As I write this, there are mere days until my sons go back to school. Friends across the country have already made this transition, are already settled into their routines. That is what the new school year means to me: an opportunity to make this one better than the last, better weeknight meals despite ever-busier schedules, striving to make it all count (because it does).

As I consider what easy dinner solutions to pass along this month, there are of course the ones that involve strategies I’ve written about before here: the one pot chicken with peas and carrots, or roasted sheet pan paneer and greens (or chicken, again), meatballs in the freezer. All great ways to get classic meals on the table. Another way to release the stress of mealtime planning is to release the idea of what dinner has to be. Some nights, a full meal is called for, but others maybe it’s a great soup that’s lived in your freezer with a quick cornbread (with corn or without, lol), or eggs simmered in sauce with spices and called shakshuka. Or a warm peperonata with a wedges of cheese and a simply tossed greens, some sliced fruit; broiled cantaloupe with speck and black pepper, some crusty bread dipped in olive oil, and leftover roasted vegetables.

One of the biggest challenges I have as a working mom is getting a hearty breakfast to the table. I am off to work oftentimes before my boys have stumbled from their beds, which means parts of breakfast must be in the toaster oven, making it easy for my husband to assemble as my proxy. I make sausage much like this one that I have previously baked and frozen; I make egg frittata bites in muffin tins for the freezer, too (something like this, but divided among the cups); on a particularly inspired weekend I might make these buttermilk waffles or these protein-rich (and vegan!) banana pancakes to freeze alongside the rest. Breakfast for me, toted along with me to work, is a granola like this over some homemade coconut yogurt (still tinkering with the recipe, will share here someday I’m sure!).

My sons pack their own lunches according to a table that outlines four necessary categories – fresh fruit, dried fruit or vegetable, carb and protein – of items I keep stocked in our pantry and fridge. This has handed them the responsibility of keeping themselves fed according to what they are interested in eating that week. Lunch for me is often less premeditated, though I enjoy imagining a life in which I would make these packaged noodle salads for myself, or a lentil salad like this one (I have one in my fridge now to take to my first day of soup season that starts tomorrow!), alongside a piece of fresh fruit. A thermos of soup makes a regular weekly appearance – mine, an occupational byproduct leftover from the week’s production, but this simple fennel tomato soup with some cheese and crackers is basically unimprovable.

Snacks tend to be more of the same items from my boys’ lunches, whole foods like nuts scooped by the handful and deposited in a wax paper bag or a banana to be eaten on the way to soccer practice. Others, though, I prepare when time allows like these almond and blueberry bars, a snack mix like this, a slice of banana bread, or these protein cookies.

Thanks for spending time with me here, for bringing my recipes and the people you love most together. It really is an honor to be part of what feeds and inspires you. Reading here with a paid subscription helps to support my family and is one of the creative ways I make a living so I can be with them as much as possible. I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription – just $70 for a whole year! As thanks, your paid subscription will unlock access to a new recipe I made just for you at the end of your newsletter. Other ways to support my work include buying my books, all of which focus on serving you fresh, delicious meals in different ways that could bring even more nourishment and inspiration to your days.

Whatever you choose to cook in the coming weeks, I hope all of it brings you calm and focus as we all dive into the new routines of fall. See you here next month! For those of you with a paid subscription, hang back for another family friendly dinner recipe fast enough for a weeknight on the go.