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The Organized Mom:
Making Dinner Delightful—Let Your Twins
Pitch In!
It’s six PM. Do you know where your dinner is? If you’re like most busy parents these days, it’s probably somewhere at the bottom of a grocery bag waiting to be unpacked and popped into the microwave, or worse yet, just sitting on the kitchen counter frozen solid with no future dinner plans in sight. And to top it off, the kids have just circled the wagons around the kitchen whining that they want to eat now!
If you rush to get dinner to the table every night (getting a bad case of indigestion in the process), following these three simple rules are sure to help ease the chaos and turn an evening of frustration into a super supper.
First, plan ahead. The night before you go grocery shopping, sit down and map out your dinners for the coming week. Yes, a menu planner, but before you roll your eyes and think it’s just one more thing to do, allow me to explain. A menu planner doesn’t have to be elaborate to be helpful. Even jotting down a few family favorites such as baked chicken, beef tacos, or spaghetti on a Post-It Note® and sticking to the refrigerator door will save you time each day. (Let each member of the family pick a culinary favorite each night of the week so that everyone gets to have what he or she likes best.) If you have a bit more time and energy, divide a sheet of paper down the middle. On one half write out your meals and use the other half as a grocery list, noting all the ingredients you’ll need for the week. No more guessing as you walk the grocery aisles remembering what you will be cooking in the coming week. Plus, in the morning before you head out the door, glance at your menu planner and pull what you need from the freezer or the pantry and have them at the ready for when you return home that night. See how painless that is? No more staring at the stove each evening wondering what the heck you’re going to cook—the decision has already been made for you.
Next, keep it simple. If you’ve ever started to cook a new recipe at 6 PM only to find yourself still in the kitchen at 8 o’clock, pushing back the hordes of hungry hecklers, you know what I mean. By the time you do get the food to the table, more than likely tempers are short for having waited so long. Talk about good intentions gone wrong. Save the spicy Indian vindaloo for the weekend when you have more time and energy to be creative, and instead keep your weekday meals simple—stick to pasta and a salad, a vegetable pizza, or grilled chicken or fish. (If you want to add more pizzazz, try using a bottle of your favorite Italian salad dressing as an impromptu marinade.) Another trick is to double weekend recipes and freeze one half for another night.
And finally, involve your multiples. Instead of corralling your twins in front of the TV so that you can get dinner going, invite them in the kitchen. Little ones as young as three can help by setting the table while older siblings can wash lettuce, make a salad, or pour milk. You can increase the level of difficulty, such as letting them chop vegetables, as they get more confident in their skills. (When they do reach vegetable chopping, though, head to a kitchen store and ask for a mezza luna, a crescent-shape knife with handles at each end. Children “rock” the knife back and forth, keeping little fingers safe from the knife’s blade.)
Granted, having the kids in the kitchen takes patience in the beginning as you show them the ropes on how to be safe around knives and a hot stove, but the pay off is quick and bountiful—not only are you getting much needed help but they’re also learning a valuable life skill. In addition, by giving each twin a different task to do, you’re teaching them to work independently, something that many twins struggle with once they hit the early school years. But more importantly, it’s a great opportunity to talk and reconnect with your family at the end of a long busy day. An added bonus? If you have your menu planner posted where everyone can see it, the older kids can actually start the family meal if you’re running late.
Dinnertime doesn’t have to be a rush to the table. In fact it can be a fun end to the day; it just takes a little planning. Eating together is one of life’s greatest family pleasures, so tap into its power!
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