Tired of Cooking Multiple Meals?

When you start thinking about what’s for dinner, do you get bombarded with requests? Is it never the same food from each person? Yeah? I’m so glad to know that it’s not just my house that is this way! As a busy working mom, I don’t have the time to cook multiple dinners each night. As I spent several months this year doing an elimination diet to determine food allergies, I found myself cooking two dinners each night. It was absolutely exhausting! As I found out about my gluten allergy, I began navigating a complete lifestyle change (I love my carbs!). If there was a gluten free label on the packaging, my boys refused to even try it. So I found myself still cooking different meals or I didn’t eat everything being served. Again, it was still tiring to go through this routine.

Changing Expectations

I had to change something. Through searching on Pinterest and Google, I found gluten free foods that we would normally eat. I stopped telling my boys if it was gluten free. With this change, and stopping the preparation of multiple meals, I was able to get us to one meal per night. Not only did this save me on time, I began to see less waste and a reduced grocery bill. Both of which are bonuses in my book!

So how did I do it?

Trial and Error

You can see that at first, I failed at getting their buy in. I wasn’t making it a fun experience for any of us. When I asked them what they wanted to help cook dinner, their requests were macaroni and cheese or pizza. They didn’t give much to choose from, especially as they are both heavy foods full of gluten. As I brought out a list of our family favorites, I made them mark at least two meals each that they would help cook. Depending on your kitchen size, you may not have room for everyone to be helping prepare each meal.

We also incorporated outdoor cooking. Joseph wanted to light a fire so he was tasked with grilling the hot dogs. This quickly became a summer favorite for us! I haven’t made them help every night but by having them in the kitchen more, we have grown closer. I like to think that they also have a greater appreciation for the effort that is put into preparing a meal for the family.

Tips

So what can you start doing in your home to get your family involved?

• Include your family, including your children, in the meal planning.
• Have a list of family favorites ready in case they don’t have ideas of their own to contribute.
• Know how to compromise and know if/when to compromise. Sometimes the battle is not worth the effort.
• Get your family involved in the preparation of the meal. Meal planning shouldn’t be the only thing they help with.
• Have fun! Make it an enjoyable experience for everyone.

Remember to keep this as it is appropriate for the age and ability of your family members. When my boys were little, I had them help with baking cookies by stirring, holding the mixer, and of course, they would help eat the cookies.

Things to Consider

Think about what makes meal times special for your family. Do you prefer a shorter preparation time or something that will take longer? Do you prefer hot or cold meals? Know what your family needs and plan accordingly. You will also want to consider your schedule for the evenings. If you have an activity to get to, it may not make the most sense to cook a large meal when you need to be able to leave quickly.

As you think of ways to include your family in the meal preparation, think about the amount of supervision they will need. Maybe they aren’t ready to help every night. Maybe it’s only certain meals that they will help with. Just remember to make it fun for everyone involved, including you!

What are your family favorites that you like to prepare together? I’d love to hear how you are doing this in your household.