The Art of the Everyday Meal
When “good enough” food is exactly right.
Today, I packed both lunch and dinner.
Lunch: a salad in a bag with a hard boiled egg
Dinner: leftover hamburger helper (made with ground turkey) and broccoli.
And you know what? I felt proud.
Because every single one of us knows the magnetic pull of the drive-thru during a long workday. I knew if I didn’t plan ahead, my car would find its way to The International Dog House after staff meeting or to Taco Bell after my board meeting - almost on autopilot.
So I planned. I packed. And I reminded myself: this is what balance looks like.
The Weeknight Reality: In our house, I make dinner on Mondays and Fridays. My husband cooks most weekends. The rest? Controlled chaos.
We try to hit all the food groups when we can - protein, veggie, fruit, carb - but we also give ourselves grace. My son hates fish. My middle will eat most anything as long as it isn’t “spicy”. My youngest only wants the veggies or rice if they’re soaked in Franks Hot Sauce.
That’s fine. We adapt. I don’t make multiple meals, but I do plate differently. That’s not spoiling them; it’s learning what works so no one leaves the table hungry.
The Friday Fridge Dump:
Every Friday, I pull out the veggie drawer, cut everything that’s left, and toss it all into a skillet with whatever protein we have - ground sausage, chicken, turkey, even steak bits. Add rice, noodles, or spaghetti squash and boom… dinner.
One kid might need their meat separate from the veggies. Another would rather have noodles instead of squash (that one’s usually for us adults anyway). Someone wants plain buttered rice, while another piles on hot sauce or soy sauce. One prefers only the broccoli and carrots; another happily eats the onions and cabbage too.
Same meal, a few different plate combinations - and that’s what success looks like in our house.
Is it gourmet? Nope. Does everyone eat? Yep.
It’s also a small act of reducing waste and teaching resourcefulness. We don’t have to throw out half a bag of carrots just because we forgot about them.
Small Hacks, Big Help:
One of my favorite things lately is using AI for meal inspiration or troubleshooting. (ChatGPT and I are close…)
I’ll type:
“What can I make for 8 people with 1 pound of ground beef, a bag of carrots, and canned beans? Give me 10 ideas.”
It gives me ideas I’d never think of. Chili. Hearty Beef and Bean Soup. Beef and Bean Tacos. Casserole. It’s amazing what a little brainstorming can do when your brain is tired. Sometimes all we need is a reminder that dinner doesn’t have to be perfect - it just has to happen.
Encouragement: The best meal is the one your family actually eats. Keep feeding your people and yourself - that’s what counts. Join us at our upcoming Village Collective Meetup where we will be talking about nutrition.
