This Week: Fresh Spring Pasta, Nut-Free Energy Bites, Breakfast Banana Splits—RECIPES INSIDE!

Plus more weeknight dinners, the easiest way to avoid food waste, and more.

May 18, 2026

Happy holiday Monday! We fully support spending today avoiding laundry, stretching out long-weekend vibes and pretending Tuesday isn’t lurking around the corner (probably waiting to ask “what’s for dinner?”). But because we want you to have the smoothest week possible, this week’s Family Feed is packed with easy wins: quick spring dinners, flexible lunchbox ideas, a smart way to cut down on food waste and a breakfast that somehow feels like dessert while still technically being acceptable parenting.

Here’s to making the short week ahead feel a little less chaotic—and to finding fewer mystery vegetables in the back of the fridge.

Katie Dupuis
Editor, ParentsCanada

Weeknight recipes that work even when your patience does not.

Lemony Pasta Primavera
Bright, fresh and packed with spring veggies, this pasta tastes like you tried harder than you actually had to.

Basic Cheeseburgers
A cheeseburger never misses. These couldn’t be easier, and they’re guaranteed to prevent at least a few dinnertime complaints.

Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas
Your kids might not even realize they’re getting a full serving of vegetables in this crispy, cheesy supper save.

Asian Sesame Rice Cakes
These little flavour bombs turn leftover rice into a dinner that feels surprisingly restaurant-y for a weeknight.

Make-Your-Own Hoisin Lettuce Wraps
Everyone loves a make-your-own situation. This interactive meal lets each person build their own plate exactly how they like it.

Tiny tricks, big payoff.

Create a “Use First” Bin in Your Fridge

Designate one small bin or basket in your fridge for ingredients that need to be used up ASAP (thinking wilting greens, half-blocks of cheese, fruit that’s one soft spot away from being too far gone, etc.). That way, instead of letting those ingredients disappear further into the crisper drawers, it’s a visual cue to cook them, bake them or pack them into lunches.

How to integrate this hack easily into your routines: Clean out and restock the bin each week when you put away your groceries and you’ll never find a three-month-old head of lettuce in the back of your fridge again (well, one can only hope, anyway).

Lunches kids might eat and parents can repeat.

A batch of saucy meatballs can pull double duty all week long (or even longer, since they also freeze beautifully). Here’s how you can use them to revolutionize your kiddo’s lunchbox:

  • Tuck them into a vacuum-sealed container with rice

  • Stuff them into a soft sub bun with cheese and broil before packing to get a delicious, melty meal

  • Serve alongside buttered noodles

  • Make kebabs with cucumber and cheese cubes for a lunch that feels a little more fun

Lunchbox formula: Meatballs (in whatever way you choose to serve them!) + snap peas + orange segments + crackers + Nut-Free Energy Bites (recipe below)

For the 3:15 p.m. snack-mergency.


These little bites are sweet, chewy and ideal for the after-school hunger tornado that hits approximately 14 seconds after kids walk through the door. Plus, because they’re nut-free, they’re lunchbox-friendly for most classrooms and extracurricular activities.

Ideas you can pull off before you’ve even had a cup of coffee.

Something that resembles dessert for breakfast? Yes, please. This idea is also incredibly easy—so simple kids can do it themselves. Here’s the gist: Split a banana and place the halves side by side in a shallow bowl. Load it up with yogurt (which takes the place of ice cream in the traditional dish), granola, berries, sliced fruit and whatever other odds and ends in your pantry.

Yes, your kids are going to want chocolate chips. Yes, it’s total okay.