Healthy, Home-Cooked Meals

In our efforts to get healthy and save more money on food, we are making a bigger effort to have home cooked, from scratch meals. It's hard work!

At some point, I picked up a book called KidShape Cafe, by Naomi Neufeld, and we are now putting it to use. It features "over 150 kid-tested recipes" from Chef David Lawrence and, so far, my kids have enjoyed them all.

The nicest feature of the book is in the back, where three weeks worth of meal plans are listed: breakfast, lunch, dinner w/ dessert, and two snacks. There's plenty to eat, and there are columns for diets consisting of 1,200,  1,500,  1,800,  and 2,200 calories per day, so you know how much should be served to a person needing any of those.

Most of the recipes are really simple, and there's a nice variety. Sections are broken up into breakfasts and breads, lunches, snacks and drinks, main dishes, soups and chili, veggies and side dishes, and desserts (11 with 200 calories or less!).

A lot of the main dish recipes feature boneless, skinless chicken breasts or ground turkey, so it's easy for me to head to Costco and pick up big packs of these. You can also watch for sales on both at regular grocery stores, especially if you want organic, and stock up your freezer.

Now we're eating wonderfully, right? Well, not quite. The hard thing is that it takes TIME to commit to your family's health. And any parent who works during the day is aware of the meltdowns that often happen once everyone is home in the evening.

My new goal is to have a healthy snack ready as soon as I pick up the girls. Then, once we're home, it's immediately outside for a walk or some play time to burn off some energy. Even 20 minutes will do. The girls get my undivided attention and a good walk will lower my stress level yet increase my energy to get me through the evening.

Then I can come in and whip up most of these meals in a half hour. One trick is to plan ahead, shop for groceries on the weekend, and measure out / chop ingredients as soon as you bring them home. Always plan 10 minutes extra prep time for any recipe if you have to do it on the spot, more if your kids are especially prone to interrupting!

Another great feature of the book is that most meals are made to serve six, so we always have leftovers. This is great for lunch the next day, or an easy dinner the next night. Speaking of lunches, there are also some great ways to break out of the traditional sandwich-and-an-apple rut.

I recommend the book, and I recommend working through any frustrations you have about making time for cooking. I understand, believe me, but it's so satisfying to sit down and serve a healthy, home-cooked meal to your loved ones. Good luck!