Halloween Healthy Quick Dinner Ideas

There’s a good argument to be made for meal prepping year round! Salads are great in the summer, soups are fantastic in the winter. Slow cooker, grill, pressure cooker and air fryer are all tools to make life easier in the kitchen. I am a huge proponent of meal prep. But, I’m also human. The best intentions don’t always pan out, and I’m a perfect example.

Sometimes, I’m too tired to even heat things up, a kiddo gets sick, or what is planned doesn’t sound remotely good. There’s not only the day to day issues that pop up, but holiday’s and events. I believe the whole point of meal planning and prep is to free up your time, and I also realize some nights, well, some nights are all about grab and go from some nearby restaurant.

Halloween

Halloween is one of those nights that needs to be planned ahead, no doubt. The teeny tiny window of opportunity to get a meal on the table, clean up, get costumes on, well, with four kids, I’ve mastered a few things for Halloween and it all comes down to simplicity and healthy. Here’s the thing, nothing tastes better than just given candy than on Halloween night. I allow them candy that night. Heck, I plan my day to have some too!

Eating Healthy

Even if I haven’t meal prepped for the week, one of the best things I can do is serve a healthy meal on Halloween. I’m allowing more sweets than normal, so I need to get them to eat a relatively healthy meal.   I make sure that my Halloween dinner hits a few key points:

• Quick
• Lots of vegetables
• Healthy

Walking through the neighborhood will helps burn off that sugar, but what in the world can you serve for dinner, especially with such a small window of opportunity?

Quick Dinner Ideas at Home

Roast

This is where a slow cooker can come in handy! Throw in a roast (beef or pork) with some onions, potatoes, and carrots in the morning. Grab a salad pack from the store on the way home and you have a well-rounded meal ready to serve up and clean up is a breeze.

Sandwiches

To save the most time, stop at a local sandwich shop. We’ve done this several years. If we have lunch meat at home, we can lay out a quick assembly line to make quick work of dinner. Serve up some fresh cut cucumber and tomatoes for a quick, healthy dinner.

Breakfast for Dinner

Scramble up a big batch of eggs with some toast and fresh fruit on the side. Easy, fun, and quick clean up. It checks all the boxes.

Spaghetti

Whole grain pasta with some sauce, roast up broccoli while the spaghetti cooks, and dinner is on the table in under 30 minutes.

When dinner at home isn’t practical, there are many healthy options you can stop and grab. These options are great, not just on Halloween, but on nights where dinner isn’t going to be made at home. I get it, life happens!

Quick Meals to Grab

Yes, if you’re in a pinch, there are options that can still be healthy although almost all of them are going to be sodium bombs. But, in the scheme of things, there are some choices that are significantly better than others!

Costco Rotisserie Chicken

Sandwich shop (already mentioned but worth throwing it out there again)

•                 Don’t get mayonnaise or cheese to keep fat lower
•                 Turkey, ham, or roast beef are healthier choices. Pile on the veggies!!!
•                 Grab a salad instead, just watch the dressing choice

Panera

•             Turkey Chili
•             Black Bean Soup
•             Ancient Grain and Arugula Salad with Chicken
•             Veggie Sandwhich

Panda Express

•             Order veggies instead of rice for your side
•             String bean chicken or broccoli chicken (nothing fried – looking at you my favorite orange chicken)
•             Broccoli Beef
•             Tangy Shrimp

Chipotle

• Salads or Burrito Bowls (leave off cheese and sour cream)

Fast Food Options

•             In-N-Out burger with ketchup and mustard
•             Chick-Fil-A Grilled Chicken nuggets  or Grilled Chicken Wrap
•             Wendy’s Grilled Chicken Sandwich
•             McDonalds Grilled Chicken Sandwich
•             Carl’s Jr. Turkey burger (no mayonnaise)

Halloween is a fun night and finding balance can ease many arguments between kids and parents. I might not always cook, but I do try to serve up something healthy so that I feel better about saying yes to candy later in the evening!

BLOG HOP TIME

I am lucky enough to be a part of a wonderful group of bloggers and a few times a year we coordinate a blog hop, all of us writing on the same theme! Please check out these fantastic blog posts!

Lorrie writes over at Stony Ridge Farm, a blog focused on Growing, harvesting, preserving and preparing food in her seasonal living lifestyle. I have picked up SO MANY great nuggets of information from her blog! Today, she talks about what fresh foods are available in October, and how to make the perennial fall item that has a cult following – pumpkin spice! Check out her awesome blog post here!

Tiffany really does live the lake life at Lake Life State of Mind! Today she talks all about dessert and making the most adorable spider web cookie cakes. Tiffany has wonderful recipes to make your party hosting duties easier.

Sharlene is a wealth of information on so many topics over at Good Parenting Brighter Children! In her post, today, she talks about how to make stove top potpourri with your kids. This is such a wonderful idea to spend some quality time with your kids.