The Good Stuff 411

My Son had his first basketball game a few weeks ago and WOW, did that catch us off guard!!!  Let me tell you, having your whole family home (from work/school), fed, players dressed, and back out the door for a 6pm game is no easy task!  Needless to say as this is my first year of what will no doubt be many years of being a “soccer, basketball, dance, baseball…WHATEVER MOM” I was totally UNPREPARED.  So that first game night I had not thought about dinner and nothing I had was going to be ready in the time-frame we had remaining, which in turn left me feeding the kids cheeseburgers in the backseat of the car on the way to the game, not a real HIGH point for me. 

Now don’t get me wrong, McDonald’s has its place and time, but I like to feed my kids what I call “fun-food” on my terms, not because I HAVE too!  Obviously I wasn’t going to let that happen again and so I came up with a fast-food meal that would work on my terms and meet my standards.

So Game Night for basketball season is now “Chili Night” at our house!  The kids LOVE it because it involves chips and cheese!  My husband likes it because it is warm and filling (and a good excuse for a cold beer), and I LOVE it because it is pretty darn healthy and it takes me about 10 minutes to prepare.

Chili Night

• 2 cans Amy’s Vegetarian Chili (sold in 6 packs at Costco)
• Greek yogurt in place of sour cream
• Organic blue corn chips (yes, they are still chips, but they have fiber and protein…moderation!)
• Cheese.  I do feta for the adults and a lite mexican blend for the kids

Heat the chili.  Add a dollop of Greek yogurt, some sprinkles of cheese, a few chips and serve!

Chili is also a really easy “base” for adding too.  I have added ground turkey, left-over chicken, a can of corn, black beans, and other diced-up veggies.  Have fun with it, or just serve it out of the can!  However, I will say Vegetarian Chili is an easy way to have a meatless night in your home without anyone really taking note!

If you know there is a night (or two) at your house that is chaotic and rushed think up an easy meal and just make that your go-to meal for that day of the week.  Your kids will look forward too it, and you know you have dinner taken care of!