People often ask what it is like to feed half dozen kids. Feeding families can be a “thing” and many parents report that dinner time can be the most stressful time of the day. I decided early on that I didn’t want meal time to create anxiety for me or my kids, so here are my few tips for relaxing and enjoying fun family meals.
– I don’t let myself get upset if the kids turn their noses up at what is being served for dinner. There’s enough variety that they’re going to like something on the menu. As long as they try one bite of what is being served up, they are welcome to fill their bellies with the raw carrots on the table. No one has starved yet.
– We keep meals simple and kid friendly. The Daddy-o works out of town during the week and I’m not a foodie, so this adult is happy to make easy dinner recipes and eat with the kiddos.
– For me, the only thing more annoying than cooking is coming up with fast recipes and meal ideas. I have a four week meal planner posted in the kitchen for everyone to see. It makes for effective shopping, creates less wasted food and saves me from hearing, “what’s for dinner?” six times a day.
Here is an example of my September meal plan filled with quick recipes. I use one of our quick dinner ideas on Wednesdays because the kids have hot lunches at school that day. I also try to have something they all like on a Monday, because let’s face it – Mondays can be tough. On the last Friday of the month, we order in. The menu is based on different children’s preferences and the evening activity schedule. Some meals are faster to prepare and clean up. Those are meals we have on nights where we have to be at music, dance, hockey and taekwondo right after dinner.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| Week 1 | Fish and Chips/raw veg | Chicken drumsticks/mashed potato/corn | Breakfast for dinner (eggs/bacon) | Pasta: spaghetti and meatballs | Home-made pizza/raw veg |
| Week 2 | Salmon/ asparagus/noodles | Chicken breast/ mashed spuds/corn | Homemade soup | Pasta: pesto | Chicken and Cesar salad |
| Week 3 | Tacos | Butter chicken and rice | Salad wraps | Chicken schnitzel/roast potatoes/tomato and avocado salsa | Hotdogs and hamburgers/salad |
| Week 4 | Cheesy pasta | Ribs/noodles/corn on the cob | Crepes and omelets | Bangers and mash/ peas | ORDER IN |
Substitutes: curried sausage, chili, perogies, Swedish meatballs and rice, lasagna.
How does your family survive the dinner hour? Do you have any quick and easy dinner ideas or meal planner tips that make this time of day less stressful in your house?
This is amazing! Thanks so much I need this once school starts.
This is actually a genius Idea. I hear people have lists but looking at yours it actually becomes an idea that may get some action in our home. Thank you for this
So far we’ve been lucky when it comes to being picky about food. We eat a lot of healthy food so the little one likes a variety of vegetables and he loves food so he eats everything we serve, thankfully! We’ll see if that changes as he gets older? I love the idea of meal plans but I don’t think I’d be able to follow it, lol! I usually go with my cravings. It could be steak w/ potatoes one day, chicken w/ rice the next. Meal plans are great for those that like structure and don’t want to rack their brains. That’s the worst part of cooking, lol!