M.O.M.’s Mailbox- Could you share some basic meal ideas?

  Question: Could you share some basic meals that you and your family have on a daily, weekly basis. I think sometimes I try to make meal time too complicated, especially during the spring/summer months when we are working outside from sun up to sun down. Thanks

Answer: Spring and Summer time is a busy time of year. We work outside and are famished when we finally stop what we are doing to come in for a meal. I find it most disheartening to come in from a hard day of work outside and find a hard day of work inside needing to still be done. For our family we have created a plan that works for us! We have everyone working outside and have Bekah remain in side keeping the home up and the meals ready. There are times she has laundry or other large projects inside where the youngest boys will stay inside to help her. This is a huge blessing! Now, we can get our outdoor projects completed and still have meals ready on time and a home that is tidy. Bekah also takes phone messages so I didn’t have those interruptions that can hinder the success of our day. Consider putting one of your children in charge of the house as you all work outside, you can rotate children if you have enough older ones so that everyone has fun outside. In our home Bekah LOVES doing housework so she loves to minister to her family like this. Make it fun! Have things for them so they can serve the outdoor workers lemon aid or smoothies occasionally. Keeping the meals simple was one of the secrets when Bekah was younger. I had a list of meals that she could easily make with little help from myself. The other secret was having the home clean before we went outside. This gave her a head start and helped her not feel overwhelmed with the project. It also allowed her to have time for the fun part of serving like baking cookies and such. The last suggestion I have is this, when I know I have a full day of work we have very simple morning meals. This enables us to get out to work while it is still cool. Pray about it. God will show you the details that will be successful in your home. We are all unique and the details are unique as well!
Here are a few of the simple meal ideas from my kitchen to yours. I pray they are helpful and a blessing to you.

Morning: (These are meals that don’t leave my children hungry in an hour. They keep their tummies satisfied till lunch. Using Real Food is the secret!)

• Hard boiled farm eggs with home made whole wheat bread topped with farm fresh butter and served with a glass of raw milk.
• Fried Eggs served on sprouted bagels served with farm fresh yogurt
• Scrambled farm eggs with home made cheddar cheese along with peppers mixed in. I love to use both green and red peppers so that it makes it pretty. Toast on the side is enjoyed by the family
• Home made granola that was made the night before and served as a cold cereal with our raw milk
• Whole wheat banana bread served with scrambled farm fresh eggs.

Mid Day: (I prefer our mid day meals be fresh and easy to clean up after.)

• Tossed salad. I love to use plants that grow wild for this. Today, Sammy and Sarah brought me a Dandelion salad mixed with Poor mans pepper and Shepherds purse. The only thing missing was fresh grown tomatoes and some garlic. It was still yummy!
• Chicken sandwiches. Boil a whole chicken and then shred it the night before so your child won’t have to be working unsupervised with boiling water. She can prepare it as she usually would and serve on whole wheat bread. Serve with some fruit on the side…delicious!
• Veggies and Dip served with cheese and crackers. This is one of my children’s favorites but not mine since they seem to literally go through platters of this meal.
• Sprout Sandwiches. Any one that hangs around in my home long enough knows that I love my sprouted sandwiches. Fresh sprouts with garlic, tomato and salt/pepper served on home made whole wheat bread make this my favorite dish!
• Chicken wraps- again make boil and shred your chicken the night before. Then allow your child to serve it up on a sprouted tortilla with some sprouts, onion, garlic, ect. The possibilities are endless!

Evening: (My husband loves a full meal so my night time dishes are normally more elaborate when he is home. I also will make up meals with my girls as a Saturday project and the freeze. They are a wonderful treat for those long working days. We can simply pull out a casserole early in the day to defrost and cook when needed.)

• Pot Roast served with veggies and home made dinner rolls. (I normally put this in a crock pot in the morning and have my girl keep an eye on it through the day. The dinner rolls are all I need to make when I come inside and now that she is older she actually makes those quite successfully!)
• Home Made Pizza- (Bekah’s pizza is a family favorite and photographed with this post.)
• Spaghetti served with a fresh salad (I don’t like young children working with boiling water. Perhaps that is because I have a son we adopted that had third degree burns and skin grafting from someone asking him to hold hot liquid when he was only six. None the less, I am very careful, some would say overly careful, with my children in the kitchen.)
• Taco Salad (this is something a child could have all the ingredients cut up and you could cook up the meat when you came in. )
• Rice with veggies (again, I wouldn’t suggest having e a young child working with boiling water)

I hope some of these ideas have helped. I would love to read what creative ideas the Lord gives you. Please share! We can all learn from each other!
With much love,
Mrs. Joseph Wood