When you become a parent, you worry about a lot of things – their health, safety and happiness. But there is only one thing that stresses me out on a daily basis …. making dinner! For some reason the thought of making dinner for my very picky eaters raises my blood pressure every day. And until I have decided on what to feed the family, I think about it all day.
I know, I know there are greater things in life to stress about than making dinner, but for me I would almost rather do anything but plan dinner. I think it’s because my kids aren’t very curious when it comes to food. My daughter would eat chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese every night. So fearing she would turn into a nugget, I started experimenting a little. Now I serve fish sticks – and she loves them … asks for them every night! My son, on the other hand, doesn’t each much at dinner at all. He is only 2 and I know there will come a time when we won’t be able to keep enough food in the house to feed him so I cut him some slack! Applesauce isn’t a food group is it? Darn!
My friends have tried to offer me some advice in making sure my kids are eating a balanced meal:
“Puree the veggies and hide it inside the food…”
“Feed your kids first whatever they want, and eat later with your husband…”
“Serve the same thing for everyone and don’t give the kids anything else…”
Big sigh!
If only I had a magic pill, literally! Well let the magic begin…. I recently stumbled upon an online meal planning service that walks you through the dinner planning process. It’s called Food on the Table. It basically does all the work for you. You tell them what your family likes to eat (or what you want them to eat) and it puts together a family-friendly meal based on kid-friendly recipes. It gives you a grocery list (deals and coupons in-tact) and the recipes. All you have to do is go food shopping and prepare the meal! It really does take the stress out of planning. Check out their website and sign up for a free membership. It gives you up to three meals per week. If you want more, you can always upgrade to a premium membership for only $5 a month but you get more recipes!
I’m in love! Food on the Table is my magic pill! And I no longer stress about making dinner. As I tell my kids “try it, you’ll like it”!