Can Mealtime Be Easy?

I have always found mealtime to be so very frustrating.
I see families sit down to meals together and I wonder
Where did I go wrong?

That's easy enough to answer. As a working mother
it was easiest just to feed the children first and
then worry about what my husband and were going to
eat. Actually, it was more my husband since he used
to get off work earlier than I would. So our children
grew up having a seperate meal from us and so today
mealtime is like the battle of Gettysburg! One child
wants one thing, the other wants something else and
there is no compremise between the two. We used to
try to the "you don't leave the table til you eat
trick", they went to bed hungery. Then it was " Try
at least one bit, if you don't like it you don't have
to eat it" trick, they went to bed hungery. What is
a person to do with such strong willed children. Make
mealtime more enjoyable by making food fun. I learned
this when I was studing for my certificate. When they
were little I used to make faces with the food or tell
stories about were the food came from so that they would
be more interested in it. It was still an uphill battle
so now that they are older I get their input about what
they would like to eat. Sometimes it is still a fight
and one has his meal and the other a different meal, but
now the oldest of our two is trying more foods and
because the youngest doesn't want to be out done he too
is trying more food, thank my lucky stars. Now to keep
this roll going I have investigated several websites and
found some tips on how to make the family dinner fast and
simple. This is a direct quote from an eDiets.com article.

"First set aside time on the weekends to make foods in advance
and freeze them. Connect with a friend, double the recipes and
split up the meals for both families.

Don't schedule your kid's day so heavily that it intrudes on
time to prepare dinner. Instead, invite them into the kitchen
and teach them a few things about cooking--it's a life skill
that they will cetrtainly thank you for some day.

Invest in a slow-cooker. This is a fabulous machine for busy
families. You can prepare your main dish in the morning and
come home to a delicious ready-to-eat meal. (My own suggestion
to this is to also invest in a Tupperware all in one cooker.
Your main meal goes in the bottom container, then your starchy
food in the middle and your vegetable on top cook for about an
hour in the microwave and ta dah you have dinner).

Buy pre-washed veggies in the produce section of stores. The
clean and prep is often the most time consuming part of cooking.

Buy "no-cook" items like apples, pears, avocadoes and tomatoes.
A fruit plate or veggie salad makes a terrific side dish.

Keep it simple. There's no need to strive for gourmet everyday.
It is often the simpler dishes hat have the best flavors, too.

Share the burden. Team up with a friend and have a family dinner
at their house one night and switch to your house on another.
For a different twist on the same concept, divide up the menu
between families and share the work.

Plan your menus and make a grocery list. These two steps require
finding spare time, but they will save time in the long run.

Buy a few cookbooks with titles like 30-minute meals, slow-cooker
recipes or five ingredients or less. These types of books are
geared toward getting meals on the table quickly and easily.
Look for books that offer shortcuts, pre-written shopping lists
and menu ideas.

Make extra for leftovers. It goes without saying: Leftovers
make great llunches and snacks. If you're making a family
favorite, double the recipe and freeze a portion for nextweek."

It's funny how simple this list is. Wish I would have thought of it,
I could have saved myself years and years of frustration.

I hope you all find this helpful, I know I did and things are getting
somewhat better. I guess ony time will tell.

Have a great day and I wil type to you soon.