Battling Dinner Time

The Battle: Dinner Time

The Enemy: Our Focus

The Battle Field:

For many moms, this question elicits dread, disdain, even denial! Perhaps, like me, you’ve even wondered if a third meal of the day is even necessary considering the perceived toil!

Oh but I love to cook!  And I love the satisfaction of sitting down to meal I’ve prepared, and most importantly, I love our time at the table. Many of you may not share my love of cooking, and that’s okay, too!  There are great, easy alternatives to spending hours in the kitchen while still serving a delicious meal to your family and spending quality time with them at night!

Let me start by saying I do not execute dinnertime and meal-planning perfectly.  Ever.  I am just like you, frequently realizing it’s 5:00pm and the chicken is still frozen and the kids are already swarming the kitchen like flies.  And there are days, frankly, where I wish the dinner fairy would light on my house with a hot casserole and perfectly content children, but she has yet to show up. 

Sitting down seven nights a week as a family for dinner is simply not realistic for most of us, but what if we aimed for two or three nights a week to be home at dinnertime, eating together, and being deliberate in our conversation?  I think we’d be surprised at the long-term positive impact on our families!  Did you know that studies show that kids whose families dine together at the table are more socially well-adjusted than their counterparts who do not eat with their families regularly?  In addition, Columbia University did a study showing that kids who ate family dinners were less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol and performed better in school than those who did not.

As I was considering the why’s behind these statistics, the connection is clear.  The dinner table can be a safe place to talk, share events of the day, and a place to decompress and replenish (literally) our bodies and souls.  Providing our kids with this safe haven week in and week out builds a strong foundation of relationship and security that simply cannot be matched in a drive-thru line or in front of a television.  You may be asking how can one execute this with all these small children and activities and a job, etc.?  A simple plan and a lot of flexibility reaps great dividends when it comes to mealtimes!

The Battle Plan:

Most weeks, my husband and I get our calendars out on Sunday and make sure that we are on the same page with his work schedule, kids’ activities, and any nighttime obligation I may have.  From there, I decide which nights I will prepare a meal, and which nights will be leftovers, pizza or dinner out.  Depending on your stage of parenting, you may realize there are very few nights where everyone is home at 6:00 pm.  I encourage you to protect those nights fiercely and make it a priority to have a home-cooked meal those evenings, even if it’s only once or twice in a given week!

Your “home-cooked” meal does not have to be expensive, time-consuming, or fancy.   A few places I’ve found delicious recipes from are The Pioneer Woman, Chef in Training, Plain Chicken, and my own mom.

Especially if you have young children or picky eaters at your table, prepare basic dishes with simple ingredients.  Save the more complicated recipes for company or for a birthday dinner for your hubby!  Keep a rotation of meals you know most of your family will eat, and occasionally, prepare double with the intention of serving leftovers the next night or freezing the leftovers to be eaten later on a hectic weeknight.  Invest in a few small plastic containers and freezer Ziplocs to make storage of extras quick and easy.   Keep frozen or canned veggies and frozen ready-to-bake bread on hand to quickly pull together a full meal to serve with leftovers or frozen portions of earlier meals. 

A few other suggestions for making dinner prep less of a burden….

• If you know you are going to make a dish using cooked chicken, boil it the day before and have it ready to assemble into the dish the next day.  Or buy chicken when it’s on sale, boil the entire package, and freeze the cooked chicken in recipe-friendly portions for future chicken dishes.
•   Wash all the lettuce in one night, storing the leftovers in a Ziploc bag with a moist paper towel for the next night.  Throwing together a fresh salad is a snap the next night! 
•  Make thorough grocery lists and check for ingredients before you head to the store.    Multiple, small trips to the store, especially with children in tow, is draining, expensive, and just plain hard. 
• If possible, assemble dinner in the morning!  A crock-pot is a worthy investment for this task!  By mealtime, the bulk of the work is complete, plus your house will smell delicious all day!

When you finally reach the dinner hour, turn off the television, phones, game systems, and I-pods, and use the time to talk.  Really talk!  Awkward a bit?  Try this…give each family member an opportunity to tell his or her “high” of the day and the “low” of the day.  Many times, you will be granted a peek into the window of a child’s soul during this exchange.  Tidbits you may never have heard otherwise. 

Also, involve your kids in the prep and cleanup of dinner, giving them a sense of ownership and purpose in this regular family time.   

Again, you must know that there are nights I silently long for the meal to just end after the constant “stay-in-your-chair-eat-your-meat-chew-with-your-mouth-closed-no-you-can’t-have-dessert-yet-and-mama’s-just-plain-dog-tired” routine.  But equally as often, the time together is sweet fellowship and a safe haven that simply cannot be matched elsewhere. 

My recipe blog has a wide variety of easy, family-friendly meals.  I’d love to hear about your dinnertime tips and ideas, as well!  Blessings from our table to yours!

Amanda

Authors: Blog/Recipe Blog