Easy meals your tween can make on their own

A few months ago, in a period of incredible overwhelm, I finally had to wave the white flag. Between working, parenting, being a wife, and everything that comes in between, I was done.

I’d find myself running out for fast food day after day. Also, after days and days of getting takeout in a row, my kids got bored with it. That’s where my tween comes in. At 10 years old, Ayva is pretty proficient in the kitchen.

From grilled cheese sandwiches to easy spaghetti, your tween can cook, y’all. Do yourself a favor and take a night off from kitchen duty. Get your tween in there and let them show you what you can do!

GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES What’s cool about grilled cheese sandwiches is that you can put other things in them to make them even more hearty. We like to add sliced turkey from the deli in ours. Serve with carrot sticks and chips.

QUESADILLAS Cheese quesadillas are so easy! If you buy a rotisserie chicken from the market (or shredded chicken), your tween can add that to the quesadilla, too. Serve with a side salad.

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES Yes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can be eaten at dinner time! Instead of breakfast for dinner, it’s lunch! Serve with a side of yogurt with strawberries and bananas on top.

HOT DOGS Instead of boiling hot dogs, my daughter fries them in a pan. They’re so delicious! Serve with a side of french fries which are super simple for tweens to make if you have an air fryer.

FRITTATA Although frittatas are my normal go-to for family meals when I’m not in the mood to cook, I now share it with my tween. Frittatas are easy to make with whatever ingredients you have at home as long as you have eggs.

SPAGHETTI Boil water and add spaghetti noodles, cook ground turkey, add sauce and seasonings. It’s as simple as that! Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan. We add spinach to our spaghetti, so we don’t usually eat anything else with it.

EGGS AND BACON Ayva’s eggs are delicious! For dinner some nights, she’ll make eggs, microwave turkey bacon, and butter up some toast. It’s perfection. Serve with fruit.

TORTELLINI Tortellini with spinach is Ayva’s specialty. All your tween has to do is boil water and add the tortellini. While that’s cooking, they sauté spinach in a pan with olive oil (or butter) and garlic. Serve with fresh fruit on the side.

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Soup Whether it’s soup in a can or something your tween puts together using broth and produce you have at home, this meal is perfect for cold nights. Serve with crackers, or even better, let your tween pop some refrigerator biscuits in the oven!

PANCAKES Tweens love pancakes and they’re pretty easy to make, especially if you have a mix. Ayva will make sausage or bacon with pancakes and it’s the baby’s favorite meal. Serve with sliced bananas.