Krista and her family lived down the street from us when she was in about first grade. At the time, our kids ranged in age from 5-10 years old. She’d often come down to play in “the kingdom,” an island of myrtles and azaleas in our back yard with paths and clearings inside that afforded all kinds of adventures for our offspring and their friends. Every visit, she’d eventually make her way to our kitchen and I’d find her, hands on hips, surveying the cereal and snack choices on top of our refrigerator. “What ya got to eat?” was her standard question. Maybe her house didn’t have snacks, maybe she preferred ours, whatever the case, she was always hungry.
Feeding the kids during various stages of their growing years was a never-ending challenge. Our oldest was a picky eater, the middle one ate everything in sight, and the youngest preferred candy. Period. Her displeasure would be well documented if we tried to push the green vegetables.
We had a policy of everyone eating at least a small serving of everything on the table, showing appreciation of the effort that went into cooking it, and cultivating a taste for a variety of things that were nutritious. I remember one thanksgiving when all three had to eat a double portion of sweet potatoes because the word “disgusting” was used and agreed upon it as the general opinion of the group. We still hear complaints about that incident on a fairly regular basis, especially around the holidays.
We lived on a budget. Eating out was a treat and, at the time, kid’s meals were not the most nutritious. We got into the habit of too many burgers and fries. I decided we needed to make some changes.
One February, EAMC challenged Auburn-Opelika citizens to get fit, eat right, and drink more water. They provided a calendar with suggestions and a way to keep a record of daily goals. Turned out, their advice was actually a review of what I’d learned in health class in high school and with this encouragement, I got back into good habits and lost 30 pounds.
Soon, I began leading a fitness and nutrition course called Fit 4 at church. It included the spiritual component and was a really good education in having a fitness lifestyle. Part of the idea was to stock your pantry in such a way that you could not only prepare healthful and nutritious meals, but also have nutritious snack options as well as good choices of items to grab and go. So, when kids-and adults-asked, “What ya got to eat?” or went grazing for themselves, there was a way to be satisfied with out ditching the good nutrition goals.
In order to meet our goals and stay within our budget, I learned to make a two-week meal plan and buy groceries from a list based on the plan. We still had to make occasional trips to the store for milk and bread, but the trips were infrequent. It worked. We saved money and had a more balanced diet.
By planning ahead, I could make sure meals for any given day were based on the family schedule. I was able to make sure meal prep would be easy on busy days. If I forgot to thaw out some key ingredient or if the schedule changed, we had all the ingredients for all the other meals on the schedule and I could switch them up without problem. I posted the menu on the refrigerator so everyone knew what we were eating during the week.
From the time they were small, all three of our kids loved to help in the kitchen and I welcomed their presence. It was fun for all of us and meals became a team effort many days. If I was away from the house at meal prep time or simply running late, any of them could take a look at the menu and start prepping the ingredients for dinner. It was great. It gave them the opportunity to be in charge and as the cook, add their own touches. Of course, taking their age into consideration, they couldn’t use knives or the stove until an adult was present, but even in upper elementary school they were able to gather the ingredients and do some of the prep work.
Including the kids in the process of planning, prepping, and cooking our meals was not only helpful for me, it was a wonderful learning experience for them. Gathering in the kitchen as each one got home from school and working together to prepare the evening meal was also a great time to hear about their day and gain a window into their world. We all enjoyed it. And, as a result, all three kids developed a love of cooking. In fact, they are all really good cooks. So these days when we go to their houses, I have no problem raiding their refrigerators and asking, “Hey, what ya got to eat?” It’s always delicious and sometimes I even find dishes containing our new official state vegetable-the sweet potato.
Be safe. Be well. Be blessed.
