Mama and Munchkin’s Meal Marathon

Evolution of dinner time….

Mealtime has drastically changed in the past eight years.  I remember when we were newlyweds and I would search cookbooks for intricate recipes in hopes of impressing my new hubby.  I would slave over the stove and carefully present the food on his plate.  I would even go as far as wiping a spot of sauce from the side of his plate.  I was a five star restaurant chef.

Then after a year or two we got comfortable.  No longer were we eating at a table. We would both come home from work exhausted (we didn’t even know the meaning of the word back then, no kids and exhausted, please!) plop down in front of the television and that was that. We were the couch potato couple.

Flash forward to year three of our marriage and we had just welcomed a baby girl.  Dinner became whatever could be delivered or dropped off.  How was I supposed to prepare meals, work, and take care of a baby?  (If I only new then what I know now). I was the drive-thru/delivery drama mama.

On to year four of our marriage and we were a happy family of four.  We realized routine and dinner at the table would be a good tradition to start adopting now that we had a one and two year old.  So, I would prepare three different dinners everyday, puréed fruits and vegetables for my one-year-old, finger foods for the two-year-old, and I started preparing classy meals again for my husband and me. I was a short order cook.

During years five and six I began to bring back the more formal dinning experience and dinner would take roughly 30-45 minutes to prepare.  I would occupy the children with some activity in the kitchen while I cooked.  I enjoyed spending quality time with the children while I prepared dinner.  We had a nice routine and the meals were, healthy and delicious.   I was the perfect cook and mother.

Fast forward to year seven and eight.  We are always on the go and there is hardly time to eat dinner let alone prepare dinner.  But,I think I have finally figured it out; it is possible to have fast and convenient meals that are also nutritious for your entire family with minimal preparation everyday.  With the help of two little appliance friends called the slow cooker and the freezer. Taking a couple hours every other week to prepare future meals saves so much time during the week. Also, preparing meals ahead of time is a fun experience when the entire family gets involved.  We have found that the preparation of the meals is the perfect opportunity for the kiddos to learn about nutrition, science, art, and more. 

Preparation is the key for this mama of three.

I so enjoyed preparing meals with the kiddos today.  First I sat down and wrote out the menu for the next three weeks.  Then the kiddos helped me prepare those meals. We added five frozen meals to our freezer, boiled eggs for lunches this week, and made some yummy chocolate chip muffins.