Find Healthy Fast Food at Home

I needed to find healthy fast food at home and avoid the drive-thru window. Even thought fast food seems cheap, I knew that ultimately it was a poor choice.

When I was seven months pregnant with my second child, my husband’s employer merged with another company and he was laid off from his job.

I cried.

Things must have been tougher than I remember for my husband to make that kind of commitment to my cooking.

During that time we were extremely careful with our finances. I did not know what we were going to eat when I was rushed for time, but I knew we could not afford to get take out from my favorite local restaurant or even justify the expense of fast food.

One choice was to plan ahead and have something ready at home. I could cook something on weekends, divide it into smaller portions, and freeze it for when I needed something fast. But as nice as this sounded, I knew that I wouldn’t always be able to execute this plan.

Healthy Fast Meals At Home

My oldest daughter learned the term “funky” and occasionally applies it to my cooking. I persisted in my efforts because I knew if I kept these staples at home, I could put something together quicker than I could say, “May I take your order?”

Meal Ideas

1. Waffle sandwiches.
These are deli meat and cheese sandwiches on wheat bread, cooked in the waffle iron with no butter. They come out hot and crispy with a crisscross pattern on the bread.

Serve the sandwiches with sugar snap peas and apples for a plate containing a variety of colors and textures. It takes about 10 minutes to get the whole meal on the table.

2. Mediterranean Feast.
A favorite quick lunch on warm summer days. Serve plain yogurt with fruit, fresh vegetables with hummus dip, kalamata olives, and whole grain bread.

My kids call their yogurt “yogurt surprise” because I put whatever frozen fruit I have on hand into their yogurt bowls. They dig through their bowls mining for the yogurt covered secret treasure. My children think yogurt surprise is a special summertime treat.

I laugh to myself and think that sometimes it is all in the marketing.

3. Breakfast for Dinner.
The most requested healthy fast food from my kitchen. When my husband is away on business, my children delight in an evening meal of scrambled eggs, baby tomatoes, turkey bacon, wheat toast, and fruit. They think they are being really sneaky by eating morning food in the evening.

4. Asian-themed Dinner.
For a quick dinner, try an Asian themed dinner with teriyaki chicken (pre-cooked frozen chicken breasts that I can heat in the microwave), edamame beans, cucumber slices, and cold sesame noodles (spaghetti with peanut butter and a bit of sesame oil).

To get started on cooking at home and for menu ideas that are fast and easy, see the shopping list and sample two week menu. ,

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