Kid Approved Meal Plan

Making your family a home-cooked meal doesn’t have to be hard with this Kid Approved Meal Plan! Parent tested, kid devoured meals your family will love!

This post is sponsored by the American Pecan Council. All opinions and text are my own.

With the back to school season just around the corner, I’m already meal planning to help the summer to school transition go as smoothly as possible. With picky eaters and growing boys, it can be a challenge at my house to find a recipe everyone loves, I can feel good about feeding my family, and that fills up the black hole they call a stomach. These kid approved meal plan recipes are a lifesaver that’ll have your kids asking you to make them time and again!

KID APPROVED MEAL PLAN
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One of my favorite dinner hacks is buying one bag of pecans each week. One bag lets me super-fy our meals and snacks all week long. My boys like to spend the day running around with friends, hiking, and truth be told grabbing whatever caught their eye in the pantry or fridge. While their food choices might not always be the best, I can help by making sure we have nutrient dense pecans on hand for snacking. Then I grab some pecans for our dinner recipe and get cooking. There are clean plates all around! I even through in our pecans, salads, and everything else pecans sound tasty in. It’s a total mom win!

Pecan Chicken Meatballs

Pecan Chicken Meatballs are such a versatile dinner option during the week. My kids love them in so many dishes. We serve them over pasta and a lemon garlic butter sauce. Toss them in marinara sauce and serve them on hoagie rolls with provolone for meatballs subs. I even make a double batch of meatballs, freeze half for later and then use them in my Instant Pot Meatball Soup. Cook once and eat twice friends!

Pecan Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Want a dinner that does it all? This Pecan Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner is the answer! Easy to make and you can use whichever veggies your family loves. I like to add some cauliflower or broccoli in with the carrots to get even more goodness on our dinner plates. Everyone cleans their plates when I make this meal!

Grilled Chicken with Pecan Rice Pilaf

Do you ever have those nights where you just need to keep things simple for yourself? I get there every couple of weeks. Luckily my boys love this Pecan Rice Pilaf as much as I do! We serve it up alongside grilled chicken or their favorite salmon recipe for a low maintenance dinner idea. We like to take our dinner leftovers and mix the chicken into the pilaf for an all-in-one bowl.

Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders

I don’t know a kid around that doesn’t love chicken tenders or nuggets. These Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders are a great way to add plant-proteins, fiber, good fats*, and essential minerals to your family’s dinner. Serve them alongside some honey mustard sauce and watch them devour every bite!

These chicken tenders are also great to pack in lunch boxes. The crust doesn’t get soggy, because it’s made of pecans and breadcrumbs instead of a flour dredge. They keep their crunch when reheated!

Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

This Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is on my most requested dinners. My kids ask for it time and time again and it’s crazy easy to make. Their favorite variation these days is when I add pecan halves or pecan pieces (depending on what’s in our pantry). They add great flavor and crunch to this dish. Once everything is done cooking and plated they get to add all the pecans they want. The naturally sweet and nutty pecans with the earthy mushrooms, chicken, rice, and cheese make this crock pot meal complete comfort food!

*One serving (28g) of pecans contains 18g unsaturated fat and only 2g of saturated fat.