how to feed a family of four healthily when you are out all day??

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Typically we get home daily from anywhere between 4 and 7 ish....after a fun packed day being out and about and making the most of the summer holidays.

Once home the kiddies are hungry and so are DH and I and we want feeding instantly. I am finding we are increasingly turning to fast food or tinned things on toast or by relying on the microwave... I am wondering how you keep your family eating healthy when your not home all day??

I have just been online looking at pressure cookers (apparantly cook great meals in 15 mins??) I have also just looked at buying maybe two small 2 litre slow cooker wondering whether I cud prepare the kiddies their dinner in one, whilst preparing the other small slow cooker with something for dh and I...

Any thoughts or tip/help would be greatly appreciated

I am at work all day and I find my pressure cooker very useful.

I also cook the night before and reheat or batch cook for the freezer.

And finally I do a lot of simple healthy food:
eg omelette, various rice and pasta salads (rice or pasta cooked the night before)

Also, we usually have a healthy starter eg carrot dips so if they are starving they can start eating while one of us finishes off the main

Slow cooker(s) would be a good idea (think it would be easier if you were only doing one lot of stuff for all of you though!) - I often do bolognese, stew, curry etc in mine and it is a massive one, so we eat one meal, put the same amount in the fridge for a couple of days time, then freeze the rest... so instantly at least three meals taken care of. Things I do on busy days: defrost chilli con carne while out, reheat in microwave when get back, serve with wraps, salad, grated cheese. Pasta and pesto with frozen peas chucked in 3 mins before pasta is ready, serve with grated parmesan and salad. Fishfingers, chips and peas followed by tinned fruit cocktail (15 mins start to finish!). Have been experimenting with frozen pizza dough and pizza sauce - just add cheese and other toppings and bake for 15 mins... Basically I try to have some sort of 'base' in the fridge/freezer and then add salad/veg and quick carbs (pasta, basmati rice -10mins, wraps, pittas), with fruit for pudding and then I figure we're doing alright. We are family of four too, though soon to be five... hope this helps!

I would go for the slow cookers, I use mine every day especially when I'm at work and you can cook some lovely dishes in them there is a thread on here with some recipes for slow cookers, I'd be lost without mine, also cheaper as I use cheaper cuts of meat etc, last night we had a lovely lamb hotpot, which the DS's loved.

Another bonus is not much washing up

slow cooker. put it on in morning, come home to nice yummy hot food.I use mine for curry, chilli, spagetti bowl, gammon, sweet and sour chicken, or even a whole chicken and add that to salad

Slow cooker on while your out

Omelette, bread and salad

Soup (good quality or homemade)

Pasta salad

Stirfry is quick if all chopped and ready to chuck in the pan

Quiche, new potatoes and salad

Do a lasagne or something day before to heat through when you get in

Beans on wholemeal toast followed by fruit and yoghurt aint that bad and is quick if you are all shattered from a hectic day out.

Salmon is a good, fast dinner.
I mananged to get steamed salmon, rice and broccoli on the table in 15 mins on Sunday.

carrots and houmous is a good idea as a starter to fend off the hunger, onesideofthechannel.