Simple family dinners bring more connection
I’ve been inspired recently to bring the ideas of simplicity and routine to mealtime.
Finding a meal that all four of us will eat at a family dinner has been challenging. Our daughter’s diet is gluten and dairy free right now, per her doctor. My husband loves all things gluten and dairy, but won’t eat it in the home out of fairness to her. Our one year old has an appetite I can hardly keep up with and usually eats more than our five year old in one sitting.
For a while, I found myself cooking different meals for everyone. I might have an omelet, my daughter hot dogs, my husband and baby a can of microwaved soup. Going into dinner without a plan – without much intentionality – was stressful. While I was thankful we were all sitting down to eat together, mealtime still felt a bit disconnected.
After much thinking about how to make mealtime more simple and streamlined, I’m experimenting with a solution. A main dish paired with its own day of the week, accompanied by side of veggies and carbs (usually potatoes or rice).
- Monday – chicken
- Tuesday – brats
- Wednesday – breakfast food
- Thursday – beef
- Friday – fish
- Saturday – chicken
- Sunday – beef
The category of the main dish stays the same each week, but the way it’s served varies. Just this simple plan has made dinner a time I anticipate more. With fewer choices, I feel like I have more room to be creative within these guidelines. Chicken could be organic drumsticks cooked in the InstaPot or could be chicken tacos. Brats could be served with white rice and roasted brussel sprouts one week, and then steamed green beans and oven roasted potatoes the next week.
I’ve found myself Googling new recipes these days. I’ve been showing our five-year-old daughter how she can help me in the kitchen more. Tonight she happily helped me cut red peppers to roast with potatoes. At dinner she thanked me for cooking and then smiled proudly when we thanked her for helping too.
We can’t eat together every night because of my husband’s work schedule. But I’m happy now that when we do have family dinners they are more intentional, less stressful, and a place for connection.