Order Up!

Know you should be teaching your kids how to prepare meals, but can never find the time?
  

Resigned to the fact that your family will eat out too often again this summer?

...or are you just tired of doing all the work?

What if you could teach skills that will last a life-time,
save money on restaurants, and
make happy memories with your kids?

Organize summer meals by creating a "culinary school" in your own kitchen
and

Make Dinner Matter!

     This summer vacation marks the third year in a row I have made a summer cooking schedule for our family.  In the beginning, I decided to have the kids help me - just so I wouldn't be alone in the kitchen.  Now my food allergic tween proudly prepares entire meals for the family - on her own!  My goal for your family is to keep the expectations realistic and the mood fun.  This means writing the toddler into the rotation too! 
     Sound too complicated?  Hey, you've got weeks worth of soccer practice, or swim lessons on the calendar.  Teaching your kids independence in the kitchen is important.  And less expensive than signing them up for another camp.  What if you just scheduled it in?

For example:
1. COMMIT  I selected the 7 weeks between Monday, June 20th, and Sunday, August 7th.

2. BE REALISTIC  Of the 49 days, I figured 2 per week for special occasions and/or eating out.  Subtracting a vacation week left 30 days to make dinner matter. 

3. ASSIGN DUTY Who gets to cook/help you cook dinner when...?  Put it on the calendar!  (Note: Use the phrase, "gets to," rather than "has to!"  It will change your attitude too.)

Considering?  Read on...

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Make Dinner Matter

Step 1 - Menu Plan

One of the benefits of being assigned a night in our house is getting to select the meal!  If this is new for your family, you may want to select a few kid-friendly cookbooks from the library for inspiration.  It also helps to menu plan once a week and shop for as many items as possible at one time.  To save money, you may want to shop first and hit the sales, then menu plan based upon what you purchased. 

Bonus points - As you schedule the meals, display a few days worth of "menus" on the fridge (or computer screen).  Have your kids write (or type) it up.  They look forward to their meal nights!...Can't write yet?  Kids can glue pictures of items - or draw them.

Step 2 - Make Time

Kids in the kitchen need time to explore.  Make sure you allow enough time for food prep, mishaps, and messes!  Then teach them how to clean-up...

Step 3 - Land the Helicopter

Don't hover.  If a particular task makes you nervous, break down the steps and teach your child how to perform it safely.  If your child has never cut an onion, for example, you have a lot of groundwork to lay (use a cold onion, pre-cut manageable chunks, and be ready with sympathy if eyes are burning).  Learning a new task is nerve-wracking if someone keeps catching you doing it wrong. 

Above all be flexible, be realistic, and have fun!  Think you are going to try it?  Have questions?  Let me know...

Knife Skills for Toddlers 
Food Allergy Organization Tips 

p.s. I have a super-picky eater.  On his nights, someone else prepares the meat for the rest of us, as needed,  because meat grosses him out! 

Leo Babauta. zenhabits.net.

Define, "zen."

noun:  school of Mahayana Buddhism asserting that enlightenment 

can come through meditation and intuition rather than faith; China and Japan

Meet Leo Babauta, the creator and writer of  zenhabits.net .  

He is married with six kids and lives in San Francisco... Read more...

His piece, "25 Ways to Simplify Your Life With Kids" 

can be found by clicking the link below...

It starts with, "Self-sufficiency."

Zen Habits

Smile, Breathe, and Go Slowly -
25 Ways To Simplify Your Life With Kids

From 25 Ways To Simplify Your Life With Kids...
#19 reveals even the enlightened among us must get down on the floor and declutter from time-to-time!

#19  "Make decluttering a family event. I like to set aside one day every few months when we go through all the stuff in our rooms and declutter. We do it together, and it can be a bonding time. We end up with trash bags full of junk, boxes full of stuff to donate or give to family, and in the end, much simpler rooms. It’s very satisfying."  ~  Leo Babauta

Smile.  Declutter.  Enlighten.

Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?

If you want work well done, select a busy man - the other kind has no time.  ~Elbert Hubbard
 
This time next week it will be 1 hour later than it is right now. 
Daylight Savings Time

I object to being told that I am saving daylight when my reason tells me that I am doing nothing of the kind...At the back of the Daylight Saving scheme, I detect the bony, blue-fingered hand of Puritanism, eager to push people into bed earlier, and get them up earlier, to make them healthy, wealthy, and wise in spite of themselves.
~ Robertson Davies, The Diary of Samuel Marchbanks

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana"

Groucho Marx

"Time is on my side, yes it is."

Mick Jaggar

  
Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.  
~John Archibald Wheeler

Psychology 101

Are your family's stacks off-balance?  Try getting back to basics.  Find the missing needs!

When Abraham Maslow created his Hierarchy of Needs, I imagine he thought of the bottom row as a kind of throw-away.  In short: food, water, sleep, and sex.  No brainers, right? 

In 2011, our Land of Opportunity runs 24-7, yet it can be challenging to meet our basic physiological needs!  Can "food" be  purchased with a debit card behind the wheel of a mini-van?  Does a 20 oz bottle of diet soda hydrate?  Is sleep in a car seat or on a sectional with the tv blaring restorative?  And make sure you make time for sex.  Make time?  Sheesh.

Attack your time management stacks pyramid style.  Take a Psych 101 lesson from the chapter on Humanistic Psychology and prioritize that bottom red row.  Make old Maslow proud... 

 

For me, respecting my basic needs means cutting out the bottle of  Coke.  Sometimes I switch to Organic Root Beer first. (Try sipping that from a brown glass bottle at a stoplight.  Always gives me pause.)  I find the rest of my reds are generally in order, but when my inner stacks need to re-sync, I have usually neglected water.  

Down the hatch!

Seeing Red - A Love Story

Last minute Valentine's Day errands have you frustrated?  Rushing to "put on a show" for your family?

Think you don't have the energy or creativity to do it on your own?

Yes, you DO!  The only Big Box store you need is your own home!  You don't even have to get dressed.

DECLARE ORDER WITH RED.

Take 5 minutes to make a pile of RED household items.  Go ahead.  I'll wait...
I raided my Kitchen, Birthday Box (see archives - Pencil Giving Needs), Gift Wrap drawer and found -

RED STUFF!

FOCUS ON YOUR SCHEDULE. 
What would make the most sense?
For your life.
For today.
A CENTERPIECE?
PLACE SETTINGS?
ENTRY?
LUNCH BOXES?

After looking at the RED STUFF and thinking about OUR schedule,
I chose to RED UP the kitchen table.
I started with the white breakfast bowls...

Hey!  

These look pretty sweet against the RED STUFF! 

Then I remembered the white tablecloth from Thanksgiving...

And...voila!

PRETTYFUL

My mom is an expert at making do.
She taught us that little loving touches can have as much impact as an "in your face" display.  My tween wandered past and asked to help blow up the balloons.  Then lamented she, "hadn't gotten me anything."  But the day is young and she is resourceful...Can't wait!
Thanks, mom. xox

LOVE STORIES

Oooh!  Inspiration!  I think I will take the paper placecards and write thoughtful little one sentence messages on the inside to my husband and kids...

"I love it when you___________.  

It is fun when we ___________.  

I am proud of you when___________."

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Eat Simple

"Food should be a source of nourishment for children, not entitlement, entertainment, or empowerment." ~ Simplicity Parenting

Gathering for dinner is challenging in this age of quick and easy convenience options, demanding schedules, and food restrictions.  It requires planning and routine.  If mealtimes have become overwhelming and you don't have time to re-invent the pasta wheel -  simplify.

One step.  Keep one food group the same and vary what you serve with it!

1.  Establish a weekly menu routine for one part of your nightly meal.  If this is new for your kids, have them assist with creating choices for the one food group.   Give everyone input and do what works for your family.  The key is to assign certain foods for certain days of the week for as long it takes (or until you are bored and need a change!).  It works because it establishes a routine in the midst of what can be a chaotic time of day.

This example is built around the STARCH . 

Sunday - pasta

Monday - rice

Tuesday - tortilla

Wednesday - couscous

Thursday - potato

Friday - EAT OUT

Saturday - EAT OUT

Young children can cut pictures from magazines to represent the various options.  You can write the word below the picture to help teach reading!  Tweens can be responsible for preparing the starch, as able.  DO what works for you.

Great for working within the boundaries of a food allergy, or a simplified schedule used by a family member with special needs!

(This week's posts are dedicated to a friend who finds it impossible to find time to make dinner.  She works full-time and has several kids.  “Impossible only means that you haven't found the solution yet.”)

Freeze Ahead Lunch?

     One common time-saving strategy for preparing healthy dinners is the "Make and Freeze."  Organized, busy families might spend Sunday afternoon cooking and baking in order to freeze ahead meals for a later date.  Others double, or triple!, a recipe during the week and freeze the extras.  You can find helpful tips at Busycooks.about.com, or check-out the summary below for more info:

Freeze Ahead Dinners

1.  Wrap food in microwave-safe plastic wrap to freeze.  Thaw in the microwave!

2.  Freeze in small, thin portions.  Food thaws faster!

3.  No time to premake the casserole?
     Freeze ingredients in individual packets - chicken, vegetables, cheese, - with instructions!

4.  Line casserole dishes with heavy duty foil before assembling.
     Fill casserole dishes.  Freeze.
     Remove foil wrapped frozen food and seal in ziplock heavy duty freezer bag.
     Place back into original container to thaw and bake.

5.  Freeze only top quality foods.  Once a lousy meal = twice a lousy meal.

Freeze Ahead Lunches!

     A creative lunch twist on the "Make and Freeze" dinner solution is to - FREEZE SANDWICHES!  It is important to note that this doesn't work for ALL sandwiches, but the TOP FIVE FREEZABLE SANDWICHES, according to busycooks.about.com are:
1.  Chicken Pesto,
2.  Peanut Butter Granola,
3.  Ham Salad Wraps,
4.  Freeze Ahead Tuna, and
5.  Tex Mex Pita.

     Kathy Peel, author of, Busy Mom's Guide to a Happy Organized Home advises freezing meat sandwiches and writes "If you are really rushed most mornings, make sandwiches for school lunches on Sunday.  Label and freeze each one in a zipper bag.  Kids can choose a sandwich each morning, then add fruit, chips, or vegetable sticks.  An ice pack or frozen box of juice keeps the sandwich cold until noon." 

Now, if we could just freeze TIME in a bottle :) 


(This week's posts are dedicated to a friend who finds it impossible to find time to make dinner.  She works full-time and has several kids.  “Impossible only means that you haven't found the solution yet.”)

Colorful Beef

Where's The Beef?
5 MINUTE PREP  
(45 minutes to bake)
Milk-free, Egg-free, Nut-free, Wheat-free

Items Needed:
casserole dish with lid
olive oil
fresh or frozen vegetable - broccoli, mushroom, diced tomato
pasta sauce - preferably something organic with personAlity
lean ground beef - uncooked
salt
helpful tween

Helpful tween in the kitchen:
1.  Pre-heats oven to 350.
2.  Drizzles olive oil in bottom of casserole dish.
3.  Drops a couple of handfuls of vegetables on the bottom.
4.  Distributes uncooked lean ground beef on top of the vegetables.
5.  Plops contents of pasta sauce jar on top of beef.
6.  Sprinkles in salt, stirs gently, and puts on the lid.
7.  Places in oven (careful, it's heavy!) to bake (45 minutes).

MAKE IT A MEAL:

No time?  French bread dunkers.  Cut loaf and serve on a plate in the center of the table.

No time?  Breadstick dippers!  Place on a plate in the center of the table.

Pasta time?  Make and serve over pasta.

Garnish time?  Riff off one of the ingredients listed on sauce (ex. mushroom, tomato, onion...). Or sprinkle with cheese, as able.

COLORFUL CHARACTER LINKS

commercial flashbacks    

Life cereal: Mikey likes it!

Oscar Mayer: My bologna

Where's The Beef? Clara Peller

(This week's posts are dedicated to a friend who finds it impossible to find time to make dinner.  She works full-time and has several kids.  “Impossible only means that you haven't found the solution yet.”)

Colorful Chicken

Chicken & Salsa
5 MINUTE PREP  
(45 minutes to bake)
Milk-free, Egg-free, Nut-free, Wheat-free

Items Needed:
casserole dish with lid
olive oil
frozen vegetables - corn or multi-colored peppers
chicken breasts
salsa - preferably something organic with personAlity
helpful tween

Helpful tween in the kitchen:
1.  Pre-heats oven to 350.
2.  Drizzles olive oil in bottom of casserole dish.
3.  Drops a handful of frozen vegetables on the bottom.
4.  Places chicken breasts on the vegetables.
5.  Plops contents of salsa jar on top of chicken.
6.  Sloshes around and puts on the lid.
7.  Places in oven (careful, it's heavy!) to bake (45 minutes).

Life is good.

Smile :)

MAKE IT A MEAL:

No time?  Open whatever corn chip is your pleasure and serve from a bowl in the center of the table.

No time?  Toss some tortillas (corn, or wheat - as able) on a plate in the center of the table. 

Rice time?  Make and serve with rice.

Garnish time?  Riff off one of the ingredients listed on salsa (ex. pineapple, tomato, onion...).  Or a dollop of guacamole, or sour cream - as able.


(This week's posts are dedicated to a friend who finds it impossible to find time to make dinner.  She works full-time and has several kids.  “Impossible only means that you haven't found the solution yet.”)

Do or do not...there is no try

"Do or do not...there is no try."  ~  Yoda

Warning:  The following is a clothing experiment that requires more than an, "I'll try."

The only way to fully grasp the freedom of the "Six Items or Less" challenge is to DO it.

Or do not.

From the website, "Six Items or Less"
http://sixitemsorless.com/the-experiment/: 

"What do our clothes say about us? 
Why do spend so much time on what we wear? 
What happens when we don’t?

 

Six Items or Less began as a small experiment between friends and quickly grew to become a global movement questioning the power of what we don’t wear.

The scope of the Six Items project expanded rapidly around the world, exposing individuals and even entire families to explore a life with less. The community now acts as a participant-driven platform that features discussions on everything from fashion to financials to personal feelings and development.

The experiment is simple: each participant gets to choose six (and only six) items of clothing and pledge to wear only these six items of clothing for a month.

Logistically, there are exceptions that don’t count towards the six: undergarments, swim wear, work-out clothes, work uniforms, outer wear (rain slicker, outdoor jacket), shoes and accessories. You can get multiples of the same item for laundry purposes, but different colors count as separate items.

Most people have asked about the reasoning behind the experiment and most also assume it’s a grand statement about consumerism. In reality, there is no dictated driving thought–it’s for you to decide its meaning and relativity in your world. It’s about putting a challenge out there and seeing what people bring to it, do with it and talk about." 

Six items for 30 days.  
It will change the way you think about your clothes.    

Just Do It.  

There is no, "try."

Spongebob Squarepants

Buddy from Cake Boss,  
NFL Football Players, 
Project Runway's Tim Gunn, 

Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick,  
Wii Miis,  
Facebook Friends...

Colorful characters enter our lives via screens.  But how to manage them all?

     One solution is to give these entertaining folks a designated time to come in!  Provide a boundary.  Make them less available ALL THE TIME.

     Think about it this way...The newspaper is on the driveway in the morning.  School buses arrive and depart at designated times before and after school.  Motivated people work-out early before work.

     We anticipate these events and plan around them.
 

     Controlling the quantity of screen time needs to be a conscious choice.  The American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends limiting children's total screen time to no more than 1 to 2 hours of quality screen time per day.  One solution for keeping this trifecta of tv, video games, and computers being used for entertainment purposes under control is to schedule it in at designated times.

Screen Time Management Schedule:

7:00 - 8:00 am

4:00 - 5:00 pm

8:00 - 9:00 pm

This schedule includes weekends!  Perhaps the 8:00 - 9:00 pm time would only be allowed if homework is finished, dinner is eaten, and hygiene is in check.  My own son rarely wakes in time on school days to make the 7:00 - 8:00am slot and no longer begs for "just 15 minutes."  If the time is past, the time is past.  Some days the kids watch three hours and some days just one.  It all evens out nicely :)

     We do make allowances, as needed - when the Chicago Bears are playing, or for a movie night.  And, obviously, TiVo makes recording shows a snap.  The weekend rule at our house was amended to "You can watch/play for one hour after you wake up," to meet our family's needs.  We did not want to encourage the kids to wake up early on Saturday just to watch tv!

     Organizing screen time in this manner has become a habit.  The middle of the day is for school or play.  Screen time is not filler time - it is a conscious part of the daily routine.