I’ve been wracking my brain about what to blog about this week. I’m not a professional writer, not an experienced blogger and let’s be honest I’ve been out of the work force for 17 years now. But what I do know is how to be a wife and a mom. And I know how to put food on the table! And I guess the best course of action is for me to blog about what I know . . .

Family Meals! Somehow, they seem to be a lost art in today’s society, and I don’t understand it where they went. I grew up with both parents working and we still gathered around the table each night to catch up and enjoy a meal together. My mom made it work. She spent her weekend cooking meals ahead of time, freezing them for us to use during the week and then taught my brother and I how to get them ready so we could eat when she got home. I’m not sure how she did it, but it was important enough to her that she made it work! Even if that meant we had the same meal several nights in a row.

Fast forward 20 years and I have a family of my own. I realize now what a blessing it’s been to have stayed at home with our children. It has made cooking, cleaning and parenting vastly different that it was for my mom. But me being home isn’t the reason I’ve been able to provide home cooked meals for our family most evenings. It’s because it’s been important to me and I’ve made it a priority. And I want to encourage you ~ you too can provide nourishing, home cooked meals for your family. They don’t need to be perfect; they don’t need to be insta-worthy, and they don’t need to be expensive!

I’d guess that is one way our culture has gotten off track - we have gotten caught up in the comparison trap of social media and are trying too hard to make beautiful meals for our families that we’ve forgotten that cooking and providing nourishing meals can be simple!

Over the last 20 years I’ve used a system of meal planning that keeps things simple and doable. I hope that helps you, encourages you and inspires you to get in the kitchen more. Switch up proteins, make roasted vegetables your friend and stick to some tried and true recipes. Meals don’t need to be complicated to provide nourishment and quality time together.

Even if cooking home cooked meals are not something you're interested in doing, family mealtime is just as important and valuable. There are very few things more affirming of your love for your family than spending intentional time together every day.

If you need more help planning home cooked meals, I do have meal plans available in our shop. Each week you will get a meal plan, recipes and a shopping list. And if you sign up for our monthly newsletter, you’ll have access to my recipe collection. It’s a small collection now ~ I tend to cook off the cuff and am trying to get some recipes written down to share with you.

FAMILY MEALS TIPS & TRICKS

• Make a meal plan each week ~ I always plan for two nights a week being a leftovers night, one night is takeout or dinner out. This way I only plan for 4 nights of cooking each week.

• Vary your proteins. If I’m cooking for 4 nights a week it might look like this: chicken, pork, beef, fish. This makes it easier for me to plan and helps keep things interesting.

• Know what vegetables your family loves and stick to those. Roasting, steaming, raw - just get some fresh vegetables and serve them with each meal. They don’t need fancy chopping or cooking - simple is best!

• Each week try a new recipe, the rest of the time sick to tried and true favorites.

• Enlist help from the kids. The hardest, worst part for me is clean up. This is where I get help from my kids and my husband. Did it take effort on my part to teach them how I’d like it done? Yes. But the effort was worth it in the long run.

• Plan some fun meals - no manners night, dessert before dinner, breakfast for dinner.

• If dinner is out of the question because of schedules, be flexible and have breakfast together as a family. This is what our meals look like during football and baseball seasons. Make it a goal to eat together regularly at least once a day!