FIVE Dinner Idea’s You May Have Never Thought Of!

What’s for dinner?

The question starts over the breakfast table.

There’s pressure. There’s organising to do. There’s school. Work. After school activities. Library books and clarinets to remember.

I don’t know when I’m going to get my breakfast, let alone work out what’s for dinner!!!

Like everyone, I have a rotating menu of the same old same old. So to help you out, here are 5 easy, quick, and possible-to-prep-in-advance dinner ideas that you may not have thought of before!

#1 – Sushi

I won’t lie – i hate rolling sushi. It’s sticky and time consuming, but they’re fabulous for dinner on the run. I can make them in advance, pack them in a container, and stuff the kids in between flute lessons and swimming and homework. I also play with the “rice”. Sometimes it’s sushi rice, sometimes it’s brown, or basmati, black, or wild rice. Other times i have used sweet potato, grated carrot, and grated & blanched cauliflower; when using veggies, be sure to press the excess moisture out by bundling up in a tea towel then twisting the towel until there’s no more water – a lesson i learned the hard way when the kids refused to eat the soggy, mangled mess!!

#2 – Not pasta, pasta

Pictured here are black soybean noodles. They’re 100% soybean, which is fantastic for a gentle oestrogen replacement (hello peri menopausal women!), higher protein than traditional pasta, and much higher fibre! You can also get noodles made from kelp and sweet potato, which are suited to different kinds of pasta dishes, but all of them are delicious and nutritious in different ways. This one is a can of tuna, a can of coconut cream, onion, and broccoli!

3# – The Fridge Salad

This is a go-to when the Kale is on the way out! If I don’t have enough fresh veggies I’ll roast the pantry veggies, and if there aren’t enough of them I’ll throw in frozen peas, canned beans, handfuls of nuts, seeds, and/or fruit (fresh or dried) and cheese). For the kids I used to separate it out and they ate it in little, colourful bundles. Nowadays they’ll eat it tossed together just like I do, drowned in vinegar and olive oil (which, incidentally is fabulous for those mid-life-woman hormones too!)

#4 – Rice paper rolls

Perhaps only marginally easier than sushi, they’re fantastic for all the same reasons. Sometimes I’ll use the not-rice-or-wheat noodles (above) as well to flesh them out, and I love experimenting with fresh herbs from the garden and some narrow slices of ginger for the adults.

#5 – Wraps

Yes, we all eat wraps for lunch. Perhaps you’re a breakfast burrito person too. However wraps for dinner is also a staple in our house on busy days! It’s one of my family’s favorite’s because they can DIY. We do burrito’s, egg and spinach, falafel, or choose your own adventure wraps! More often than not I’ve bought Gluten Free too – especially if they’ve had sandwiches or cereal that day – just to get more variety.

So that’s it! Five dinner ideas you may not have thought of! I hope that mid-way through Term 1 is treating you well and hasn’t come as too much of a shock to your nervous systems after the holidays!!!

If you’ve got an easy and unusual dinner idea – comment below so we can also copy you!!