Challening dinner situation - ideas?

[mamaraby]

Two of my kids have soccer practice the same night - one from 4-5pm (often 5:15) and the other from 6-7pm. The soccer field is way over on the edge of town and there are no restaurants fast food or otherwise anywhere nearby and we live too far away to drive home between the two.

 

Ignoring the fact that 6-7pm is a seriously stupid time for 3-4 year olds to practice....I have to keep in mind that it's going to be fall so getting cold and darker early, I usually have to handle soccer night on my own, and I have three kids to feed.

 

Any dinner ideas for a picnic in the car? We're vegan-ish so no meat or eggs, but we will very rarely have dairy. I could feed of my kids in the car while the third practices at 4pm and then feed the third while the youngest goes to practice.

 

Maybe I'm nuts. Should I just do snacks and dinner after practice at 7pm? Please tell me this will work...

[bolt.]

Picnic suppers are easy if you think of them in a more lunch-like way, and focus on finger foods. As meat eaters, for us that meant cold sliced protein (sometimes with a dip), a nice kind of bread -- like bagels or muffins or french bread (with a topping or two), a couple of kinds of finger veg with dip, and plenty of fruit.... Cookies and done. For you, I know protien may be the challenge. Maybe think of cold 'salads' around beans or lentils?

[Carol in Cal.]

I'd go with dips and spreads and easy fruits

 

Examples:

Cut up apples with peanut butter

Veggies with ranch dip

Bananas (because they are filling)

String cheese (ditto)

Jicama or cucumber spears or carrot sticks with hummus

Whole wheat crackers with persian yogurt dip

Whole wheat natural cereal with peanut butter to scoop

 

 

[lmrich]

I put salads in mason jars. I put a lot of food in the mason jar Mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp and orzo, cut up fruit, hummus and veggies... I keep them in the fridge and my teens can easily see what there is to eat for a meal when we are running in ten different directions. For your case you can use a thermos for hot meals.

[JFSinIL]

Could you do dinner mid-day on sport days, and then have portable lunch stuff for evening? Kids might get a kick out of the day being reversed.

 

Important to do whatever makes life easier for the mama who is having to get kids to different activities like this, btw!

[Acadie]

The dinner midday, or even at breakfast time, works for us.  We're on a restricted diet for health reasons, and when I know dinner is going to be veggies, dip and crackers in the car, I'll put extra time into making a protein-rich breakfast and/or lunch.  

 

Sometimes I make dinner after practice and give my girls cereal or a big snack beforehand, but I try to avoid that because I'm tired when we get home and don't want to start the whole dinner shebang then.  I'd rather they have cereal post-practice as a snack.

 

Do you have a Costco membership?  They have single serving containers of organic hummus that are just delicious and reasonably priced.

 

Amy

[mamaraby]

We are already paid up and this is the only option for soccer for her age - I suppose i could try asking them to put her on another team that practiced earlier in the day (like at 4!). I don't know that's an option given that everyone is already divided up on the different teams. Last year I had all three kids on a different night which was challenging in and of itself. I actually think I'd prefer that. Dd's been impatiently waiting through two weeks of the older kids' practice and asking me how many more days it is, so I think I'm just going to have to grin and bear it. Bedtime for the younger two is 7:30p.

 

No Costco membership. I could do little reusable containers of hummus, though. I like the Mason jar idea (varying jar size for appetite). I could maybe even work something out to keep things hot with a mason jar/cooler combo since I don't have a thermos. There would at least be more options that way.

 

I think I'll try the snack/late dinner this week while I line up more options for the coming weeks. Love the ideas so far. :0)

[Artichoke]

When it turns cooler have a hearty soup, stew, or casserole in a short thermos. I've also been known to take the entire crockpot to practice wrapped in a towel, and then placed in a laundry basket for stability. Then I'd ladle up whatever it was out of the car trunk. With three teens and a younger, it saved on the budget and kept them full.

[KungFuPanda]

Got lunch boxes? Pack those. It'll be fun for the kids. Get wide-mouthed thermoses for hot foods like soup or pasta. You can keep hot sandwiches warm in a cooler. I have some rocks wrapped in heavy foil that I preheat in the oven and use to keep coolers warm. This way you can pack hot dogs, grilled cheese, meatball subs, whatever. I'd get some movies for the laptop and maybe a car heater and just car camp when it cools down.

[Baseball mom]

When it turns cooler have a hearty soup, stew, or casserole in a short thermos. I've also been known to take the entire crockpot to practice wrapped in a towel, and then placed in a laundry basket for stability. Then I'd ladle up whatever it was out of the car trunk. With three teens and a younger, it saved on the budget and kept them full.

Have a friend who did this often.

 

Got lunch boxes? Pack those. It'll be fun for the kids. Get wide-mouthed thermoses for hot foods like soup or pasta. You can keep hot sandwiches warm in a cooler. I have some rocks wrapped in heavy foil that I preheat in the oven and use to keep coolers warm. This way you can pack hot dogs, grilled cheese, meatball subs, whatever. I'd get some movies for the laptop and maybe a car heater and just car camp when it cools down.

 

Like this

 

[Artichoke]

Got lunch boxes? Pack those. It'll be fun for the kids. Get wide-mouthed thermoses for hot foods like soup or pasta. You can keep hot sandwiches warm in a cooler. I have some rocks wrapped in heavy foil that I preheat in the oven and use to keep coolers warm. This way you can pack hot dogs, grilled cheese, meatball subs, whatever. I'd get some movies for the laptop and maybe a car heater and just car camp when it cools down.

Never thought to use rocks. What a great idea!

[Susan C.]

If you pack the meals, don't forget yourself... I would probably have done that.

 

Our family is grown, but when we had dinner time events, no one ate enough if we ate early, then they wanted another dinner at 9.... Also both of my dc swam, and they were starved afterward. I warmed chicken (whole, cooked, cold) a lot. Also, I don't know if I would send the later one to play on a full stomach. Ouch!

 

So my vote from my experience would be to pack cool snacks, and have something ready or quick cook when you get home.

[Kerileanne99]

We are vegetarian, but I guess we lean more vegan...a very small amount of vegetarian cheese, and we can handle small amounts of egg whites, which allow us to do a couple of meat substitutes such as Quorn. Two nights per week my dd4 has activities at 5:30 pm. With driving time it is just too early to eat before and too late to deal with when we get home, so we pack dinners.

Here are a couple of things we do regularly:

Nachos (bag of chips, beans, avocado, olives, pico, etc. in a container for scooping. I do NOT recommend this one for the carðŸ˜

Vegetarian chili over rice

Pasta bake- I usually make a marinara sauce with mushrooms and sometimes Mornigstar crumbles. I cook Bowtie pasta, mix it altogether and bake it. Individual servings and plastic utensils. Doesn't have to be hot when eaten.

Pasta salads and bean salads

Veggie stew over rice

Curry

Finger foods and lunches for dinner

Hummus, pretzels, veggies

'Shape fries'- this is what we named roasted potato and veggie pieces from the oven to get the kid to eat them. Quorn has kid-friendly nuggets to pair with them.

[Chris in VA]

Late, heavy snack at 3:30, crockpot or very simple supper when you get home.

 

I know lots of families around here who eat around 7:30pm, because Dad doesn't get home from work til at least 7pm.

 

And you are right--it's a dumb time for soccer practice.

[solascriptura]

We juggle picnic type meals on those kinds of days. If you are vegan consider a thermos if you can't manage sandwich fillings. The kids might also appreciate a hot meal with the cooler autumn weather.

[Reefgazer]

Veggie subs, loaded with all sorts of veggies and soy cheese, can be kept in a cooler with sides and water.

Two of my kids have soccer practice the same night - one from 4-5pm (often 5:15) and the other from 6-7pm. The soccer field is way over on the edge of town and there are no restaurants fast food or otherwise anywhere nearby and we live too far away to drive home between the two.

Ignoring the fact that 6-7pm is a seriously stupid time for 3-4 year olds to practice....I have to keep in mind that it's going to be fall so getting cold and darker early, I usually have to handle soccer night on my own, and I have three kids to feed.

Any dinner ideas for a picnic in the car? We're vegan-ish so no meat or eggs, but we will very rarely have dairy. I could feed of my kids in the car while the third practices at 4pm and then feed the third while the youngest goes to practice.

Maybe I'm nuts. Should I just do snacks and dinner after practice at 7pm? Please tell me this will work...

 

[Farrar]

We have a similar thing some days in our schedule. Thank goodness my kids are old enough to handle getting home at 8 pm only sort of having had dinner now. Not when they were younger. I was going to suggest the same thing as Sadie - eat a good, big, hot meal at lunch those days and have sandwiches and "lunch" type food for supper. That's what we aim for.