Sitting down together with a homemade meal is one of the best things you can do for your family’s health and happiness. But for busy parents, dinner can resemble feeding time at the zoo—especially when you have picky little ones to please! With menu planning, shopping, and cooking, being the zookeeper of your household is a lot of work. But once you find a few kid favorites, like crispy chicken tenders and gooey mac and cheese, it gets a whole lot easier.

Here’s a game plan for next week that does the mental work for you. This plan covers Sunday through Thursday, and leaves the weekend open for leftovers. Each recipe makes approximately 4 servings, but you can adjust, if you’ve got more mouths to feed. There’s a shopping list for what to buy, with a few pantry-staples at the bottom—check to make sure you have those on hand.

SHOPPING LIST

1 butternut squash
1 head broccoli
2 large sweet potatoes
3 zucchini
1 tomato
1 head lettuce
1 red bell pepper
Green onions

1 lb (500 g) salmon fillet
1 lb (500 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lb (500 g) ground turkey

Large eggs
Milk, non- or low-fat
Greek yogurt, plain, low-fat
8 oz (250 g) shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz (125 g) shredded mozzarella cheese, part skim

Whole-wheat pasta shells
Whole-wheat linguine
Whole-wheat breadcrumbs, preferably panko
1 ball (about 1 lb/500 g) fresh whole-wheat pizza dough
4 whole-wheat burger buns

Marinara sauce, low sodium
Teriyaki sauce, reduced sodium

Frozen peas

PANTRY STAPLES

Extra-virgin olive oil
Olive oil cooking spray
Salt and pepper
Mustard powder
Soy sauce, reduced sodium
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds
Corn or all-purpose flour

RECIPES

Sunday: Butternut Mac & Cheese with Broccoli

Sneak some veggies into your mac and cheese. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Cook ½ lb (250 g) pasta shells according to package instructions, stopping 2 minutes before the recommended time. Place 3 cups (15 oz/470 g) cubed butternut squash on a large baking sheet, toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and roast until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the butternut puree and 1½ cups (12 fl oz/375 ml) milk and bring to just below a simmer. Add 8 oz (250 g) shredded cheddar cheese, 1 teaspoon mustard powder and ½ teaspoon salt and whisk until smooth. Add the cooked pasta and stir to coat. Pour into an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking pan. Sprinkle with ½ cup (3/4 oz/20 g) breadcrumbs. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm with steamed broccoli.  

Monday: Baked Chicken Fingers with Yogurt & Peas

Kids of all ages love crispy, crunchy chicken tenders. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Spray a large baking sheet with olive oil. Slice 1 lb chicken into long strips about ½ inch (12 mm) thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Crack 2 large eggs into a shallow bowl and whisk with a fork. Pour 1½ cups (2 oz/60 g) breadcrumbs onto a plate. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dip in the beaten eggs, letting any excess drip back in the bowl. Coat with the breadcrumbs, pressing gently to help them stick. Repeat with all of the chicken, placing the coated pieces on the baking sheet. Spray over the top with olive oil. Bake until the breadcrumbs are golden and the chicken is firm, 20 to 25 minutes. Warm any leftover butternut mac & cheese and peas in the microwave. Serve warm, with yogurt for dipping.

Tuesday: Teriyaki Salmon with Sesame Zoodles

Sticky-sweet teriyaki sauce is the secret to winning over the fish suspicious. Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C). In a large ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 1 lb salmon, flesh side down, and sear until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and brush with 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce. Transfer the pan to the oven, and cook until the salmon is nearly firm to the touch and flakes easily when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes longer, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Using a spiralizer tool, cut 1 zucchini into long strands. Cook ½ lb (250 g) linguine according to package instructions, adding the zucchini during the last minute of cooking. Drain well and return to the pot. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons sesame oil and toss to coat. Transfer the salmon and zoodles to plates, sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced green onions, if you like, and serve warm.

Wednesday: Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

Everybody loves burger night! Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C). Peel and cut 2 sweet potatoes about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat. Roast until golden and crispy, about 30 minutes. In a bowl, combine 1 lb ground turkey, 1 cup (5 oz/155 g) shredded zucchini, and 1 large egg, lightly beaten. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. With clean hands, gently stir the mixture to combine, and shape into 4 patties. In a skillet over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the patties and cook, turning once, until no longer pink at the center, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let rest for a few minutes. Place 4 buns on plates and top with the burgers, sliced tomato, and lettuce. Serve with the sweet potato fries and yogurt for dipping.

Thursday: Pizza Party! DIY Toppings

Let kids build their own mini pizzas, and have fun with colorful veggies. Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Take 1 ball pizza dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature on the counter. Roll out the dough into 4 thin rounds. (If it shrinks, let it rest for 10 minutes, and roll out a second time). Transfer to a baking sheet dusted with flour. Brush the dough with 1 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread each round with 2 tablespoons marinara and sprinkle with ¼ cup (1 oz/30 g) mozzarella. Arrange with sliced bell peppers, zucchini, or any of your favorite pizza toppings. Bake until the crusts are golden and the cheese starts to bubble and brown, about 15 minutes. Let the pizzas rest briefly. In a bowl, combine any leftover torn lettuce and sliced tomato, sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil, and toss to combine. Serve the pizzas warm with salad on the side.

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In July, The New York Times set off a firestorm with a story about spin classes. This wasn’t a trend piece on the hottest workouts or a how-to for cycling newbies; the impassioned reactions from readers were in response to the reported facts on a condition called rhabdomyolysis.

Otherwise known as rhabdo (or “Uncle Rhabdo,” as it’s commonly referred to in the Crossfit community), rhabdomyolysis is a serious medical issue that’s on the rise, thanks in part to extreme endurance workouts like indoor cycling.  

What is Rhabdo?

“Rhabdomyolysis is the condition that results from the breakdown of muscle tissue due to excess exercise, crushing trauma, or medications,” says Stephanie Long, MD, a family medicine doctor at One Medical in San Francisco. “Initial symptoms can be very subtle, but include  muscle weakness, fatigue, soreness, bruising, and changes to your urine, with low urine output or infrequent urination, and dark, tea-colored urine.”

Those initial indicators are just the beginning though. When rhabdo turns severe, it can result in life-threatening kidney damage. If those subtle signs progress to fever, nausea, vomiting, confusion, agitation, or just an overall feeling of unease (otherwise known as malaise), rhabdo might be to blame.

Can Exercise Really Cause Rhabdo?

The controversy in the comments section of the Times piece was mainly rooted in a seemingly contradictory concept: exercise-caused illness. But it’s true; while drugs like cocaine and traumatic injuries can lead to rhabdo, the National Institutes of Health lists “severe exertion, such as marathon running or calisthenics” as a potential cause, too. And the publicized concern over cycling-induced rhabdo is rooted in research: a recent paper published in The American Journal of Medicine described three unusual cases of rhabdo, all occurring after a new cycler’s first spin class.

But before blame was directed at popular studio spin classes, people were buzzing about the infamous association that resulted in Uncle Rhabdo serving as Crossfit’s unofficial mascot. “I’ve treated cases of rhabdo after Crossfit and spinning,” says Long. “In both cases, patients were new to the activity and participating in their first class. They didn’t have the calibration to the activity or their own intensity levels. Afterwards, they had worsening pain out of proportion to being sore, tense muscles, and dark, tea-colored urine.”

It’s hard to deny an association, but can anyone go so far as to say causation is involved? “I would never go so far as to say that Crossfit causes rhabdo, or that their programs are designed in such a way that there is an innate risk of rhabdo, or that anyone who does Crossfit is highly likely to get rhabdo,” says Tarquin Thornton-Close, a certified personal trainer at Triptych Strength. “A more appropriate statement would be, ‘anyone who is brand new to very intense exercise and is de-conditioned, or people pushing very far past their limits, is more at risk for rhabdo.’”

How Common is Rhabdo?

According to the largest data set on the condition, a retrospective review of U.S. Army soldiers between 2003 and 2006, just 0.2% developed rhabdo, which scales up to about 7 or 8 cases out of 10,000 every year (and just 2 cases out of 10,000 when translated to the civilian population). But another study reported 29 emergency room visits for exercise-induced rhabdo at NewYork-Presbyterian alone between 2010 and 2014 (14 of which resulted from indoor cycling).

So with the ever-increasing popularity of super-intense workouts, is rhabdo really on the rise?

“We have been seeing rhabdo in more recreational athletes in recent years due to the prevalence of more higher intensity workouts,” says Long. “While training at this level is effective for weight loss and conditioning, any new activity needs to be started at a more moderate level and increased as tolerated.”

How to Reduce Your Rhabdo Risk

They key to avoiding rhabdo and minimizing your risk for all sorts of injuries, big and small, is, as Long says, to “start low and go slow.” Going from zero to Tour de France doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient and persistent and progress will occur over time.

“Always start off at a level that you can handle, and gradually progress from there,” says Thornton-Close. “The body is amazing at adapting to a given stimulus, but it still needs time to do that. It’s almost like driving a stick shift car; you can’t go from first to fifth gear right away. You have to progress through second, third, and fourth to get there; same thing with the human body.”

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