Meals making me crazy

e1234

Wed, Aug 22 2007, 4:28 am

I work from home -- I work until my kids walk in at 2 adn then busy with the kids until suppertime at 5. they take sandwiches as a morning snack (the norm here in Israel) so that's not good enough for lunch.

Now the problem is food is expected on the table but I'm working or with the kids and no time to cook - help?
I can cook but have no time.
I also would find it very helpful to have a list of meals but can never decide what to make.

I have tried the frozen food I can buy but my kids are sick of it including pizza.

what else can I do?
any suggestions? I'm sitting here and supposed to be working but thinking what can I give the kids when they walk in the door starving.

dmum

Wed, Aug 22 2007, 7:30 am

I work from home too, and can fully sympathise... but I recently started to make menu plans for every week and it's made a huge difference. on motzei shabbos, I go through cookbooks and make menu plans for every day of week, plus shopping lists. then on sunday I shop, and then every day I know what we're having, I have all the stuff in the house, and I can make sure we don't end up having pasta every day! I assume you want fleishig meal ideas for lunch as u live in israel - some good ideas are any sort of mincemeat - can all be made in advance (ie meat balls, meat loaf, bolognese, stuffed peppers), make a big roast and then slice and freeze for a few meals, etc etc. or for milchig - grilled cheese sandwiches, wraps, etc don't look so much like the sandwiches they take for aruchat eser. or eggs with cheese and salad, or baked beans and pasta, or even homemade falafel in pitot. or just soup with fresh bread - put barley etc in the soup to make it more filling, if you put meat in and lots of veg it's a very easy meal in a bowl and can be made way in advance and just simmer so e/1 can help themselves and you can work in peace!!

RachelEve14

Wed, Aug 22 2007, 8:02 am

I work from home too. I find my crock pot is my friend, and I give the kids their main meal at lunch, then supper is somthing quick & easy. If you want a lighter lunch, how about cooking and freezing in portions in advance, baked potatoes, pancakes, eggs, french toast, etc. I try to make pancakes and french toast in big batches and always have some in the freezer. I also make tomato sauce in big batches which makes it easy to just make pizza, pasta w/ meat sauce / pasta w/ chhese sauce (not together of course!! I make the sauce parve and freeze it in small square containers then I have enough for 1 meat or milk meal at a time when I defrost)

e1234

Wed, Aug 22 2007, 1:12 pm

thanks -- I make mac & cheese much too much and I bought a sandwich maker yesterday...

if anyone has any menus with easy ideas to share - I'd love to see - I guess I need a new list of ideas.

I made meatballs for a while but noone seems to like them anymore.
it doesn't help that my kids are picky eaters

chocolate moose

Wed, Aug 22 2007, 1:28 pm

kids of all ages are pickey eats . . what they want one day, they'll turn up their nose at the next.

what about plain baked chicken (cutlets), or plain baked fish? you can put that on a foil pan in the oven and it can be done shortly. veggies can be cut up fast.

mimivan

Wed, Aug 22 2007, 1:34 pm

After a few seasons of feeling inadequate, I discovered my son just doesn't like prepared food in the summer time at all (he can finally telll me he doesn't like cooked food when it is hot, except ironically enough, soup, which is good for any finicky eater.)

I'd say, just don't knock yourself out! (I also work at home. What is it about working for home that makes cooking meals seem harder? Perhaps since we are home, we assume we have time, when all that time is for work)

I make sure I always have some kind of soup available and then get "lazy" with the rest. The kids don't care whether I serve them salmon en croute (which I don't) or baked potato and cheese. I take pasta and mix it with that Israeli cheese too. My kids sometimes just like to eat bread, cheese and fruit. Or baked sweet potato with brown sugar. Corn on the cob with couscous (from a package). Deviled eggs. Potato salad. All these things take just a few minutes to make.

However, fall/winter is coming and that means I have to revamp my menus! Then Schneur will actually want something cooked. But it doesn't have to be complicated. Try making stews and casseroles the night before. Serve soup with pasta if you are in a hurry. etc.

e1234

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 3:24 am

I think working at home is harder as I always have work to do (B"H but I end up being a workaholic) I feel like why take out an hour to make food when I have work waiting for me a foot a way that needs to be done....

as far as meals... I have 2 meals a day I need to do..
my kids don't eat soup at all)
so leave out friday and shabbos (friday I just give the kids barekas when they come home or mac @& cheese)

that leaves 5 days and 10 meals.

so far I have:

1. mac & cheese (my favorite)
2. chicken and potatoes
3. sandwiches
4. tuna saled
5. fish (fried from a packgae) and barekas
6. Shnitzel & potatoes
7. Pizza

what else??? I really badly need menu ideas as otherwise I go crazy -- and my kids don't really like to eat the same thing every week

mimivan

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 4:05 am

e1234 wrote:

I think it is worth assessing who needs variety and why. Perhaps it is out of the balabusses feeling of adequecy or nutritional concerns (there are always multivitamins!). Is it the kids who want variety or your husband?

My situation is my kids don't really care about variety. DS could eat pasta any day of the week. DH, though, wants more variety and doesn't like soup and baked potatoes all the time. Since dh eats later and the kids eat earlier, this takes the pressure off, and I can give the kids something basic earlier. Then I have time to put the finishing touches on dinner for dh when they go to bed (he eats sometimes like at 8:30).

However, I should make more things for dh which I can freeze, since I plan to get busier iy'h...

e1234

Thu, Aug 23 2007, 5:23 am

well it's sort of not good but I barely cook for my husband (except shabbos)
it just got to a point that whenever I cooked he wasn't in the mood of eating...

my kids seem to get sick of food though I never know --
sometimes I'll make somethign and they will say -- this is yummy -- but most of the times whatever I make I have faces that say -- I don't want this...