Easy, Healthy, Family-Friendly Winter Meals
By Anna Keller
With the days still on the short side and the weather chilly, it can be easy to want to push the easy button every night for dinner and order takeout or heat up a freezer meal or can of soup. While that’s a helpful move from time to time, I know I start feeling pretty blah if I’m not paying attention to eating well (which, for me, includes tons of produce). To keep you and your family feeling energized and happy this winter, I’m sharing a few recipes our family loves in the hopes yours will, too!
Two quick notes:
- I’m mama to a nearly 3-year-old daughter, and thankfully she’s not a picky kid. (I think most of this is due to luck, although we’ve also tried to do a good job exposing her to different foods and flavors.) My daughter will eat all these dishes, but I know some children are harder to please than she is!
- I follow a plant-based diet, so all these are vegan recipes. That said, my husband and daughter are omnivorous and approve of these recipes as well. But I did want to give you a heads up that you won’t see any animal products in these recipes.
Okay, let’s dig into some recipes, shall we?
Hearty Vegetable White Bean Soup
This recipe is easy and, despite containing no butter, tastes creamy and buttery and SO delicious. Our whole family loves this recipe, and I like to double or even triple each batch so we have some to throw into the freezer. (Hello, easy button HEALTHY meals!) You can totally improvise a bit, too, based on what veggies you have on hand, but this combination of carrots, parsnips, and Brussels sprouts is hard to beat. Click HERE to see the full recipe.
Yes, another soup, although this is one I think of more as a wonderfully tasty addition to brown rice or quinoa. I like to combine it with lentils or chick peas and then serve it over a grain. It makes for a warm, filling, perfect-for-winter meal. Click HERE to see the full recipe.
I have such fun memories of having breakfast for dinner occasionally as a child, and it always felt juuuust a little bit rebellious in the best way. Now that I’m a mom, I’ll often whip up some pancakes for my daughter, Maggie, and me for dinner – especially if it’s just the two of us. She and I both love this recipe, and I like to top our pancakes with almond butter, bananas, walnuts, and a bit of syrup. (This is another great recipe to double or triple, and throw the extra pancakes in the freezer for an easy breakfast when you’re in a hurry one day. It’s also a go-to breakfast recipe for me when we have overnight guests.) Click HERE to see the full recipe.
You can add to this recipe, which I love, and you can also use store-bought ricotta to save time (either regular, if you aren’t vegan, or plant-based if you are!) Meat eaters can add chicken or ground beef to this, and I’ll often incorporate some vegan “meat” crumbles and/or mushrooms to make the sauce a bit heartier. Click HERE to see the full recipe.
Never heard of kabocha squash? (Me, either!) You can also substitute acorn squash, butternut squash – any other squash and it will work just fine. This is a great recipe because everyone in the family can choose their own toppings to customize their bowl, so everyone is happy! Click HERE to see the full recipe.
In addition to blogging for Triad Moms on Main, Anna Keller is a wife, mama, marketer, Pure Barre teacher, freelance writer, and Beautycounter consultant. Anna loves being part of the Triad community, and are so thankful to be able to raise their daughter, Maggie, here. Follow along with Anna on her personal blog — curiouser-and-curiouser.com
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