet, I’d grab a jar and one day, when school comes straight to lunchtime, I’d just cook your pasta and throw it away, it’s as simple as that. But don’t forget to cover it with lots of Parmesan cheese!
8. Rice and parboiled beans.
Yes,
rice beans can be quick as long as you buy canned beans. Well, I don’t buy cans because even if the lining of the cans now claims to be BPA-free, something tells me it’s only a matter of time until they go out and say that’s toxic too, so I buy them in a box and call it one day. To make this a quick and easy meal, your bell peppers, cilantro, and cilantro should already be chopped in the freezer ready to hit the pan when needed. You can easily find in the store a mixture of frozen chopped peppers for around $3.00. I buy fresh Coriander and Cilantro packaged in clear plastic boxes at Target, Walmart or Publix.
5 boxes of organic black beans;
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil;
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped;
1/3 cup chopped frozen green/red/yellow peppers;
1 coriander leaf, a few finely chopped cilantro;
8 oz jar of tomato paste or Spanish-style sauce;
1 pkg of Sazón and a pinch of Adobo.
2 cups boiled rice cooked with 4 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt.
In a large skillet sauté your chopped garlic, when it reaches a golden color add your peppers, coriander and cilantro and let sauté at medium low temperature. Add Sazon and let cook for a couple more minutes. Add the tomato paste or sauce and let cook for 5 minutes or a little longer. Now that your base is nice and sautéed, add the beans and sprinkle over some Adobo powder. Stir everything together and let cook uncovered over medicinal heat stirring often to prevent the bottom from sticking to the pan. While the beans are cooking, place the water, rice and salt in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as the rice boils, simmer and set a timer for 20 minutes. When the timer is over, turn off both stoves and your lunch will be ready!!! Buon Appetito! 🍽
9. Sandwich of fresh mozzarella and tomato. (also known as Caprese sandwich here in the United States)
This is my oldest son’s favorite thing to eat and interesting enough that it used to be mine while I was pregnant with him. The most laborious thing about preparing this meal is to cut the tomatoes and season them, without the need to cook them. I’m not a fan of greenhouse-grown tomatoes, I find them tasteless. Now let’s sharpen those knives and get started.
Fresh and firm organic tomatoes (Rome or sliced as long as they are firm, not overripe 🤢 soft);
Salt, fresh ground pepper mix, freshly ground McCormick’s Italian seasoning, oregano;
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil;
Fresh basil leaves;
Fresh mozzarella
(either a ball of mozzarella or a log, as long as it is fresh);
Fresh whole wheat baguette.
Open the baguette in half and drizzle some olive oil, salt and grind some Italian seasoning over it. Cut the thin tomatoes but not the thin paper and place them on the baguette. Season the tomatoes with more salt, freshly ground pepper and Italian seasoning and don’t forget the oregano! Drizzle olive oil on it and place some fresh basil leaves (do not cut them with a knife, break the leaves with your hands🖐). Place the fresh mozzarella slices on top and then another layer of seasoned tomatoes. Close the baguette and cut it into the desired pieces of “panino” and now, yes, it’s coming… Buon Appetito! 😊
10. Nachos loaded!
I
only discovered last summer that I can make nachos and better than soaked restaurant ones and my family couldn’t be more delighted. It’s about discovering that on a day without much time to cook they are a great fast, easy, delicious and not unhealthy meal.
Fine, crispy organic tortilla chips;
Organic grated cheese (we use a mixture of soft cheddar cheese and Monterey cat);
Organic black beans (drained);
sliced jalapeño peppers (optional);
Line a dark cookie tray with tortilla chips and top with grated cheese. Spread the beans without overloading any points. Add as many jalapeño peppers as you like. Preheat oven to 350F and cook nachos for 10-15 minutes.
*** If ground beef is desired as a dressing, it only takes 20-30 minutes to cook. Sauté the ground beef with a few pressed garlic cloves, add the seasoning of your liking (I use the organic seasoning mixture I made). Add a few drops of taco sauce while everything is sautéing and then for every pound of ground beef use no more than 8 oz of Spanish sauce. Let everything simmer for 20 minutes over medium heat covered with a lid. There are a lot of Spanish seasonings out there that I could add, however, I try to stay away from soy and food dyes as much as I can, and many do, so I give up using any and everything is still very tasty.
Toppings:
Fresh sauce, Guacamole, Sour cream, Ground beef
.
I do not place the ingredients in the nachos to prevent them from being soaked. We all add our own ingredients while eating. Enjoy and Good Appetito!
Now let’s go back to homeschooling everyone! Matthew 🤓
6:26
“Behold the birds of the air; they do not sow, harvest, or store themselves in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you much more valuable than them?”
I hope you enjoy all or one of these meals,
Juno. 🌊⛵
