Try a New Recipe
In an effort to do some things for me, or at least some things that I might enjoy, I decided to try a new recipe. I used to LOVE cooking so much, before I had children. That sounds crude but they truly took the joy out of it for me and once they came along, cooking became an obligation, a chore, and less of an experiment of trying something new and challenging.
Last night I decided that I would try a new recipe and that I would invite my daughter to have a go at being a chef and helping me cook dinner for the family. We did some Pinterest-ing and found something new to try. New and KETO which is how the Mom and Dad in this house eat.
Creamy Garlic Pesto Chicken
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/57280226497312168/
We had a super fun time slicing and dicing and trying something different. Of course the local and quick grocery store was "out of sun dried tomatoes until tomorrow" so we had to adjust a bit in our recipe. My girl learned how to simmer something, used a whisk for the first time and loved the fact that the person cooking gets to taste test whenever they want to.
The absolute best part was the pride she took in this meal and setting the table, plating the food and looking forward to their reaction. Hers was pure delight and she couldn't stop saying how delicious each bite was. She even took my advice to put some fresh basil and Parmesan on top, and loved it.
The task of cooking a meal each night is a big one, especially when you feel like you already know that half the crowd won't be appreciative of your time and efforts and would have been happier and less whiny had you made frozen nuggets or pizza rolls. Inviting her into the mix made the whole experience, dare I say, enjoyable right down to the clean up after the meal. She was excited and proud and I was excited and proud too. It was fun and after a long day at work, spending the time having a teaching moment with my little girl was the perfect end to the day.
I highly recommend involving the kids in the meal prep. It is obviously different depending on their ages, and believe me I have tried many ways to get them involved in the hopes that it wouldn't be so daunting and dreaded each day, for me that is. Here are some ideas that we have tried (please feel free to add your own in the comments so there is a running list of great ideas from all over).
1. Get a cookbook for kids from the library (We loved the Disney Princess one so much we bought it). Let the kids pick a few side dishes or a main dish that they would like to try from the cookbook and work it into the menu.
2. When you sit down to meal plan or grocery shop, ask them what THEY want for dinner and try to work a couple of those recipes into the mix. At least when those meals appear, they feel a bit more of an obligation to not hurt your feelings since they chose the meal.
3. If you have older kids, have them zip through Pinterest on their own or with you. Better yet, have them look around and SEND you pins of things they think look yummy. Again, if they are helping in the planning, maybe they are more likely to eat? This was not the case for us many times, but with as much as I have begun to hate cooking, totally worth the shot.
4. Ask if there is something yummy a friend's parent makes for dinner when they are visiting and then reach out to get that recipe from their family.
5. Involve them in the planning and cooking of the meal occasionally. Hey, they gotta learn these life skills some time and the math involved is also a bonus.
WARNING: Don't let them know they are LEARNING or the whole thing could backfire and you'll be back to cooking miserably on your own and serving to ungrateful kids who go to bed hungry because they can't even fathom stomaching the awful poison you set before them.
So try a new recipe and remember to be grateful for however it turns out!
Last night I decided that I would try a new recipe and that I would invite my daughter to have a go at being a chef and helping me cook dinner for the family. We did some Pinterest-ing and found something new to try. New and KETO which is how the Mom and Dad in this house eat.
Creamy Garlic Pesto Chicken
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/57280226497312168/We had a super fun time slicing and dicing and trying something different. Of course the local and quick grocery store was "out of sun dried tomatoes until tomorrow" so we had to adjust a bit in our recipe. My girl learned how to simmer something, used a whisk for the first time and loved the fact that the person cooking gets to taste test whenever they want to.
The absolute best part was the pride she took in this meal and setting the table, plating the food and looking forward to their reaction. Hers was pure delight and she couldn't stop saying how delicious each bite was. She even took my advice to put some fresh basil and Parmesan on top, and loved it.The task of cooking a meal each night is a big one, especially when you feel like you already know that half the crowd won't be appreciative of your time and efforts and would have been happier and less whiny had you made frozen nuggets or pizza rolls. Inviting her into the mix made the whole experience, dare I say, enjoyable right down to the clean up after the meal. She was excited and proud and I was excited and proud too. It was fun and after a long day at work, spending the time having a teaching moment with my little girl was the perfect end to the day.
I highly recommend involving the kids in the meal prep. It is obviously different depending on their ages, and believe me I have tried many ways to get them involved in the hopes that it wouldn't be so daunting and dreaded each day, for me that is. Here are some ideas that we have tried (please feel free to add your own in the comments so there is a running list of great ideas from all over).
1. Get a cookbook for kids from the library (We loved the Disney Princess one so much we bought it). Let the kids pick a few side dishes or a main dish that they would like to try from the cookbook and work it into the menu.
2. When you sit down to meal plan or grocery shop, ask them what THEY want for dinner and try to work a couple of those recipes into the mix. At least when those meals appear, they feel a bit more of an obligation to not hurt your feelings since they chose the meal.
3. If you have older kids, have them zip through Pinterest on their own or with you. Better yet, have them look around and SEND you pins of things they think look yummy. Again, if they are helping in the planning, maybe they are more likely to eat? This was not the case for us many times, but with as much as I have begun to hate cooking, totally worth the shot.
4. Ask if there is something yummy a friend's parent makes for dinner when they are visiting and then reach out to get that recipe from their family.
5. Involve them in the planning and cooking of the meal occasionally. Hey, they gotta learn these life skills some time and the math involved is also a bonus.
WARNING: Don't let them know they are LEARNING or the whole thing could backfire and you'll be back to cooking miserably on your own and serving to ungrateful kids who go to bed hungry because they can't even fathom stomaching the awful poison you set before them.
So try a new recipe and remember to be grateful for however it turns out!
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