Find my stride… like my mom.

With two kids under the age of three, it is not always easy for me to find my stride: working, playing and cooking. I often think back to when I was a kid, the youngest of eight, and think to myself, “mom did it, why can’t I?”

Mom had it down to a science. She knew she needed to get a meal for all of us on the table at the same exact time everyday and always accomplished it with ease. I asked her what her secret was and she said she planned her menu out and then at the same time each day executed it. I then asked what all of us did while she was cooking. She paused and said, “well either you sat and watched me or helped with what you could.”

I listened to my mom and have the kids watch and participate in preparing meals by letting them measure, pour, dump, or just by handing me ingredients. It’s really fun to create a meal or dessert together.

My older son now always says ”you have to taste what you make” – that in itself may be the caveat to getting kids to eat what you put on the table for any meal.

Enjoy cooking simple meals with your kids – it really is fun!!

Joe