School Year Mealtimes Made Easy with Food City’s ShortCuts

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Our schools are back in session, which means mealtimes are a little trickier again. I meal plan, but with all of our busy schedules, I have to do a lot of meal prepping too. Thanks to Food City’s ShortCuts which can be found in Food City’s Fresh Produce section, my meal prepping (and snack time!) is SO much easier – and tasty.  A few types of ShortCuts are available in the produce section, but basically the fruits and vegetables are sliced/cut/prepped and ready to be eaten (or cooked.) We buy a lot of produce every week, and it’s nice to have the prep work taken out of the equation so I can spend more time focusing on other things. Recently I picked up some of the ShortCuts Snack Packs (great for snack time, car rides or after school), a couple of ShortCuts Steamable Bags (steamed vegetables are my go-to every night!) and a couple of other ShortCuts Fruits and Vegetables.  The ShortCuts Snack Packs didn’t stand a chance when my kids saw them. It was just before dinnertime and they immediately requested to share one. And then I opened both. My daughter loves hummus, and my son loves the raw vegetables. My son has to take a snack to school each day, and these will be great to add to his backpack. These will also help out every evening when I’m bombarded with the age old question, “can I have a snack?”  Steamed vegetables are my jam. I love to make a slow cooker recipe, and throw a steamed vegetable in the microwave and have things ready as soon as possible after we get home. One evening I made grilled chicken and the side was the ShortCuts Steamable Bag with the mixed vegetables. They take a few minutes to cook, and there are no added ingredients – just the vegetables! Another night I made lemon and garlic chicken in the slow cooker, and I added steamed asparagus as the side. I also cooked the sweet potatoes with cinnamon. Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite vegetables, but I hate peeling and slicing them. How great is it that Food City offers them already sliced – and even sprinkled with cinnamon? (I’m sharing the chicken recipe below – it’s SO easy!)  The ShortCuts Fruits and Vegetables are so convenient! I bought some of their “toppers” and made a vegetable tray for my family to eat before lunch was ready one Sunday. Everyone had something they loved – and I didn’t have to worry that they weren’t getting enough vegetables. The strawberries were great because my daughter could devour them – and I didn’t have to cut the tops off for her. Food City had such a wide variety of fruits and vegetables all prepared and it was incredibly convenient – especially for a busy mom who wants to provide healthy meals for her family. 

Lemon & Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• 3 lemons
• 2 tbsp. chopped garlic

Place your whole chicken in your slow cooker. Rub the garlic over the whole chicken. Slice lemons and place them on and around the chicken. You can even put some inside the chicken. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. The chicken will fall off the bone and it’s perfect. 

How are you saving time when it comes to meals and snacks for your family?