The most dreaded question I face on any given day is, “Mom!! What’s for dinner?” I literally shudder when I hear my daughters’ loud, squeaky voices shout this inquiry. For one thing, I usually don’t know. It’s no secret that my meal-planning skills are subpar. Okay, fine. My cooking skills aren’t great either, but never mind that. If I do happen to know what’s for dinner—probably because my husband bought the ingredients and told me what he’d like me to cook—my girls usually protest any menu I present.
In all fairness, my daughters are not very picky eaters. A couple of them have even made requests for exotic-to-a-kid foods, such as crab legs and sushi. If their repertoires are limited, then I only have myself to blame. I love to make the old standbys—things that are easy, fast, foolproof, and that all three will eat without complaining. Spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, canned soup, Ramen noodles, and, yes, I’m ashamed to admit, even cereal are “sure things” my girls love to gobble down. An added bonus is that my ten-year-old can make all of these dishes on her own, freeing me from the burden of cooking dinner some nights. Did I mention she wants to be a chef? Talk about on-the-job training!
Recently, I experienced a sort of “cooking renaissance” after discovering the deliciousness prevalent on Pinterest. For a few weeks, I experimented with new recipes that made my husband fall in love with me all over again. His eyes lit up like Christmas trees as I served him plate after plate of chicken parmesan casserole, bacon and Gruyère tarts, and patty melts. The freshly discovered dessert recipes practically made his head spin! Key lime pie, gooey brownie bites, and peanut butter fudge put a perma-smile on his face. The problem was that, while the girls obviously adored the desserts, they didn’t like many of these latest entrée recipes.
One would love the chicken parm casserole, but the other two would be disgusted by it. Two would scarf down the patty melts, while the third would stab it methodically with her fork. On evenings like this, each child would request a particular meal. Sometimes, I’d have no fight left in me and would happily play the short-order cook just to have some peace and quiet. But after slaving away all day on a brand-new recipe? No way! I refused to meet their requests. Ironically, when we go to a fast-food restaurant, all three always order the exact same meal! What the…?!
I’d be a fool not to employ the “starving kids in third-world countries” tactic on my daughters when they start fussing about dinner—or anything else, for that matter. I’ve even gone as far as to show them pictures of those poor, sweet kids online to drive the point home. One of my biggest fears as a mom is that my daughters will turn out to be entitled, spoiled brats, and complaining about food falls under that category in my eyes. That’s not to say I adore every food out there. I just happen to control what comes into the house. I remind them they’ll have that power too one day, and they’re definitely looking forward to it.
Then there’s the matter of wanting us all—myself, my husband, and my daughters—to eat healthier. My five go-to dishes are not the most nutritious fare. There’s a local produce company that delivers boxes of fresh organic fruits and vegetables every week, but my thrifty husband thinks it would be a waste of money. He always says, “We’ll go to the farmer’s market for fresh produce!”…but we never do. The stuff you get at the supermarket is laden with chemicals and pesticides, so what’s the point in forcing your kids to eat that junk? In my dreams, we gather at the dinner table every evening around large silver platters of freshly picked fruits and vegetables, eating happily to our hearts’ content. It could happen, right?!
One of my time-tested philosophies of motherhood is that parenting involves a lot of threats and bribes. I’ve been known to use one or the other, and sometimes both, when my daughters refuse to eat what I’m cooking. Threats usually mean tears (theirs, mine, and sometimes even my husband’s), while bribes involve promising the one thing I’m really trying to rid our house of: sugary junk food. Sigh.
Some of my friends are geniuses at hiding healthy ingredients in kid-friendly foods. You can find tons of recipes online that show you how to create nutritious foods disguised as treats—muffins filled with shredded carrots, cake made with spinach. Perhaps if I always had a tray of freshly baked health food muffins lying around, I could guilt-free send my kids in that direction whenever they turn their noses up at what I serve for dinner. I’m also game for whipping up a healthy smoothie, so that’s another option I’m willing to give them.
In the end, I’m not just feeding these kids to keep them alive; I’m trying to teach them something. We need to take the best care of our bodies that we can, we can’t always get what we want—even if we don’t like what we’re served—and Mommy gets really stressed out around 5 o’clock each evening. What’s for dinner? Whatever’s on your plate—that’s what!
