Updated: Jan. 5, 2016
Originally Published: Nov. 24, 2015
Cooking for kids can feel like an uphill battle, and Annie’s understands the struggle. To make the process easier, check out their latest five soups that help you “choose good” here.
For most of my day, feeding is the primary focus. I’m either cooking, planning meals, shopping for ingredients, or cleaning up after myself. Despite serving three meals and one relatively healthy snack daily, my children seem like perpetual food-hungry machines.
But then comes dinner time, and it’s as if their appetites vanish. The moment they burst into the dining room, their excitement quickly turns to disappointment upon seeing chicken Parmesan on the table. “What is THIS? I wanted McDonald’s!” they exclaim in unison.
I’ve only caved and fed them McDonald’s once—two years ago when I was sick. Yet somehow, they’ve clung to the fantasy that those plain cheeseburgers will magically reappear on their plates.
So, much like navigating through stages of grief, I find myself traversing the six stages of dinner with kids every evening.
1. Pinterest Phase
Everything kicks off here, with a false sense of confidence. Dinner? Easy-peasy! I’m bombarded with ideas for candied bacon cookies and DIY chevron scarves. Why not whip up a gingerbread house or make Easter eggs from pureed cauliflower? By the time I snap out of it, I realize years have gone by and my friends think I’ve vanished.
2. Grocery Store Adventure
“Excuse me, could you direct me to the saffron threads?” “Where can I find your shallots?” Fifteen minutes later “Me again! I meant scallops!” Grocery store employees must dread my presence. I could navigate blindfolded through downtown before finding sun-dried tomatoes, which, logically, should be next to the canned tomatoes—not the olives! And with my kids’ patience wearing thin, every shopping trip feels like a ticking clock.
3. Survival Mode
Like many parents, my evenings are packed with activities—music lessons, dance class, you name it. Timing dinner prep becomes a logistical nightmare. Is it even okay to brown ground beef while running a child to Girl Scouts? Which is worse—eating at 8 PM or rummaging through ash to find my cat? Asking for a friend.
4. Melancholy Realization
I can count on one hand the times I’ve made a dish that remotely resembled the Pinterest photo—if that hand isn’t caught in a meat grinder first! It feels like I’m unwittingly starring in a reality show where Pinterest is a setup. Viewers must be eagerly awaiting my breakdown as I pull out yet another culinary disaster that looks like a deceased possum.
5. Sounds of Dismay
My children’s reaction to meatloaf resembles them encountering a horror movie prop. They show no appreciation for my effort, only disdain for the absence of cheeseburgers. While most might take that to heart, I drown out their cries with my own enjoyment of the dish.
6. Oscar-Worthy Performance
Sometimes, it’s my child making a dramatic dash to the trash can after a single pea. Other times, I’m forcing a smile while choking down what’s labeled as “Weight Watchers teriyaki.” Most evenings, I let it slide without threats or surrendering to packaged mac and cheese. But if I’ve put in extra effort, I may pull out the big guns: “Girls, eat your dinner, or Mommy will write about you in her blog.”
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In summary, navigating dinner with kids is a chaotic journey filled with ups and downs, from the Pinterest inspiration to the inevitable disappointments at the dinner table. But through it all, there’s humor and creativity to be found in the chaos of mealtime.