This week I was asked to speak at my MOPS group (Mothers of Preschoolers) about cooking, recipes and a little about my blog. It was such a honor to address my friends and fellow MOPS mommies!
Being a very awkward public speaker with minimal experience, I was a little nervous but I got in a groove. Especially since this a topic I feel comfortable talking about with good friends. I thought I would put some of my talking points and printed pages out there so others might benefit as well!
Cooking and prep tips
-do a little prep work at home on day you shop. Find the recipes, browse your fridge and pantry and write down the specifics on your list.
– make weekly shopping list and menu items
(use below shopping list) forecast all meals
– do shopping only 1 time a week to lower costs
– wash and prep fruits as needed (apples grapes berries strawberries in sink full of water and Tbl of white vinegar for 20-30 minutes)
– prep/make dinner when your time is available. You don’t always have to do it 30 min to an hour before dinner time.
– make meal prep a fun family activity- turn on music, age-appropriate kitchen tasks, ask kids to smell or taste some ingredients.
– eat dinner as a family as often as possible where everyone eats the same thing.
– don’t give up on kids that don’t eat certain things. Sometimes it takes 30 times before they eat.
– set the table to eat
– blogs that I enjoy cooking from or give me ideas to make something similar
– do what works for your family with your time
– get kids involved in your shopping prepping and cooking
**This is a shopping/prep list that I made from an E-meals list and a weekly calendar. Its helpful to write down the meal, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner and where that recipe is found. That way, you can post the paper at home to alert your hungry family member of the meal and find the recipe quickly when its time to start.**
This list is great from those wanting a fresh start to meal planning or just a reminder of things you will need to have on hand to make a variety of great meals. I find it helpful to glance over every once in a while to keep a good stock of staples in case you need that corn starch (or whatever) and thought you had it in the back!
This is also a wonderful list to consult to get out of a rut of foods that you always eat. Need something new? Try a food in the current season since it will be ripe in season and more nutritionally good for you. It might also be helpful to try and cook a food you know your family loves, Broccoli per say and try roasting it if you usually always steam it.
My favorite recipes that I printed and included in my presentation were:
Chicken with sweet potatoes and spinach
Thanks again to the Point Baptist Mops group for asking me to speak!!! I loved it 🙂
I like your favorites list. With Superbowl Sunday coming up, I’m thinking that the Taco Soup and the Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins would be good for our get-together. Both can be eat pretty handily in front of a TV!