5 More Easy Dinner Ideas + Some Thoughts About Grace

As I was getting the kids out the door for school this morning Joey calmly said, “Hey Mom, is today a grocery shopping day for you? We don’t have much food in the house.” Before I could offer some kind of rebuttal, the same thoughts were echoed by two more of my children. Comments about food don’t come easy for me. Especially from the home team. As I assured him I’ll head to the store today, I asked everyone what they wanted more of. Chocolate chips. Vanilla yogurt. Cereal. Frozen pancakes. The list continued….

I got to thinking about the days I would spend time meal planning, making lists, searching recipes, produce prepping, stocking my fridge, freezer and pantry, enjoying the “task” of being a home cook and providing my family with healthy and tasty meals. Ummm. Where. Have. Those. Days. Gone.

Today those somewhat picturesque mealtimes seem SO far away. Who was that Mom that put a fruit and vegetable on their plates at every meal? Who was that Mom that SAT DOWN and enjoyed a meal with her family? Where is she now?!

Well, she’s still here folks. And in a season of life that has her 9-year-old making grocery lists and a 4-year-old asking for buttered noodles at every meal. The good news is I’m not shaming myself for NOT having the grocery list made or a well-stocked pantry [ok, chocolate chips and sprinkles count though, right?!]. There’s a LOT that happens in my house each day, and for awhile [years], every day felt like groundhogs day. Especially when I was drinking. Fast forward to now, and every day brings us something different. Change. And we can either sit back and cry that no two days are ever the same, or we can sit back and sprinkle some more chocolate chips on our yogurt. I vote for more chocolate chips!

Moral of the story [or blog post] is this: if you aren’t doing things the way you used to [i.e. for me, mealtime looks a little hectic right now], give yourself some grace. Because that was then, and grace is now. Don’t think about what you aren’t doing, but what you ARE doing. I am sober. I am providing a stable, warm, loving environment for my children. And yeah, they are eating lots of frozen pancakes and pizza. But they’re also getting lots of hugs and kisses from Mom.

Phew. Ok. Message on grace [hopefully received well]. And now 5 more easy dinner ideas to give you a mid-week boost! Or hug. Because I need a hug too!