I am always seeing magazines with headlines like “10 minute meals”, “15 minutes to health”…. You’ve seen them, right?
I understand being a busy mom with an over-packed schedule and screaming kids, and wanting to just get dinner on the table (believe me, I lived it for years and I understand), but I am not sure that quick-cook, no-prep, superfast meals are really serving us. And if we want to raise happy, healthy kids who make good choices around food – and don’t we all? – then I am pretty sure they are not serving them either.
There is a great children’s book by Tomie Paolo called Pancakes for Breakfast, about a woman who lives in the country in a time that is not as rushed as we may feel our lives are now, and who wakes up one morning wanting pancakes. Of course she doesn’t have all of the ingredients, so she sets out to collect eggs from her chickens. When she gets back, she finds she has no butter or milk, so she goes out to fill her pitcher with milk, and comes home and makes butter. It goes on and on and she does eventually get pancakes (not in the way you may think), after quite a process. Juxtapose that to pancakes today, which can be made by adding water to a mix of powder or even just popping a pre-made frozen pancake into the toaster. Think about how far removed our kids are from where their food came from — how is this serving them?
If we choose our food by the amount of time it takes us to prepare it, what lessons are we passing on to our kids? Do you agree that this model might lead to bad habits? If healthy eating is not a priority, then it will not make its way into your life in a sustainable way. So how can we change this?
Here is one tool you can use today to start shifting the stories you are passing on to your kids about food: Planning.
I talk a lot about planning – because it makes a huge impact on your sanity and your grocery bill! This weekend, write down what you plan to eat for the next week and what you plan to feed your kids, home cooked and out, map out everything — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. You can use this plan to make your shopping list.
When you review your list, you may find that you have included stopping at a burrito joint, or ready-made food from the grocery, beans from a can, or even a particular cookie for your child’s snack that you need to buy. What I want you to do this week is pick one thing that you don’t usually make from scratch and make it from scratch. It may take some research, it may cause you to rearrange your schedule a bit, and it will definitely take more time than buying store-bought or fast food (but not as much time as you may think!). But look at it as supporting your health. Look at it as the thing you will pass on to your child this week for a better future. Do it with a smile!
Your kids don’t have to help you make this item, though they could if that was helpful to you (mom). But do make sure they are in the vicinity…. Young children could play on the kitchen floor and older children might do their homework or read a book at the kitchen table. And do talk about your experience of making it and how fun it was!
Do this every week and enjoy the rhythm and flow that planning brings to your life.
Some of my changes over the past few months have been: making my own sauerkraut; always using only dried (vs. canned) beans; always baking chicken for my kids (vs. the already-prepared one from the grocery store); and making fresh spring rolls from scratch. A good example of a change I made a long time ago that has become habit is baking muffins from scratch, and making my own salad dressings. Now, I almost don’t remember when I didn’t do those things! So all the small things really do add up.
What small change will you make to your menu this week?
