Getting Dinner on the Table and Menu Plan Monday: Week of October 13, 2014

October 13, 2014

Every week I post my Menu Plan Monday with the hope that I’m inspiring your cooking and taking out some of the work of your meal planning. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, personal chef, student, man, or woman, getting dinner on the table is no easy feat and everyone can use a hand or two to get it done. So when this weekend’s NY Times Magazine Food Issue was released online, I was especially intrigued by Virginia Heffernan’s article “What if You Just Hate Making Dinner?”

NY Times Magazine Food Issue 2014 — Source: NY Times

It was a funny and interesting read, especially for someone like me who likes – dare I say loves – to cook, is determined to have my kids eat a healthy, well-balanced diet with not too many treats, and feels a great sense of pride in getting a home-cooked meal on the table almost nightly, yet struggles with work-life balance, time constraints, and pressure for every meal to be perfection (as do so many working parents and food enthusiasts). As I sat down to post this week’s menu, I couldn’t help but wonder the following question about you – the Nutritioulicious followers and readers:

Do you enjoy cooking, cook because you feel you have to, or not cook at all?

Another great article in the Food Issue came from Mark Bittman – “Getting Your Kids to Eat (or at Least Try) Everything.” I could very much relate to his memories of how his mother cooked for him and how that impacted the way he decided to cook and introduce foods and the joy of cooking to his daughters. But not everyone is as lucky as Bittman, and while so far we’re off to a good start in my house with my toddler twin girls eating pretty much everything, the jury is out on whether that will remain. To get another perspective, I highly recommend the advice of Bettina from The Lunch Tray, which in many ways relates to Heffernan’s article mentioned above. And that leads me to another question for all of you:

What’s the greatest challenge you face when trying to get dinner on the table?

Please share your thoughts and experiences with fellow readers and me. After all, we can all learn from the experience of others!