SAHM how/what do you eat?

i have 3 year b/g twins and a 1 year old. Plus another due in May. I am not a cook. But I need to be. I need help. I don't know what to do all week long for foods. Breakfast is good. I can handle eggs, waffles, yogurt, cereal - all that. But the rest of the day and meal I am terrible. I don't do enough and I feel horrible about it. There are too many hot dogs and sandwiches for lunch and diner (not to mention the taco bell and pizza)

My kids are picky - which is probably my fault. But I hate to spend time making something when no one will even try it. I will take any suggestions or opinions. Do you have a set menu you plan every week. How do you do it?

Thanks

 

You're a pregnant mom of two three year olds and a one year old and you don't think you're doing enough?! Goodness gracious, if you're getting food on the table for every meal, I think you're doing really well! :lol: My poor DH was stuck doing the cooking/feeding when I was pregnant, so kudos to you!

I do some menu planning when I can. I try to make sure that I pick meals that can be prepared easily (like, at nap time) or quickly in the evenings. Casseroles are great for our family and most of the time I'll try to stick in some fresh vegetables in things like spaghetti or cut up into a salad. The boys love apples, oranges, grapes and bananas too and fruit salad is super easy. Next week, I'm going to start cooking all of our meals on Sunday afternoons. Maybe doing that and sticking them in the freezer would be easier for you? Especially on nights when you're tired and need DH to take over (because mine honestly can't cook though bless his heart for trying). It was definitely a trial at first because our two older boys were very picky, but they've been doing really well. It's been great for us to sit down together as a family too.

 

First of all, come check out the Cooking Forum here on Twinstuff. Lots of ideas from people who are managing picky eaters and toddlers.

I menu plan dinner, then use the leftovers for lunches. Or, I freeze leftovers for a second easy meal. Tonight's meal was a pork roast I threw in the crockpot while the kids were eating lunch. For sides, I warmed up some leftover biscuits and leftover banana bread from other meals. I also pulled out a small pan of sweet potatoes I had frozen off of a bigger batch I made. So I put stuff in the crockpot at lunch time, and then warmed the rest in the over close to dinner time.

I also try not to be too fancy. Roasted chickens go well, especially when they can dip. Our Walmart sell pre-cooked ones almost as cheap as you can buy the raw ones. Cut up some apples and oranges. Or add some rolls or a salad. Use the leftovers for a casserole or soup or sandwiches. It doesn't have to be fancy.

But come check out the cooking forum.

Marissa

 

I menu plan for dinners, too. It makes a huge difference. I'm not stuck wondering what to serve for dinner a half-hour before we should be eating. Plus, I shop from my list, so I'm sure to have everything I need and not need to run out for something. Also, some things I will make a double portion of and freeze half for another day. Soup is great for this. Just double the recipe and put half int he freezer. Also, I sometimes freeze single-servings for myself for lunch.

For lunches, I do a lot of leftovers and this is when I do the hot dogs and peanut butter sandwiches. Also, every Monday we have Muffin Tin Monday. I have two 6-cup muffin tins (one for each kid) and I fill each cut with a different thing. This is a great way to use up small amounts of leftovers, gives them a variety of options to choose from, and provides an opportunity to introduce new foods in small portions. If you Google "Muffin Tin Monday" you can also find a bunch of themed tins for holidays and other things. Like one day you might do all green foods (lime jello, celery sticks, green tortilla chips...) or another day you might only do foods you can drink through a straw (cream soup, yogurt...).

 

I need to definately check out the cooking forum. Thanks for the reminder Marissa!!

We usually meal plan for dinners. Anytime we have tacos or chalupa's the kids eat really well. They love beans, avocados and cheese. So, those are usually available for taco and chalupa night. We do homemade baked chicken tenders. That too is very kid friendly. Also, any kind of pasta....spaghetti, baked ravioli's, lasagna all seem to be hits around here. Pasta is super easy and quick to make. So, those are my go to foods if I haven't planned anything and I don't have much time to make dinner.

For lunches: It's usually soup, sandwiches, quiche, tuna salad, egg salad, and leftovers.

 

No matter what I serve for lunch or dinner, each meal also includes a plate of cut fruit and a plate of cut veggies and usually bread and butter. If any of those foods are not finished, they go right into tupperware and out again at the next meal. This placates the child who doesn't like what the meal is, as well as it is easy for me to prepare them once every few days.

I also meal plan. It takes only a few minutes and leaves all the thinking out of dinner prep for the rest of the week. I know I have all the ingredients for each recipe - no fishing in the fridge - and Im never scrambling for last minute ideas.

Good luck and hang in there!

 

Glad I am not the only one that does this .

For lunch we do sandwiches, wraps, bagels, english muffins, leftover pasta, pizza, quesadilla etc. with fruit and veggies. They also have a smoothie most days. I limit dairy, but they would eat yogurt everyday.

Dinner staples include pasta, homemade pizza, mexican [love any beans and rice], fish [usually salmon], salad [as a meal], chili, and stir fry. Every few weeks we will have veggie burgers, hotdogs, or eggplant.

Best of luck.

 

The Crock Pot is my best friend! I use it a few times a week. It's so easy to throw everything in there and let it cook all day. I also use the site www.allrecipes.com for great stuff!