Why is it that we have to eat dinner every single
night!? My most hated question is, "What's for dinner?" I hate coming
up with the menu, finding the recipes and then shopping for the ingredients. I
love eating healthy, nutritious, whole foods... but I hate trying to find time
to make them. I despise eating fast food, but it sometimes ends up that way
when our fridge is empty and there isn't anything I can make out of green
beans, milk and bread.
That day is inevitable. You know, the day when
there is literally nothing to eat, everyone is starving, and the last thing you
want to do is throw the kids in the car to go buy some chicken nuggets? That
day is the day I dread, but I know it's in my future at least once a week. Even
when I prepare and plan meals for every day of the week, something unexpected
happens, and the next thing you know we are coming home from a birthday party
that I forgot about and we get home too late to roll out pizza dough.
I considered myself an organized person... until
I had children. Since I had my first child almost three years ago, I've created
schedule after schedule trying to create processes to make my life easier. I've
made cleaning schedules, exercise schedules, cooking schedules, daily
schedules, etc., but so many of them have failed. I've learned that it's near
impossible to plan on anything going the way you want it to when you throw kids
into the mix. I wake up with a plan to clean the house, then one child is sick
and the other is having tantrum after tantrum, and it throws the entire day
off. Though I've come to accept that it's hard to plan, I refuse to believe
that I can't make my life easier with a process. I'm sure there are things out
there that can truly make a world of difference, and I'm happy to report that
I've finally found one!
Last month I took a class that had us prepare 10
freezer meals for our families that we could take home, put in the freezer, and
then toss in the crock pot when we were ready for a delicious, healthy meal. It
wasn't just regular, old crock pot stuff either. It was meals like carne asada
street tacos, boneless pork ribs, garlic parmesan chicken, French dips, and
many other mouthwatering recipes. It has been amazing and absolutely life
changing having these meals on hand!
This class has prompted me to evaluate my life
and see what other things can be done to make things a little easier. For
example, I'd love to get into canning! It's something that my mom always did
(and currently does) and it seems like it would make life so much simpler! Like
freezer meals, it would be nice to have meals/ingredients ready for those
nights when you need something quick.
I can't even tell you what a saving grace the
freezer meals have been for our family! The days where we are running around
like chickens with our heads cut off, it's so nice to throw something in and
eat something for dinner that tastes like I had slaved all day for it. I hope
to one day be able to make a fresh, home cooked meal every night, but for now,
I'll take what I can get.
Published in The Tremonton Leader in September 2018
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