My friend Jackie asked me for dinner planning advice and I sent her this long email back. Since she is not the first to ask, nor will probably be the last, I decided to start this blog. Here is my letter to her:
For starters, sit with your family and have them tell you all the things they like for dinner and write them down in a list. You could write each dinner on a separate index card and shuffle them like cards and make a new thing each night. Or everyone could have a "night" to pick their favorite dinner. Once you have the week's menus planned, make a shopping list and buy what you need for the week. Kids really like it when you post the menu for the week on the fridge, too.
As for picky eaters, I did the totally "wrong" thing when my kids were young (according to some people) and made a fairly grownup dinner (something myself and my husband would actually enjoy eating) AND also provided chicken nuggets or something like that along with it. I rarely tried to get my kids to try new things. But when they were on the table, sometimes they'd try them, and when they'd go to friends' houses or eat out, they would get exposed to new things. They have gradually gotten less picky as they've gotten older. I always did insist on a certain amount of vegetables--I think it was the number of pieces (broccoli, baby carrots, etc.) to match their age or 2x their age. Now that my three older kids are teens and a young adult, they are asking for more sophisticated things. Like my 14 year old, the pickiest, asked for Korean Chap Chae last week!
Tonight I decided we are going to have Tortilla Soup, which I love and most of the family likes, AND bacon-wrapped tater tots (turkey bacon from Costco) so I don't have to listen to complaints from the one who doesn't like tortilla soup. It's all about my mental health, truly. We'll have a salad and fruit, too. All the soup eaters are allowed to eat the tots, too, so it's not like I'm making a separate meal for her.
Meal planning is a challenge for me, especially with all varieties of picky eaters, but I feel so much better when I know "what's for dinner." Also, per the preparedness booklet that I included in the bag, I keep staples in the house so there is always something I can make. With the birth of my third child we got a freezer for the garage so I always have extra bread, ground beef, chicken, frozen vegs & froz. berries from Trader Joe's, shredded cheese, etc. You can even freeze milk.
The other thing I do is keep a running shopping list (dollar store magnetic pad of paper) on the side of my fridge, with a pencil attached with a ribbon to the side. Whenever I think of something we need, I immediately write it down on the list. Otherwise I will forget. I'm also training my kids to do the same. Then I just take it with me to the store.
I know about nutrition but I don't worry too much about making the main dish low fat as long as I provide vegetables and fruit to go along with it. If I core and slice a bunch of apples and put them on the table, they will all get eaten.
The other thing that has helped me a LOT is to ask my friends what they're having for dinner. I feel that every time I learn a new easy recipe, it's such a treasure to add to my dinner armory.
As I write this, I've decided to start a blog about it. I've had other people ask me for advice about easy dinners so this will be a good way to share. The address is dinnermentor.blogspot.com and I will post some recipes soon.
You can also try savingdinner.com. This is from the "Dinner Diva" who works with FlyLady. She should have some free menus/recipes to try. I subscribed for a while but didn't renew because my family didn't like enough of her recipes. She also has several cookbooks that are very popular.
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