For our household, 2025 feels a lot like 2024 as far as our routine and the overall business of life. We did get to recharge slightly over winter break which I am incredibly grateful for. But I am not going into a new year feeling any sort of newness. That’s not a terrible thing. I have a truly great life and am thankful for many things. The season of life I am in right now sort of naturally comes with feeling some chaos. Though, this could actually be said about any season of parenting now that I think about it.
My current chaos comes from working full time and having two kids with lots of extra curriculars. It’s funny because I am so grateful to be able to provide them with the ability to participate in these activities but at the same time, it can also feel like a lot. I know it is all self-inflicted. My friends with less jam-packed schedules are probably on to something. But for now, our schedules will remain busy.
In 2024, we did a lot of dinners in the car. My husband and I divide and conquer, and he coaches some of our daughter’s sports teams which often leaves me with our 14 year old son. I love getting the quality time with him, even though that sometimes means a silent car ride. Parents of teens, you know what I mean.
We used to eat dinner at 4:30 and then give the kids an evening snack in order to pull off the days that were particularly over-scheduled. We still will do that on days it works out.
But there are at least two nights a week where the only option is dinner in the car. The very easy option here is fast food and yes, I do end up doing that sometimes. I don’t feel guilty about it. The kids like it and while I know it’s not the best thing for them, I just don’t let myself add that guilt to my plate.
The good thing is that I don’t like spending the money on fast food so much more often than not, I will have something else planned.
If you are starting off 2025 with a similar calendar requiring car dinners, there is one thing that just may be a game changer for you.
A wide mouth thermos
This might sound funny or obvious, but it was something that helped me so much when it came to planning out my car dinners for my kids and myself and my husband. You want a large one and it has to be wide mouthed to make it easy to eat anything out of including soup. I have one for every member of our family because we each use them at least a couple nights a week and I also use mine at work some days.
It’s one thing to succeed in any sort of meal planning but to then have the conundrum of “how am I going to serve this hot or cold?” is what would often lead me to either fast food or another night of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Here are five ideas for nights you don’t have anything planned but want a hot meal and to avoid fast food. Simply heat up and stick in the thermos to stay warm for hours.
1. Egg Bites – I am obsessed with the Starbucks egg bites and my vegetarian daughter loves them too. But at almost $5, it can add up fast. I found these at Costco and Target. Heat it up, stick it on an English muffin and maybe a slice of cheese if you’d like and it’s a decent dinner with about 17 grams of protein.
2. Heat and serve soup – I keep a few of these in the fridge so I can heat up and put into the thermos. There are evenings I am sitting in my car waiting for a kid and I love getting to enjoy a soup dinner especially on cold nights. My son loves clam chowder, but you can find almost any kind of soup/chowder at places like Target and Costco.
3. Chicken Breast Burrito Bowl – I purchase these at Costco. You can heat and then transfer them into the thermos to stay nice and warm.
4. Ramen with an egg – so this isn’t the healthiest option but it’s better than fast food, I think. I use our Instahot in our sink to make this super quickly. I pour the water over the noodles then whisk in an egg (yes, whisk it in raw, it will cook in the hot water!). My son absolutely loves this meal in the car.
5. Soup dumplings – If you have a Trader Joes near you, I find their soup dumplings by far the best. They also have a vegetarian kind. I heat these dumplings and then before adding to the thermos, add some shredded cabbage. If I have time, I will head a little veggie or chicken broth. My husband and I will add a little chili oil to our portions. This is one of my favorite meals.
If you have ideas for busy nights requiring car meals, we’d love to hear!
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