Simplifying Mealtime

Ya know, I wouldn't mind feeding my kids if they would just stay full. But no matter how much love I put into a meal, how much effort or energy or planning... they're hungry again in just a few hours.

I tend to get overwhelmed with redundant tasks. It feels like they're never done! Laundry is like that for me, too, but today's post is about what we put IN our bodies, not what we wear ON them.

Over the 13 or so years that I've been studying motherhood (hey, if that were a college program, I'd have a doctorate by now!) I've determined that mealtime doesn't have to be as complex as we Americans make it. And so I've been working to simplify it -- and whew, that has been relieving some of my angst!

I have reduced meal-planning to simply making sure that three elements are included in each meal: a protein, a grain, and a fruit or veggie.

I have removed some of my pressure by teaching these elements to my kids, and having them do a mental checklist as they feed themselves or pack their school lunches. They do a pretty good job, though one of them thought a potato must be a protein since it has so many of the same letters in the name.

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Oh, how I'd love to have a week's worth of meals already listed on the fridge, but that's a battle I have only won periodically. Instead, I strive to know by 10am what we'll have for dinner that night -- and that has been a victorious plan for me! One way I thin-out the myriad possibilities is by assigning a theme to each night and find a recipe that fits the genre. International night! Pasta night! Chicken night! Beans & rice night! Potatoes night! Seafood night! Leftovers night!

Breakfast follows a pattern of alliteration (sort of). Mondays: Macaroni. Tuesdays: Toast and Eggs. Wednesdays: Waffles. Thursdays: Oatmeal. Fridays: French Toast. Saturdays: Leftovers. Sundays: Cereal.

And we like to eat LeSSSS for lunch -- Leftovers, Soup, Salad, Sandwiches, or Smoothies.

I don't *really* want my kiddos to stop eating. I know it might keep my kitchen cleaner, but I'm a big believer that kids with full tummies behave better and are healthier in other ways, too. So, these simplified systems help me feel successful amidst the constant struggle of developing their eating habits.