Moxy Thoughts

I’m not going to shock you when I say that weeknight dinners are hard.  You’re stressed from your work day, practice schedules, homework (yours and your kids’!) and that huge pile of ‘to do’ things stacking up higher and higher on your countertop.  So in our house, we do the best we can to keep weeknight meals as simple and healthy as possible and one of our favorites is Taco Night!

The kids love taco night because it means that they get to choose what goes on their plates and help with getting the ingredients on the table.  I try to keep as many chopped veggies in the fridge as possible throughout the week so I’m not spending the extra time in the evening on simple chopping.  But, I have to admit, I’m not the kind of person that has ever been able to consistently achieve creating all the meals on a Sunday for the week, so my chopping happens as the first meal of the week comes together.  What does that mean?  If we start the week on Monday with a taco night, that means that onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms get chopped on Mondays.  I chop enough for the meal at hand and bag or pack the rest for the next one.  I use many of the same ingredients in my pasta and pizza sauces so it makes it easy to mix and match throughout the week.

The other great thing about taco night is that it’s filling and healthy for both Derek and I.  He gets plenty of satisfying proteins and fats from the seasoned chicken or beef, plain no fat Greek yogurt (our substitute for sour cream), shredded cheeses, fresh green salsa and chunky guacamole.  We also use the traditional white corn tortillas and are extremely lucky that in California you can buy these fresh from the market just about any day and any time! But, if you live in another part of the country, our favorite store brand is nationally available, it’s called Sol de Oro.

As I said, taco night is a family sport, so get everyone involved.  I let my youngest pull out the tortillas and all of the containers we need from the refrigerator – plain low fat greek yogurt (the best substitute for sour cream!), salsa, and the pre-shredded taco cheese.  He gets those on the table and also has learned to set the dishes and get serving ware for all the different parts of the meal.  This week, he’s been helping out with drinks as well, which is great because I don’t know about you, but the minute I sit down, the next question is usually – can I get a drink please!

My oldest has been really getting interested in helping with the actual preparation so he’s been doing the avocado and squeezing the limes for the guacamole.  You absolutely need the OXO Avocado tool if you’re going to be doing anything with avocado more than once in your home.  And, a lemon squeezer is incredible handy for cooking and cocktail mixing, so you may as well get a cute one of those, too!

So here’s what I put together for our favorite taco night, but experiment and share your versions, would love to post the great ideas you all have to make your easy weeknight meals fun and healthy.