Feeding our families in a healthy way without breaking the bank or spending hours in the kitchen every night seems like an impossible task, but it’s not. April Reigart, author of Dinner Rush: A Parent’s Guide to Better Nutrition shares her insight and advice about the trials and tribulations of feeding our families healthfully and easily. Be sure to scroll to the end of this post for a great recipe for Grain Free Crepes!
In the classic Netflix series Cooked, Michael Pollan says that the missing ingredient in people’s recipes today is time.
Ever since I gave birth to my son in 2010, I have felt like I am in a constant hurry, and life only seems to be picking up more speed as he grows. When he was a newborn, I quickly realized that I needed to learn to fit in a new 24/7 job along with the usual things that need to be done, like cooking. This changed the way I perceived my productivity. It changed my relationship with time. Having children means adjusting to a new reality. Suddenly, it really matters what choices you make, and you find yourself having to make more choices in less time.
Time is always pinched, regardless of whether you are a stay-at-home parent, a surgeon with three kids, a schoolteacher with the same schedule as your kids, a blissed out yoga mom, or a freelancer with flexibility. I don’t care what your circumstances are—if you have kids, you’re extremely busy! A friend recently exclaimed to me, “You do know I am extremely busy?” I had to chuckle at that, because I can’t think of one person I know that I would classify as not extremely busy. We all maintain a lengthy, hierarchical list of goals and to-do’s every single day.
I myself aim to run 5 miles, get dressed, make breakfast, pack a lunch, pack a snack and dress a child for school between the hours of 5:00 AM and 7:00 AM. This is nothing compared to the rush hour that begins at 3:00 PM and doesn’t really end until my head hits the pillow. I hear so many parents stressing on the playground, after soccer practice, after music lessons—about what to eat, and how to have the time or energy to deal with it. After a long day, it is easy to understand why a person wouldn’t want to spend two hours in a kitchen preparing food, only to have to turn around and clean it up. That doesn’t mean we want to forfeit our family’s health to fast food and takeout meals, either.
Family life is a joyful, but constant rush! Most parents I hear from are almost entirely frantic at that time of day that demands dinner, homework, chores, and extracurricular activities—and they all happen at the same time! I enjoy the challenge, but it is a challenge. So, how do we quickly prepare a healthy meal on a busy weeknight and enjoy it?
We want to think of the evening as the end of the work day, and a time to wind down. However, for most families, this time of the day is the rush hour. We want to interact with our families, enjoy their company and decompress from the day—not spend all night in the kitchen. Yet, we also worry about keeping our families healthy. For many, it is a great stressor to not only find the time to prepare dinner, but to even conceive of what to make for dinner. It’s even more stressful when we do finally prepare a meal and are met with complaints and dislikes at the dinner table. What good are the vegetables if the children ignore them?
Can you relate? It is very easy to understand why so many turn to fast food and take-out meals to feed their families. It’s food, it’s fast, it relieves some of the pressure. Most of us know that this is not ideal for optimal health, but we are not magicians able to make extra hours appear, right (even if we are a bit like superheroes)?
With a slight shift in perception and a little planning ahead, you can prepare a simple, but healthy meal in little time—all five nights of the week. Good food does not have to be complicated or expensive. You don’t need a lengthy list of ingredients, either. If you make cooking healthy meals at home a habit, occasional restaurant visits or take-out won’t be so worrisome because that won’t be the major source of your nutrition. Ultimately, you are responsible for your children’s health, and generally, dinnertime is the best opportunity to present them with the most balanced nutrition, and to talk about good nutrition together as a family.
In this book, I hope to share useful information for you and your kids, ways to simplify or expand your perspective through an understanding of nutrition, useful tips, and, of course—easy, nutritious recipes! I believe that removing the mystery of how to serve whole foods and arming you with the knowledge of why whole foods matter will empower you to make smart choices for your family and enable you to set yourself up for success—every day of the week. Dinnertime should be about joy, communion and good health—not hardship and stress. Let’s turn the “dinner rush” into a story about love, happiness and good nourishment. After all, Vitamin L is the most important ingredient, and home cooked food is the best way to get plenty of this valuable nutrient. Meals don’t have to be stressful or complicated to be healthy.
I can’t add more hours to your day, but I can show you how to place new value on your time. When we, as a nation, can learn to value our health and happiness above instant convenience—when we can shift our perception of convenience—we will all experience more value in the time we spend. Not to mention being of healthy body and mind is quite convenient.
Grain-Free Crepes
Ingredients
5 eggs
1/2 cup finely ground almond flour
3 tbsp arrowroot powder (or potato starch)
2 tbsp nut milk
pinch of salt
*if you want sweet crepes, also add:
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp raw honey
1 tsp ground golden flax seed
Directions: Whisk the eggs and salt together. Add the arrowroot and almond flour—whisk. Add the milk—whisk. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Spread with coconut oil or butter to prevent sticking. Spread the batter thinly into the hot pan, using a 1/3 cup measure for each crepe. Allow to set before flipping—it takes a couple of minutes per side.
Serve these with your favorite savory or sweet fillings, like: sautéed mushrooms and asparagus, scrambled eggs with sautéed red peppers and avocado, or chocolate-hazelnut spread and bananas!
April Dawn Reigart is an Integrative Nutrition Certified Holistic Health Coach with over 20 years of holistic and macrobiotic cooking experience. She has also published articles on topics such as Fair Trade and GMOs. April is passionate about changing the way we eat and empowering people to take charge of their health.
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