I am in a dinner rut.
There I said it and I feel so much better now.
Why is it so hard to get dinner on the table each night?
We live in a world of curbside convenience, meal kits, and delivery.
I blame bagged salads as the gateway into why I lost the love for cooking.
On Sundays I decide what we will eat each night for dinner and write it down. And by the afternoon of each day, I somehow don’t feel like eating what I wrote down. Can you relate?
I wish I would have appreciated the good ole’ days. Back when the twins’ were babies and the only other eater I had to please was my husband. Easy enough. When did my husband become to easiest to please?
Because a blink of an eye ago my twins’ took three naps a day. And during my “free time” I could prep and plan for dinner. I enjoyed the meal preparation. I’d thrown on some music and maybe have a glass of wine while I stood over the stove and cooked.
It seems like a distant memory now.
It makes me think…has cooking become a dying art? I mean, how many times a week do you cook?
Of course, I start out the week great and then by Thursday I’m ordering takeout. Is it because my kids are in too many after school activities? Are we too tired to make a healthy meal because we are in traffic? That’s my favorite excuse- I was in traffic so I could not make dinner. Oh and tonight all I heard was “I don’t like that” she said. “I don’t like it either,” said the other one. Then the reflection of me as a kid sinks in.
Did I do this to my own Mom? I write down “call Mom and apologize.” Anyway, it goes like this for a few weeks until I give in and start buying frozen items from TJ’s. The frozen meals that don’t look anything like the picture on the outside box. What comes next is I start asking around to other Moms “What do you cook for dinner that your kids actually eat?” This is followed by Mom’s comparison that they must have it ALL TOGETHER over at her house.
Tips to get dinner on the table:
- Keep the recipes simple and familiar
- Keep your pantry stocked with basics such as pasta, rice, tuna, etc…
- Add breakfast for Dinner into the rotation (a favorite in my house)
- Have Leftovers at least one night each week
I’ve watched my twins’ play and pretend to cook for each other.
To see the joy on their faces makes me want to fall in love with cooking dinner again.
Because this is not what my Mom or her Mom did? My Grandmother could stretch 4 meals from a roast she cooked on Sunday. Starting now I pledge to cook five meals a week.
Will you take to pledge with me?
