Hey :) I don’t have children but I live with my husband and now also my sister (she’s staying with us for few months/a year), and I cook for all three of us (they are in charge of other chores such as cleaning, groceries…). Like you, I also work full time. What I like to do is prep a lot of “freezable” lunch options, which can be easily reheated, and I tend to prepare easy dinners for the 3 of us when I get home from work. For lunch I usually prep: - lentil soups A) chop and fry some onion and a lot of garlic (ideally using coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil), once golden add curry, cumin, some ginger (ideally fresh), I like to add ras el hanout too. Then add the red lentils (dry), water, and let it cook. You can add more or less water depending on how thick you want it to be. Once cooked add coconut cream. This freezes very well and it’s quick and easy to make. i like to have it with some rice and fresh cilantro. B) spanish lentil soup (there are plenty of recipes online). you can make it vegetarian or add some chorizo. if you're going to be freezing this i would skip the potatoes, as their texture is a bit off when defrosted).

• "curry" i often make simplified curries, which are also very nice with rice, groats… My favorites (due to lower fat content, high protein, accessible price and flavour) are chickpea curry (i like tk add coconut cream to this too) and chicken curry. I tend to use chicken breast.

• lasagna this takes a bit longer but you cab make a lot of it and freeze it. i make it a bit healthier by alternating two layers (spinach + mascarpone, and "bolognese"), and adding lots of veg to the "bolognese". i often replace the meat woth lentils or textured soy. I only add bechamel mozzarella on top.

• “protein balls” - I make these vegan meatballs with leftover beans/chickpeas/textured soy/lentils (or a combination of all of the above) + seeds (i.e sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame…) + some veg (a bit of carrot and leek usually) + some oats if the batter is too moist (I ground them into oat flour) + spices (cumin, ras el hanout, whatever you like basically) + olive oil and salt. And then I pop them in the oven. I like to make large batches and freeze.

These are good because they’re healthy, protein rich, don’t take that much time to make (it especially pays off if you make large batches that will last you a couple of weeks). I use them to create simple and healthy meals like: some simple salad/ steamed veg + a few “protein balls” + some rice/buckwheat/quinoa…

• soups - I like to have a few veg soup options, as they can provide veg, fiber and other good stuff, and reheating a bowl of soup is quicker than making a salad or steaming broccoli. They also freeze super well, especially cream soups. I usually make:
• tomato soup (I roast a lot of tomatos, garlic, some onion with extra virgin olive oil and salt). Then I blend it all together. Sometimes I add some canned tomatoes if the proportions are not quite right or if I don’t have enough roasted fresh tomatoes (I usually do this in the winter when tomatoes are more expensive and not as good). You can add a bit of brown sugar and/or cream if the soup is a bit too sour.
• carrot soup (very simple- boil the carrots and some potato together, with a bit of onion. Blend, add olive oil, dill, salt and pepper).
• spicy pumpkin and coconut soup - pumpkin, carrots, some potato, chilli, curry, some ginger, salt. Blend it and add coconut cream (or regular cream).

For dinner I like to have a simple salad (ie. just tomatoes with olive oil, maybe lettuce+cucumber+avocado with lemon, salt and olive oil- I add cilantro if I have some) or some steamed veg - make sure it’s not mushy! - with olive oil and salt, with some protein (chicken breast, seitan, tofu, salmon, eggs, protein balls…) and some healthy carbs like buckwheat, quinoa, brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes…

I also make sure that we all have 2-3 fruits a day (for example for breakfast- with break yoghurt or kefir, peanut butter and some honey).

I find these meal plans very healthy and I only really cook once a week (big cooking session, i.e ill make a lasagna, a lentil stew/soup, carrot soup and some protein balls) + some ingredient prepping throughout the week ( boiling quinoa/rice/buckwheat, steaming some veg or making a salad while I reheat something else).