Eat Real Dinners Week

on January 9, 2012

Look! Vegetables. On my dinner plate.

Welcome to Eat Real Dinners Week. Iâ€™ve fallen into a pregnancy-induced dinnertime laziness (or it may just be generalized laziness), during which I make a peanut butter sandwich and eat ice cream straight from the carton and call it a meal.

But tonightâ€¦ I ate vegetables. Yes, it took more than two minutes to prepare. And yes, it tasted like vegetablesâ€¦ not like sugary awesomeness. But it was still good.

In the yummy mix:

Spinach

Celery

Carrots

Cucumbers

White kidney beans

Pears

Homemade balsamic reduction (so good with the pears)

And hey, I still managed to squeeze in that peanut butter in some way.

Weâ€™re out of bread but rice cakes provided a fun crunch.

Maggie and James say goodnight. Woof.

Whatâ€™s your go-to lazy dinner?

{ 57 comments }

Amy January 9, 2012, 9:18 pm
My go-to lazy dinner is definitely breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs on a biscuit or English muffin, side of steamed veggies, done. Bacon optional. 🙂

That said, it did take me a long time to re-incorporate veggies back into my diet after my first trimester ended. Salads did not appeal for a LONG time! Good for you on getting some green in tonight. 🙂
kathleen @ the daily crumb January 9, 2012, 9:19 pm
my go to lazy dinner is tomato soup and grilled cheese, but i also like to stir fry whatever veggies i have in the fridge, toss in some sort of protein and call it a day.
Valerie January 9, 2012, 9:22 pm
I’ve been going through the same laziness lately! I’ve been switching between PB&J and sweet potato fries dipped in BBQ sauce. An occasional can of soup too!
Lauren January 9, 2012, 9:23 pm
I love making eggs on lazy nights. They are so simple and take literally no time to put together.
Jolene January 9, 2012, 9:26 pm
Tonight I made sweet potato fries and called it dinner… YUM~
kim @ vegan mama-to-be January 9, 2012, 9:26 pm
I’ve been eating pb&j’s for lunch almost daily for the past 5 months of pregnancy. There’s no shame in it!

My go to lazy-dinner is spaghetti & Nate’s frozen vegan meatballs.
Amber @ Bold, Busy, Blessed January 9, 2012, 9:29 pm
I’m with Amy, nothing like some scrambled eggs for a quick lazy dinner. I’m not gonna lie, we’re also a big fan of a good frozen pizza once in a while.
Maren January 9, 2012, 9:30 pm
cereal! but if I want something with a little nutrition, I’ll do spaghetti.
Kat @ Balance & Spice January 9, 2012, 9:38 pm
My go-to lazy dinner is usually soup that I’ve made and defrosted. Tonight’s dinner was zucchini “pasta” with brussels sprouts, onions, broccoli, and tomato sauce. Basically a big bowl o’veggies. That said, I was so full afterwards that I thought I had had a bowl of the real stuff.
Rachel January 9, 2012, 9:38 pm
My favorite lazy dinner is TJ’s frozen brown rice and broc covered in sriracha with a side of garlic bread.
Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries January 9, 2012, 9:39 pm
yum – looks like a delicious little salad you have going on there! i love the combo of pears with balsamic too. my go-to lazy dinner is usually a microwaved sweet potato with various toppings or peanut butter & banana sandwich! i’m all about the peanut butta!
Chelsea January 9, 2012, 9:42 pm
pb&j is my go to lazy dinner for surrre lol
Jamie @ Don't Forget the Cinnamon January 9, 2012, 9:43 pm
Mmm….fruit amps up salad so much! Balsamic reduction and pears sound like such a great combo!

My go to quick dinner is toast with hummus or Greek yogurt with an apple and microwaved frozen cauliflower on the side!
Lindsey January 9, 2012, 9:44 pm
Soup and sandwiches 🙂
Julia January 9, 2012, 9:45 pm
Good luck eating real dinners and enjoy! My fiancÃ© and have challenged ourselves to eat in, that’s almost the same thing, right?
Katie @ Peace Love and Oats January 9, 2012, 10:02 pm
Microwaved sweet potato and Greek yogurt….
Erin January 9, 2012, 10:08 pm
Once I got prego veggies was the last thing I craved….they always tasted like dirt to me. Ice cream fueled me for alot of my pregnancys when nothing else tasted or sounded good
Army Amy* January 9, 2012, 10:13 pm
My go to lazy dinner is quinoa and frozen veg. It takes 10 minutes to make, it’s healthy, and it’s yummy!*
Laura January 9, 2012, 10:15 pm
Lazy dinner is making a quick cheese pizza on a gluten free crust. I’m trying to eat more veggies too – My goal this week is to have salad for at least one meal per day. It’s all the prep work that kills me. If I could afford to eat at a salad bar everyday I would.
Sarah January 9, 2012, 10:20 pm
Lazy dinner in our house = wraps made with Morningstar chick’n patties or veggie burgers, salads, or baked potatoes/baked beans.
Carissa Bealert January 9, 2012, 10:25 pm
Looks a lot like our dinner tonight. I’m still fighting Christmas sugar cravings. We had chicken, spinach, pear, celery, cucumber, craisin salad…and gingerbread pita chips! 🙂
Lindsay @ Salt, Sun & Sanity January 9, 2012, 10:29 pm
I had the laziest dinner tonight, but to my defense, it was delicious and I’m way overdue for a Trader Joe’s run!
http://saltsunandsanity.blogspot.com/2012/01/crouton-quest.html
I actually tore up string cheese and put it on a couple of tomato sauce covered sandwich thins and called it pizza. And it was unbelievably delicious.
Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife January 9, 2012, 10:36 pm
mmmm veggies!! SOunds good to me.

Go-to dinner :pizza, enchiladas, or salads, OR sandwiches. Or soup. Okay, I guess I get lazy a lot 😉
Deva @ Deva by Definition January 9, 2012, 10:45 pm
Go to quick dinner: quesadillas with a side of chips and LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF SALSA.

I like salsa.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen January 9, 2012, 10:57 pm
Annie’s mac n cheese with either broccoli or kale is our go to lazy night dinner. It happens at least once a week 🙂
Lexi @ Cura Personalis Foodie January 10, 2012, 12:12 am
Something about “real food” for dinner rather than a bowl of cereal makes me feel so much more energized the next morning!
Laura @ She Eats Well January 10, 2012, 12:29 am
It’s okay! Sometimes, lazy dinners are just part of life. My lazy dinner is usually a piece of toasted gluten free bread, with a fried egg on top…maybe a sliver of avocado. I admire your veggie-filled plate.
Khushboo January 10, 2012, 12:32 am
This sounds like a weird combo but I absolutely love baked beans on rice cakes…perfect for nights you can’t be bothered to cook!
Ashley @ Ashley's Adventures in Alaska January 10, 2012, 1:21 am
My go to lazy dinner is r
- Ashley @ Ashley's Adventures in Alaska January 10, 2012, 1:21 am
  Whoops- rice and beans. We always have cans of black beans and frozen brown rice. I love it!
Sue @ Sue In Training January 10, 2012, 3:19 am
I always freeze some leftovers, like marinara, soups or stews, so whenever I feel lazy I’ll just defrost one of those, cook some pasta or rice, and call it dinner.
My other quick go-to dinner is fried rice (recipe on my blog!), as we often have cooked rice in the fridge or freezer. I chop up every vegetable I can find in my house, fry it all up in a large pan, add cooked rice and one or two eggs, season to taste, done!
KaraHadley January 10, 2012, 3:55 am
I absolutely love balsamic reduction, but I think I do something wrong when I make it. Does you pot always end up getting super thickly coated, and thus you only get a little bit, or am I cooking it too high or long?
- Caitlin January 10, 2012, 9:59 am
  Yeah – you are overcooking it. You don’t want it to seem gel-like when its in the pan because its hot and will firm up anyway when it cools.
Courtney @ Translating Nutrition January 10, 2012, 4:32 am
Your dogs look so cute in their bed! Makes me want to crawl in there and snuggle with them. I’m not sure how you do all the things you do with those cuties around 🙂
Laura January 10, 2012, 5:34 am
My fiance and I are huge fans of Trader Joe’s frozen meals for busy nights! Sometimes if I am the one coming home late, there will be dinner waiting for me! He also makes quesadillas for an easy dinner, and you can stick lots of veggies in those if you want! (Or not…haha!)
Emily January 10, 2012, 7:28 am
Yum! Veggies. Way to go with the real dinners. I actually made a dinner plan for the week for the first time since november. Not anything super complicated, but it was my attempt to get back into meals at home, post-holiday, rather than out all the time.
Brittnie (A Joy Renewed) January 10, 2012, 7:30 am
I know what you mean about pregnancy laziness and not wanting to take the time to prepare elaborate meals! I ate veggies last night in a homemade brown rice bowl. It was healthy, still fairly quick and delicious. Yay for us eating our veggies! Our babies are thanking us. 🙂 But I still think they enjoy the sugary goodness via ice cream straight from the carton. 🙂
Rebecca @ Naturally Healthy and Gorgeous January 10, 2012, 7:41 am
Definitely PB and J!
Katie January 10, 2012, 7:42 am
Love lazy dinners! Everyone should have a few go-to’s, right? My fav is heating pasta sauce and adding drained, rinsed white beans and 3-4 handfuls of baby spinach. Sometimes, I’ll even sautee garlic and onion before adding the sauce. Served over pasta.
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin January 10, 2012, 7:53 am
Mmm I love pears and balsamic together!

My favourite lazy dinner is tofu stir fry. It’s not exactly fast since I have to wait for the brown rice to cook and chop all the vegetables, but it’s easy!
Kelly January 10, 2012, 8:12 am
My favorite lazy dinner is breakfast…usually 2 over easy eggs on an ezekiel english muffin with strawberry jelly. The sweetness of the jelly and the saltiness of the eggs is an amazing combination!
HRCK the Herald January 10, 2012, 8:53 am
That looks really delicious! My laziest of lazy dinners is microwaving a sweet potato and dousing it with salsa/whatever I want. It’s easier than peanut butter and jelly!
Mellissa January 10, 2012, 9:02 am
Popcorn. So easy and I love it so much. I probably have it for dinner more than I should!
Sara January 10, 2012, 9:16 am
Lazy dinner = eggs and toast or a frozen pizza (sad) and sometimes mac and cheese w/ vegetables and beans 🙁 I do this more often than I should and am trying to break the habit!
Jana @ Newly Wife Healthy Life January 10, 2012, 9:30 am
My go to lazy dinner is either a turkey sandwich, or leftovers from our freezer. I hate throwing out food so if we don’t eat what’s left in the first three days, I freeze what’s left and whip it out to thaw during the week. No food wasting and I know what ingredients are in it unlike most frozen meals, because I made it!
Allison January 10, 2012, 9:54 am
Go-to lazy dinner = salad, soup, and sandwich 🙂 Simply satisfying!
Ashley January 10, 2012, 11:39 am
Our go to lazy dinners are spagetti and marinara, PB&J, and canned soup. Always good in a pinch. 🙂
Brigid January 10, 2012, 12:53 pm
I started forcing myself to prepare actual (healthy) meals again last week, too. It’s so easy to fall into a routine of tiredness and takeout, but no more. Your salad looks tasty! We made a taco salad last night.
Dana @ the Big Fat Skinny January 10, 2012, 1:01 pm
What’s up with pregnancy that makes us want peanut butter? I too eat PB sandwiches relatively often — much more than I did pre-preg — and am slacking in making real meals. Pregnant me is lazy in the kitchen.
KlarZ January 10, 2012, 1:22 pm
I just ate a nice big wad of PB. I have wondered whether I should stay away from it since some people think that PB causes PB allergies, but at the same time, I don’t think that’s really been established. Do you have thoughts on that? I clearly have already established that I like peanut butter more than I’m worried about the risk of giving the kid an allergy.
- CaitlinHTP January 10, 2012, 1:26 pm
  I do try to avoid PB right now. I say I had a PB sandwich but it was really a sunflower butter sandwich… Hah. I just think of it as peanut butter. I have also read that research and while its loose, it kind of makes sense to me so I’m def not overdoing it on REAL pb 🙂
  - Bobbie January 10, 2012, 4:17 pm
    My 2nd daughter has a peanut allergy and I did eat a TON of peanut butter while pregnant with her. (I had never heard or read that I shouldn’t) But, I also ate a lot of PB with my 1st and she didn’t end up with an allergy. With my 3rd I purposely did not eat too much and no allergy for her either. So, who knows?
Amber K January 10, 2012, 2:05 pm
My lazy dinner (the one that’s a step up from just eating a protein bar) is steaming fresh veggies (6 minutes in the microwave), heating up pre-cooked brown rice, and make a bean salad to go on the side. Mixing together ingredients for the salad doesn’t even take 10 minutes.

So the whole meal is ready to go in less than 10. Of course, that does mean having ingredients ready to go. Which is why I am totally for getting the prep work done on the weekend.
Bobbie January 10, 2012, 4:13 pm
My go to quick and easy meal is eggs made in a mug…sometimes I even throw them on an english muffin with a peice of veggie sausage!! I’m trying to crack down too and have actually made real meals for like the last 4 nights. I also have my whole family depending on me too so I figure I’m obligated ;)to do at least 5 nights of “real” dinners.
Sarah January 10, 2012, 4:35 pm
mmmm pears was a perfect touch.. I also suffer from dinnertime laziness but I cant blame mine on being pregnant.. just lazy 🙂
Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) January 10, 2012, 8:15 pm
Homemade soup is always an easy dinner that allows me to get a lot of veggies in.
Madelyn Noto January 28, 2012, 10:38 pm
This is one awesome blog. Keep writing.

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