This blog was inspired by a conversation with a client who was “frustrated beyond belief” at mealtime.
I’ll be honest. Although I don’t mind cooking, I am not a foodie.
And I’m not embarrassed to admit that I would be perfectly happy eating most of my meals off a typical kids’ menu if the food provided more nutrition than it does.
I enjoy cooking and feeding others, but given other options for things to do, cooking is not usually one of the first things I choose. Baking is higher on my list, but cooking and meal prep? Not so much.
However, I strive to provide my family with nutritious meals.
As anyone with children knows, this can be challenging. You can plan out the perfect healthy meal and still hear “Ew!” or “I’m not hungry!” or “Why can’t we have…?!” They have no idea that all their meals require the initial prep (choosing recipes, ingredients, and shopping) before you even get to the meal prep. It’s not like they magically appear out of the kitchen like at a restaurant (although a girl can dream).
Here is one solution
I used with my family to help you
combat the mealtime madness that can rear its ugly head.
Dinner Brainstorm List
One year, I asked my family members to write down ‘full’ meals they would like to eat over the next few months. I’m sure you’ve seen the many “Get them involved” messages that chefs send to parents. This would be a great way to get them involved! They could pick the meals they wanted!
I provided a sample: “Orange Chicken, rice & veggies” on the Brainstorm page to make it easier to understand.
And then patiently waited while no one participated…
So, I brought the list to the table a few times during dinner and asked for input (= captive audience already thinking about food). That was successful. I had at least 8-10 meals I knew at least someone would like. It was a good start.
Then I hung the list up on our fridge so that we could keep adding ideas along the way. We also added a Lunch area that worked for school and summer days.
If you look closely, you’ll see that I also asked my family to put a ✔️ by a meal if someone else already wrote it on the list. This was mostly so I could see what meals were better liked than others. I could also tell which of my family members participated (handwriting and checkmark style helped with that).
It ended up working out well. I could prepare something each week that everyone liked. Not everyone liked everything every night – but at least they were happy about ‘their’ meal being picked a few times during the week.
I hope you can use this Dinner Brainstorm List – by brainstorming on your own or with your family – to help avoid that mealtime madness!
For other ideas about surviving mealtime madness, check out my blog: 20 Freezer Meals in a Weekend.
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