Deployment can make even the simplest things exhausting.When my husband is deployed, even meal times become challenging. It used to be that when he was gone I did not cook at all. I fed my child something simple and I would make myself a salad or something easy. Now I have three children that all need dinner every night. Honestly, having my husband away during dinner turns it into more of a chore.
I decided that the only way I was going to get though meal times when he was gone was by making it a little simpler for myself…and there isn’t anything wrong with that.
Here are some ideas I have used during a deployment to make meal time a lot easier.
- Breakfast for dinner. You can make pancakes. You can also double or triple the recipe to save some for later. You can serve toast, eggs and cereal as well. Cereal and yogurt is a very simple idea for breakfast for dinner.
- Use your Crockpot. There are tons of 2-3 ingredient meals you can make with your Crockpot. Add a salad and you are good to go.
- Know that it is okay to order pizza… Just not everyday. It might not be super healthy, but it is okay to order pizza. It is the easiest meal to have when you are solo-parenting. You can even make it fun and have a pizza night planned every Friday night.
The important thing is to not stress yourself out if you are not making three perfect meals every day. You need to give yourself a little bit of a break. There will be somedays you just want to feed the kids and send them to bed. There will be others when you will want to cook a big meal. Don’t feel badly if you have more lazy meal days than others. Deployments don’t last forever and you will be back into your old routine eventually.
Check out some of these easy recipes for deployment dinner ideas so you’re not stuck in the mud during dinner time.
- Easy Breakfast Egg Casserole
- Easy Enchiladas
- Easy Meatloaf
- Easy Veggie Beef Soup
- Easy Mexican Casserole
- Easy Crock-Pot Bean Soup
Do you have a recipe to share? Enter our monthly contest for a chance to win $100. Use the money for healthy groceries, a few take out nights, or for a sitter so you can take time out for yourself! It’s easy, just click the button below.
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