We’re all about to spend a looooot of time at home. Trying to do our best to feed our families, educate our kids while school is out, and stay sane in the process.
Here is a list of easy recipes using pantry staples and educational/movement/art resources to help you get through this!
This list is by no means extensive and I plan on adding to it frequently. Please share your favorites (in any category) with me in a message on social media or an email: emily@myeverydaytable.com
Ground Meat Easy Dinners
- Ground Beef and Broccoli Bowls – A meal in a bowl and full of flavor.
- Ground Pork Stir Fry – Skip the fresh veggies if you need to. Can also use garlic and ginger powder if necessary.
- Thai Lettuce Wraps – Recipe calls for ground pork, but can easily use ground beef, turkey, or chicken.
- Turkey Patty Melt – No need for hamburger buns, grab toast and an onion!
Turkey & Chicken Easy Dinners
- Easy Chicken Taco Soup – Skip the fresh toppings if necessary!
- Turkey Sliders – Use your deli turkey meat in these dinners satisfying enough for dinner.
- Greek Chicken Rice Bowls – Designed for meal prep, but make an easy dinner too!
- Slow Cooker Pork Loin Gyros – Let the slow cooker do the work while you home school!
- One Pan Sausage and Veggies – One pan means less work and less clean up!
- Easy Chicken Parm Pasta – Comfort food is what we need right now. 🙂
Vegetarian Easy Dinners
- Breakfast Tacos – Got tortillas, eggs, and a can of black beans? Done!
- Healthy Quinoa Cakes – Time to use up that bag of quinoa hiding out in your pantry.
- Black Bean Cowboy Caviar – Scoop it up with tortilla chips, bell pepper chunks, or over rice.
Teaching Kids How to Cook
There is no better time to get your kids in the kitchen! In my newer recipes, I’m trying to add in ideas to each post but start simply if this is new to you!
Kids can stir together ingredients, help prep toppings (ie taco toppings) on a plate, peel and slice veggies with kid’s knife, make their own plates. Anything goes!
- No Bake Energy Bites – Everyone’s excited about snack time.
- Ranch Chex Mix with Dill – Have them measure ingredients, toss everything together, and stir mix.
- Peanut Butter Apple Stacks – A nutritious breakfast tor snack. Have your kids top their own apple slices.
- Baked Apple Oatmeal Bars – A baking project that’s packed with nutrition! They can measure ingredients, stir together, and put into the pan.
Movement Resources
- Blooma Yoga – My neighborhood studio is offering classes online, and I’m definitely looking forward to their family and kid classes.
- Cosmic Yoga for Kids – I haven’t tried this yet, but have heard a TON of great things about this free resource for kids.
- Cli Studios – Free dance classes, recommended by our dance studio. Maybe I’ll learn a little ballet?
Educational Resources for Kids
- Online Courses from Scholastic – Daily books, stories, videos, and activities for PreK-6+.
- Science Mom – It’s a perfect time to go over some science lessons. Perhaps starting with germs and coronavirus?
- Veggie Buds Club – Activities, books, and games to get your kids excited about veggies! So happy that I have some of these already stocked.
- City Kids – Our BELOVED preschool from Los Angeles is putting up lessons on you tube. For sure tuning into see some of our old teachers!
- Learning from Home Handbook from Arbor Montessori – Montessori-aligned schedules and activities for toddlers and primary aged children.
- Middleton Public Library Facebook Live Storytime – Wednesday mornings at 9:30am CST.
Educational Resources for Adults
- 450 Ivy League Courses – These are free and available online! Take advantage.
- The Great Courses – Free month with code ‘FREEMO’ to watch free for a month. They offer everything from art to history to cooking!
- Insight Timer – Tons of free guided meditations. It may not be a perfect meditation practice, but I snuggle between my kids and urge them to be as quiet as possible. 🙂
Ideas for Art + Fun for Kids
- Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems – The author and illustrator is sharing lunch doodles weekdays at 1pm EST.
- Pre-K Daily Schedule – I love this outline from the Lean Green Bean that puts the kids in charge of what they want to learn about each day. Great way to get them involved.
- Quarantine Art Party – My friend Alias started this (she’s an artist and designer) and she’ll be posting one word every day. Make a doodle, drawing, or piece of art! (I plan on doing this with my kids, because FUN!)
- 30 Days of LEGO Play – A prompt for lego building.
- McHarper Manor – Guided art projects.
- My Bored Toddler – Daily themed activity challenges.
- The Artful Parent – Huge lists of art projects featuring drawing, print, sculpture, and more!
Ideas for Art + Fun for Families
- Minnesota Institute of Art – Explore the collection from home!
- Nightly Met Opera Streams – Operas are available until the following day at 3:30 EST.
- Seattle Symphony Livestreams – Trying to add in as much music, art, and books as we can.
Anna
Soooo helpful now, thanks Emily!