Family meal time has long been touted to have a wide breadth of benefits. Researchers, with an apparent vendetta against working mothers, make it seem like everything from teenage angst to global warming can be eradicated if parents would simply sit down to have a nutritious dinner with their children each night. It's no wonder employees manning drive-through windows at fast food restaurants see a peak in briefcased-females around the dinner hour. Unfortunately, the convenience fast food offers does little to alleviate the pressure working mothers feel to produce an idyllic family meal-time routine
Aside from hiring a personal chef, what’s the alternative? Sure you can try and bluff your family by lighting a pumpkin spice candle before pulling a store bought pie out of your refrigerator – not that I’ve ever done that, but I heard that my friend’s sister’s manicurist’s niece once did, but remember, a little pre-planning and delegation can go a long way.
A Common Sense Guide to Meal Planning
This simple five-step plan can help transform you from a harried working parent who crawls through the door after a long commute with just enough energy to curl up in the corner with a cellphone in one hand and the pizza delivery guy’s number in the other, to a meal-making pro:
- Purchase a crockpot or slow cooker. This gem of a kitchen utensil can be a busy working mom’s best friend. Simply fill it with some kind of meat, a few vegetables, some spices and a liquid, stir, cover with the lid and turn it on. Ease of use aside, it won’t overheat your kitchen and, until someone creates a pot roast-scented candle, it can make your house smell like you’ve been slaving in the kitchen for hours.
- Select easy-to-make recipes. Just because they have the words "crockpot" or "slow cooker" in the title, do not mean they are a breeze to prepare. If they require ingredients that you cannot pronounce without having taken four semesters of conversational French in college, and take more than 15 minutes of prep time (not including shopping), skip them. My kitchen bible is the "Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook" by Dawn Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good (Good Books, Intercourse, PA, 2000, ISBN: 1-56148-338-9) because it offers a wide variety of simple, but tasty nutritious meal-time options.
- Plan a weekly dinner menu. Start with what your family likes and work from there, but be sure to add some variety. No matter how much you'd like to single-handedly conquer teenage angst and global warming, your family can take only so many chicken casseroles in a given 7-day span. Don't be afraid to broach your network of working moms for recipes either. Chances are, they're in the same boat you are and would love to dish about their family favorites.
- Once your menu is set, list all of the ingredients you will need to make them. Make sure you don’t already have these items in stock before putting them on your list. The average spice rack does not need more than one container of coriander. Scan grocery store ads to see where you can get the required items for the best possible price (especially important if you’re saving up for a personal chef). Match the items pictured in the ads against the items on your list, like a culinary game of mahjong.
- Utilize your in-house kitchen staff. Does your spouse get home before you do? How about your children? Pets? If you have the bandwidth to make dishes ahead of time, simply leave clear instructions for defrosting and warming it up in either the oven or microwave. Otherwise, you can leave a list of ingredients on the counter along with an easy-to-read recipe card. Even younger children, with supervision, can lend a hand but, until they’re old enough to light a Chicken Kiev candle, be sure to hide the matches.
Barb Valentin - Barb is a freelance writer and over-scheduled, but blissful mom of five boys, one of whom is special needs.
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