Finding time to cook, eat together and actually enjoy the meal can be a
challenge in our home.
One of my favorite things is to labor over a delicious meal. I'll spend an hour or two making a nice dinner for my family. These are my recent thoughts about meal time.
What to cook. I read cookbooks and foodie magazines like most women read romance novels. So I have no shortage I of ideas. I like to try new recipes and ways to make it so my children will enjoy it too. When I was young I don't remember eating "kid-food" very often, not even at lunch time. My mom made humble, but comforting home-cooked meals for us. Lots of spaghetti, tacos, roasts and hotdishes. Now the convenience of "kid-food" has invaded our homes- you know, the frozen-fried, high-sodium processed foods that your kids love. I haven't really gotten into making that stuff for family dinners, but I confess the ease of it makes for quick lunches. I really want to steer away from it. Somehow I got sucked into the trap. And why? It is a lot more expensive to cook kid-food. Plus it is so unhealthy. All the fat, sodium, preservatives and chemicals they add to processed foods is so disgusting when you actually read the labels. Is the convenience the only reason I buy it other than the fact that they gobble it up. But what if I never fed that stuff to them, would they eventually quit craving it? I think so.
So how did Mom do it. If she didn't have kid-food at lunch or at all then what did we have. I asked her and she said, "we ate whatever we had for dinner the night before". Leftovers! At dinner time Mom would make enough for two meals. How smart!? Two meals and only cooking once. And the convenience of reheating lunch- sounds so simple. I'm resolving to make a change in the way I shop and cook. Doesn't mean my kids won't have the occasional chicken nugget or corn dog and fries, and I could fail miserably too, but my goal is to cut way back.
Another thing I do when cooking for my family, is to make one meal. I don't like making short order meals (six different meals, cuz everyone likes something different). My daughter is turning out to be the picky one. Must be because she is the oldest. Even though she's picky, I refuse to make her a separate meal. I will make one meal and try to include at least one element that she likes. So if I'm making Chinese, I will make white rice and I know she will at least eat that if not anything else.
My kids must try everything on the plate, lest they try a little bit of soap. :) It works. They will at minimum try one bite of each food. Our taste buds change often, so my hopes are evenually they will like it. I've read that children and babies will need to be served and try a food up to 15 times before they actually can decide whether they really like or dislike a food.
Making a list of favorite meals and a menu for the week has made my life a lot easier and I'm saving money doing it too. By making a menu, looking at what I already have and sticking to my list; I save money. I'm not buying baked beans because I might need them but don't realize that I already have three cans. I also look at the sales and stock up if something is a good price. Where you shop makes a huge difference as well. If I have time I shop multiple stores to get the best deals. Aldi and SuperTarget are my go to stores. Coborn's only in an emergency or for their sales. Beware of sales that are not sales though. Like buy 2 get 2 free at Coborn's sometimes turns out to be the exact same price as buy 4 regular price at Target or Walmart.
The other nice thing about a menu is my husband isn't in the dark on what the kids have had the last couple of days and what he should make on they days I'm not home with them.
Eating together. My hubby works a lot of evenings and weekends, so I tend to guard the nights we are able to have a meal together. My primary love language is quality time. My love tank seems to fill up a lot quicker when I get to have a meal with the ones I love. Spending time together sharing a meal makes for a happy, healthy home. It gives us a chance to communicate and share what is going on in our lives. This can be difficult with little ones. Last night we had a nice chicken dinner. They kids have been misbehaving a lot lately so it was nice to have the opportunity to discuss our family rules with them while we were all at the table. And it worked. They are doing much better (so far) today. Studies have also shown that girls in particular have a better self-image and are less likely to get an eating disorder when they eat together as a family. That's true for me too. I don't overeat as much when I'm eating with others. There's more time to talk and feel if you are really full if you are with others, rather than mindlessly stuffing your face.
Enjoying it too. Eating healthier foods and eating together make meals more enjoyable. I'm also finding if I serve the meal at the table family style, Mom and Dad are happier too. I tire of getting up a hundred times to get milk or ketchup or more potatoes. I feel like a restaurant server some times. More often than not I will serve the meal at the table. Many families serve meals buffet style. This works great for large gatherings and when your children are old enough to serve themselves. For now, while my kids aren't even in kindergarten yet, I enjoy family style.
The little things we learn can make for an enjoyable family meal. All the hustle and bustle of life has somehow pulled us away from the way our parents and grandparents did things. Maybe we should go back to the way things were at least once in a while.
