Weeknight Dinner Ideas for the After School Rush…

Our house is slowly winding up to the full-on school year routine. Even though we lament at having to go back it’s actually been a nice gradual start as our other activities are slower in picking up. It’s given us a bit more time to prepare.

One of the key things that has kept the peace in our home in the mornings is that I made sure I moved first thing in the morning by getting up a wee bit earlier and doing my yoga practice first thing. This really helped to set the whole day up to feel more energized and on track.

Want some inspiration for that to get you going? Check out:

• Back to School Morning Yoga – This is a 6 min routine – super quick but enough to get the blood flowing
• Easy Peasy Morning Yoga – A guided 7-week adventure to make this a habit every day.

Need a little extra help in this department? I love troubleshooting your daily routine to help you build sustainable energy – let’s get on the phone and chat. Book a Personal Wellness Consult and we’ll get you started.

This next week we have after-school activities starting up at our home so it’s time to put some weeknight dinner ideas together in a dinner plan.

The Earlier, Lighter Dinner

Ayurveda encourages us to eat dinner before 6 pm to properly digest the meal and get full value from the nutrients without disturbing our sleep.

With the girls dancing typically till late at night this is almost a blessing. Instead of doing the after-school snack then trying to fit dinner in between classes or late at night. We do dinner first – right after school. I know it seems weird at first to eat dinner at 4 pm but really when you think about it that’s when kids are ravenous so it makes sense to feed them your healthiest offering first and not snack and try to get them to eat the “good stuff” later.

What’s the plan? What can you have ready to feed the kids (and you) early….

Some of our favourites are:

• Sweet Potato Stews – Have this in the crockpot for when we get home early. Or pop in a thermos over a bed of rice for on the go.
• Enchiladas or Tacos – Portable and also accommodate easily the different body needs and tastes within the family.
• Big Salads with corn, black beans or meat protein. Have a few nachos and hummus to dip into on the side. Salads while perfect in the heat of summer though are not as grounding in the fall when we need something more substantial so don’t have these every day.

But here is my favourite dinner for the back to school routine. Sometimes its even lunch too…

My Favourite Rescue for Weeknight Dinner Ideas – The Glory Bowl

Yumm…The Glory Bowl (also known as the Buddha Bowl).

Here are the top 10 reasons why I love glory bowls;

1 – quick to make

2 – super-UBER healthy, combining raw or lightly cooked veggies with simple grains

3 – everyone gets to pick what goes in their bowl

4 – easy to accommodate all of the 6 tastes in Ayurveda (more on this later this month…)

5 – filling and satisfying, especially perfect for growing athletes

6 – calm and nourishing to pacify the VATA nature… especially in fall when this starts to crazy – are you started to feel more spaced out with the fall coolness and winds starting to pick up?

7 – portable and can fuel my girls at the studio before a long night of dance

8 – not time sensitive, if we have to eat at different times they are easy to leave out and ready

9 – also work great as lunches, life saver for the next day

10 – the sauce can be made in big batches and used as salad dressing or stir fry so its really quick the next time you make it.

and most of all it the YUM Factor – they taste fabulous!

I have encountered these both through the White Water Cookbooks, recipes from the ski hill near Nelson – my go to book for entertaining. And the The Oh She Glows Cookbook – which is my go to book for everyday meals.

Oh She Glows is Vegan and mostly gluten free so if your kids are heading this direction or if you are entertaining friends of that persuasion this is your lifesaver plus – you’ll end up enjoying everything in it yourself too. You can always add your meat on the side – that’s what my husband gets to do in our house…

Searching the web I found these treasures for you to try right away…

When you look at the recipes though don’t worry if you don’t have all the ingredients – this is the biggest benefit of the Glory Bowl – just add whatever is in the fridge.

Our favourite veggies to add;

Just slice them up into thin sticks or chunks and you don’t even have to cook them but roasting them the night before or in the oven earlier in the day is nice too.

• beets
• carrots
• zucchini
• pea pods
• sprouts
• kale
• spinach

Protein boosters to add:

• hemp seeds
• Chia seeds
• pumpkin seeds (also a good source of zinc to boost our immunity)
• left over meats: salmon, chicken, pork

The Famous White Water Glory Bowl

White Water Glory Bowl

Oh She Glows – can’t find the recipe from the cookbook on-line but this one is close…

Roasted Buddha Bowl

She calls this one a salad but its pretty similar to a bowl (just mixed up a bit more) and I love this orange miso dressing (It’s similar to the one in the cookbook)

Golden Beet Salad with Orange Miso Dressing

Enjoy and let me know in the comments below how you like them. If you find any more “Bowl” recipes that can add some variety to our supper routine share those too please!