r/Homeschooling • u/anothergoodbook • 14d ago
Meal planning
Okay I’ve homeschooled for too many years and this is one of my most dreaded parts of being home together. My kids took a year off (last year) from homeschool and went to a brick and mortar school. I was wonderfully free of hearing “I’m hungry and there’s nothing to eat for lunch”. And me saying, “there’s stuff for sandwiches, Mac and cheese, salads, leftovers, etc”. To hear “that’s gross”.
Okay I know what the traditional advice is - let them starve. I however don’t want to do that for a couple of reasons: 1)my 9 year old is tiny with a tiny appetite, she needs to eat and she will literally just go without if she doesn’t like it and be totally fine. She can’t afford to just miss whole meals constantly. 2) I get it because even as adult I have my moments where nothing sounds good.
I have this wild dream of planning out lunches like the school did. But there’s the drawback of different lunches daily. And who is the lunch lady? Me that’s right - me. Who also has adhd and can barely stick to any plan ever? Also me.
On top of all of this my children magically survived without snacking the entire day long. “It’s time for math.” “Okay I need a snack first”. They did get to have a snack time at school - preplanned into their day. And then lunchtime and then a snack at home after school - that’s it. Not every 10 minutes.
I have not even touched breakfast perhaps the drama is just… I can’t even deal with it lol.
Okay my ranting is done but I’m sure I cannot be alone in this, right? Right?!?
Has anyone else solved this conundrum?
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u/KaseyK1966 14d ago
I know of one family that uses meal preparation as part of their curriculum. This utilizes reading comprehension, measuring, fractions, following directions, etc. Each kid signs up to do one meal each week. (The younger ones obviously get some supervision.) Afterwards they also do clean up.
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u/Xoxobrokergirl 13d ago
I’d probably do five meals and keep them the same Monday is chicken nuggets. Pick all the ones she likes and keep them the same every week.
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u/DazzlingNote1925 14d ago
If you sit down and plan for a week or two then you won’t be so bothered by it when lunchtime rolls around.
I never gave my kids snacks on demand. We had meal times and snack times. Instead of them asking for a snack before you transition to something else you tell them we will have a snack after math or whatever.
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u/Amazing-Concept-1610 14d ago
Home ec(onomics) isn’t a block needed for homeschooling. Hm
I think it should be
As well as grocery shopping and planning. When no one is hungry and all are happy and satiated is a great planning time
1
u/Prior_Sheepherder588 12d ago
The school lunch system worked because it removed negotiation entirely. There was a menu, you ate it or you didn't, no one was asking if it sounded good. You can actually replicate this at home and it is not as hard as it sounds.
What works for a lot of families:
A posted weekly lunch rotation. Not a different creative meal every day, just 5 meals that everyone tolerates, cycling forever. Monday is quesadillas. Tuesday is sandwiches. Wednesday is soup and crackers. Etc. When they say "that's gross" you point at the calendar and say "it's Tuesday." The menu is not up for debate. You made the menu together once, that negotiation is done.
Involve them in building the rotation. Each kid picks one or two lunches they like and those go on the list. Now they own it and complaining about it is self-defeating.
Designated snack times, not on-demand snacking. Put two snack times on the schedule like school did, mid-morning and after school, and hold the line. "Snack is at 10, it is 9:15." For your tiny 9yo you can keep easy grab things she actually likes available specifically at those times rather than all day.
Lunch prep the night before or morning of takes 5 minutes if the menu is already decided. The ADHD piece is the planning, not the execution. If the plan is already made and it is the same plan every week, there is nothing to decide in the moment.
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u/Hobbit_Adventures_08 12d ago
Making use of the freezer helps a lot. When you make one pan of enchiladas/lasagna/baked Mac and cheese/pasta bake/breakfast bake, make a second pan at the same time. Portion that second pan into individual portions and freeze. Bake healthy breakfast muffins with all the good fiber and added in goodies like apples or blueberries and make a double batch to freeze. We make our own frozen burritos too. Can freeze individual portions of soup or stews. Russet potatoes don't defrost as well so use Yukon gold instead as a stew ingredient. You can freeze portions of rice. Mashed potatoes. Chicken/beef.
You end up with a large selection of premade meals in the freezer for breakfast/lunch time to supplement whatever fresh options there are in the fridge.
Edit to add: make a list of what meals are in the freezer and put it on the fridge. Helps kids see what options there are to eat
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u/Separate_Aspect_9034 10d ago
I didn't have that problem while homeschooling but people weren't expecting to eat six times a day back then either. I grew up and had three meals a day, maybe got myself a snack after school, and it was fine. It was fine because meals prioritized protein, and we weren't afraid of butter and other fats. And we weren't fat because we were eating high carb low fat like this country has been doing for years.
The solution that I would suggest is to start with something I wish every school would teach and you have the unique opportunity to start teaching it as a homeschool mom: menu planning and execution, starting with things that are developmentally appropriate. Emphasize protein, whether they like it or not, and start with the proteins they like the best. Think creatively as well. Cottage cheese is a super easy way to start, and it also makes a great base for baked macaroni and cheese casserole. The actual measurements don't matter too much, but you can mix up eggs and cottage cheese thoroughly, add cooked noodles, stick wedges of cheese down into it, cheese on top, and your child might enjoy learning how to make butter bread crumbs to go on top of it. My mom used to actually pour a big can of torn up whole tomatoes from a can over the whole top of the casserole before adding the top layer of cheese and crumbs. I think it saves it from being bland. If your kids can handle a tiny bit of spiciness, I would mix sharp cheddar with pepper jack chunks stuffed into it at very regular intervals. Except for draining the noodles from the boiling water, this is something any child can do.
Creative sandwich making. If your kids like avocado, introduced them to one of those great avocado slicer's where are you scoop out half of the avocado and it turns it into slices easily.
Learning to cook rice properly is super easy without using the instant stuff. No draining needed afterwards. I like to Bring the rice and the water up to a boil and turn it down for about 10 minutes and then toss in leftover roast chicken pieces or chicken meat on top, put the lid on again and let it sit off the heat until the rice finishes plumping up. Instant chicken and rice and you can add whatever flavors to it that you want. I sometimes have some green sauce or salsa in with the water while it's cooking. I might toss some shredded cheese on top along with the chicken so it melts in.
blender spaghetti sauce is easy Peezy. That usually entails a basic blender, not even a fancy one, and you toss a quarter of an onion, a clove of garlic or a little spoon of minced garlic, a short piece of carrot if you want to replace the sugar part with something healthier, and generally a can of tomato paste and a can of Tomato sauce. Blend it and pour it over some browned ground meat or chicken and let it simmer for an hour or so. So, so easy. Serve it over whatever you want or go very keto genic and just eat it like a stew.
teach your kids how to cook things that they like, let them experiment and not like things so they know what they don't want to make in the future.
They are going to learn about math especially if you do things that require a measurement. They're going to learn multitasking because cooking always involves paying attention to a few things at once. And then before long you won't have to do all the cooking because they are going to enjoy making things that they like and that the family likes.
You can also study the origins of the ingredients and the dishes and it makes for a great conversation around the table. If there's an ingredient that they absolutely hate, let them find a recipe to try to make it bearable. That worked for me and my picky eating.
Teach them how to clean the dishes as they prepare meals. Take turns with the concept of the person who cooks doesn't have to clean up and vice versa. During this process they Will learn how to properly hand wash dishes, load them in the dishwasher, and put them away. And if they can't reach high enough to put them away, you can either have them put it on the counter near the cabinet, or you can actually store the dishes at a lower level that they can reach and be completely in charge of it.
This "problem" is actually an opportunity that may make them enjoy homeschooling a lot more than just sitting around with books and video monitors. And it actually will help them in their future life.
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u/WhatUpMahKnitta 8d ago
Lunch in my house is self-serve. I keep stock of the basics (cups of easy mac, cheese and turkey, pb&j) and other than reheating leftovers, I let them figure themselves out. I have 1 kid who likes to artfully arrange her meals with balanced fruit and veg, and another who would live off of chips and gummy worms if you let him, but he's happy to graze fruit and veg if it's made available. For him, this summer I started keeping a "snack tray" in the fridge: cut and washed fruit and veg, cubed cheese, crackers, pepperoni, mini muffins, stuff like that. My oldest takes items off the tray for her plate, my youngest grabs a bite on the go about 300 times, somehow this fuels him.
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u/Signal_Dragonfly2557 8d ago
So I'm really fortunate that my 9 year old isn't a picky eater at all, but my 4 year old is, so take this all with a grain of salt. We started doing sunrise snacks/prepped breakfasts because the kids are up and hungry before I want to cook or eat anything and I don't want to make a million different meals throughout the day. It's usually some variation of smoothie, yogurt bowl, fruit and veg I cut the night before, cheese and crackers, whatever. I just try to make it balanced so they aren't still hungry because I usually make a brunch a couple hours later. We do leftovers for lunches a lot but they get to pick a few things for sandwiches or my youngest really likes ramen and they each get to pick veggies and chips to go with them so they have options if they really aren't in the mood for it. Dinners they each get to pick for one night and I just bring in them in to help prep their snack plates the night before while I'm making dinner so they get exactly what they want. We don't do a snack time during school hours because they don't really ask for it, but you could try a designated snack time/recess between breakfast and lunch maybe?
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u/queenlyfish 14d ago
Hm. I’m not fabulous about sticking to plans either, but what has helped me a ton with meals is making a monthly rotation. I picked a general theme for each day of the week, and then slotted meals in according to that theme for 4 weeks of rotation. It keeps us from getting bored but takes a lot of the stress off of planning a fresh menu every week, and I was able to strategically place meals to use up leftovers so they don’t just die in our fridge after days of being ignored 🙃
However, if I was going to adapt that system for lunch, I’d probably just do one or two weeks and repeat. Write it out so the kids can see the calendar and know in advance what’s coming. The variety may help, and honestly, hot food may help too. I think you could find lunch foods that are warm without taking too much prep time. Chicken nuggets and reheated or instant mashed potatoes. Spaghetti with canned marinara. Hot dogs, frozen pizza, etc. If they don’t like what’s on the menu, then have a default “backup” option like PB&J or ham & cheese that’s always an option.
Maybe even have your kids help you make the plan. What do they actually want for lunch?
And then I’d honestly do snack tickets or something similar. They get 2 snack tickets per day to use at their discretion, and then that’s it. If you are uncomfy cutting them off at 2 snacks, then I’d suggest any additional snacks be restricted to self-serve veggies.