6 Quick and Easy Meal Ideas
My kids eat this for breakfast at least 1-2xs per week. This is also one of the go to meals for when they are feeling under the weather or when they so see them all getting chapped lips (probably for when they don’t hydrate enough in school and times when they find themselves having too many “junk “ snacks or parties at school). All you have to do is boil water and add a cube of Miso Soup (Made in Japan) and so easy to carry on the plane or bring along for road trips. We even took miso soup to Disney World with us and wanted we wanted a “detox” meal or those late night unexpected hunger cravings (when the kids weren’t hungry at dinner time, but find themselves starving back in the hotel room). This has also been a go to way to get some veggies into their day and I also pack this for their lunch at least once per week. I cut and top with fresh scallions when I have it around. I also like to combine one packet of each soup to add more ingredients (I like the addition of mushrooms and veggies in my aosa seaweed soup-my kids don’t like eggplant, but my husband and I do).
Oma Korean Beef Bone Broth Seaweed Soup
This was is my newest find and dare I say, my favorite! I do think it may be an acquired taste for some. To me, this seaweed taste a little more like kelp. This soup is super tasty and almost milky- rich in flavor, but not fatty. I am sure glad to have found this! While Miso Soup was my only go to for soups, this one is not vegetarian—it has grass fed beef bone broth (and I believe tiny cut up bits of hot pot style beef) , meaning added nutrition and collagen. In Korean, this is Miyeok Guk Soup, a soup Korean women traditionally have for months postpartum as a way to recover and heal. Though I am not Korean, I’ve watched quite a significant numbers of Korean dramas (it’s my way to relax when I need a brain break/mind break) and I made this when my youngest was born over 10 years ago. Since then, I have made this soup from scratch numerous times and everyone in my family loves it. As soon as they tasted it this week, they said, “Yum! Mom, why does this soup taste so familiar?” My heart smiled and I was so happy to see they remember this soup from when they were younger— I make this less than I used to- I kind of forgot about it after making other types of soups over the years. All I can say is I am super excited and you can request a free sample from me with your order (to see if you like the flavor, before ordering the box). If you are used to Korean food and Chinese or Korean seaweed soup, you will absolutely love it!! It’s so good, it hard to believe there is no msg or preservatives! You can crack an egg in it, Kimchee, tofu, shrimp, frozen edamame or even your own hot pot sliced beef, clear glass noodles to it for a more filling meal. The possibilities are endless!
Korean BBQ Assorted Meat, Lettuce and Ssamjang Sauce
My kids love pork belly or sliced hot pot pork and beef with this Ssamjang sauce! When you go to Korean BBQ restaurants, you will notice this is the sauce they put on the side for you to eat with your lettuce wrapped meat. It’s a quick meal because sliced meat cooked pretty fast and all you are doing is adding a dab of this sauce when you wrap your meat. We have ours with lettuce and rice. We get the romaine hearts and they are easy to wash and prepare- you can cut it in half or keep it whole! The kids have so much fun making the lettuce wraps too. This fermented soybean sauce is an acquired taste and a tiny bit goes a long way- it is salty on its own- but the unami level is 100%! You can also use a spoon or two of this as a base for Korean vegetable and tofu soup.
Ting-a-Ling Jamaican Marinated Chicken or Shrimp
I’ve made jerk seasoning from scratch before from times, sans kids! I used to have time to buy fresh ingredients from scratch and blend /grind them with a mortar. I wish I could say it was better than any store bought Jaician seasoning I have since purchased, but nothing has come close to the Jamaican chicken over rice I would get from a NYC Jamaican restaurant— until this! This is THE JAMAICIAN MARINADE you tasted from those Jamaican restaurants- you can taste the peppers, garlic and spices- so aromatic and you don’t even have to marinate it for an hour to get the flavor into your chicken. Be warned though, this is super spicy! My kids can eat smells spice, but this is too spicy for them on their own- they love this with bbq sauce on the side to dip! I have yet to try this in an oxtail stew, but I would imagine that to be amazing! I will be trying it with shrimp next- a little goes a long way since shrimp cooks so quickly. Would be a tasty addition to add some to Cajun dirty rice too!
Who says you can’t have breakfast for dinner, lunch or snack? I have the say oatmeal is probably not my kids’ favorite thing, but they do eat it from time to time. My younger two kids like their with cubed apples and a dash of cinnamon, whereas my oldest only eats it with chocolate (we call it hot chocolate oatmeal and I using add half a packet to hot chocolate to it-inspired by my husbands Filipino culture- Champorado-chocolate rice porridge. Add on a Sogo Beefstick on the side and you have a pretty filling meal. You can also add matcha latter to your strawberry cup and top with fresh strawberries! Add a tablespoon of chia pudding and milk to make a chia milK overnight pudding .
Shawarma Chicken Over Rice
My family loves the Halal Chicken Over Rice with extra white sauce. As New Yorkers, we have tried many and plenty over the past 2 decades!
When I started my blog Hopscotchmom.com, I included a few shortcut variations of the recipe on my take of Chicken Over Rice. I’m thrilled to finally say, my years of testing so many versions of Shawarma Spice Blends have ended- all of the many versions I tried before had good spices, but I found I had to practically add the whole small jar with those. Now, I found my go to Shawarma Spice Blend with Jilla Verda! No more scavenging for the 5 plus difference spices around my pantry on a busy school or work night to have to make this- I can just use this and in just a few shakes the meat is seasoned perfectly- it would work just as deliciously on air fried cauliflower or chickpeas too- and i don’t have to use the whole jar to get flavor! In case you are cooking for little ones, please note that it is a little spicy, but not too spicy.
What are your go to quick meals? Is there anything you’d like Mamas Got Heart to look for and research to add to the shop?
