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LIVING: Food/Dining/Nutrition
Karen Hawkins, DeCA Dietitian
Food/Nutrition
MA, RD, LD - Contributor
info@armywifemagazine.com
Avoid the Dinnertime Rush Hour – Use a Menu Planner
by Karen Hawkins, MA, RD, LD posted April 2010
Do you find yourself struggling to decide what to have for dinner 30 minutes before it needs to be on the table? An all too familiar sound in many homes around dinnertime is the kids saying, "Mom, I’m hungry – what's for dinner?" Many families find themselves peering into the refrigerator or stopping off at the closest fast-food restaurant to grab something to eat.
To help make life a little easier when it comes to eating, try using a meal planner. Something as simple as a weekly calendar with a shopping list attached to it will work. To help make that shopping list a little easier to fill in, keep a list of foods you use almost every day beside the planner on your refrigerator.
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Getting started
Pick a day to fill out your weekly menu and involve the family. Allow your children to help plan the menu; have each child plan a dinner along with adding necessary items to the shopping list. This is a great time for children to share what they may be learning about nutrition in school – depending on their age. You can use this time to talk about choosing foods that help children grow, according to www.mypyramid.gov.
Tools to use
Using tools can help your menu planning go smoothly, along with helping save money and time. With a little organization, using these tools to help create a menu can greatly reduce the stress level around dinnertime for everyone.
Tools include: Find out what is on sale for the week on www.commissaries.com, and use the coupon sites there. Gather your coupons and keep them in the car for the shopping trip. This means less chance of forgetting them when you are in a hurry. Check your pantry and refrigerator to see what foods are already on hand, and make sure to include these foods in your weekly menu to help save even more money.
Going for the gold
Take it a step further and decide who is going to prepare different foods for different dinners. Of course, this depends on your children’s ages, skill levels and after-school activities. Involving your children with the smallest tasks to the most advanced food preparation tasks can be a learning experience that begins at a young age and advances as they grow. With a little help, very young children can wash vegetables, set the table, and pour, measure and stir ingredients. Older children can prepare simple foods and help guide younger children, too. Learning how to cook can be fun and educational for everyone, while providing many opportunities to share and appreciate real food together as a family.
Archives: Living-Food/Dining
