Food For Thought

Writing about food all the time, I’m often asked about what we eat on a daily basis in our home. Surely the kids aren’t eating coconut risotto or mushroom Stroganoff. True, they can be as finicky as other kids, but they generally have some expanded tastes.

For instance, we recently had an excursion to the supermarket where I let the kids pick out something for dinner they had never tried. In our family, with all the recipe developing and food writing I do, it was harder than you’d think.

We passed by the avocados, the arugula, the artichokes and the collard greens. They’d already tried every meat known to man and the only vegetables we hit on were spaghetti squash and butternut squash. They chose cavatelli to go with it and we were on our way.

Most nights, though, if the kids aren’t eating something I’ve whipped up for a photo or am in the process of developing, they like the same kid stuff that every kid likes, and when I mention ‘beef-a-roni’ to them, they squeal in delight like it’s Christmas Eve.

They know that my beef-a-roni is primarily from a box and they don’t care – they love it. Yes – I use boxed macaroni and cheese. I’ll admit I prefer the organic boxed variety of mac ‘n’ cheese and organic canned tomato soup, but like every mom, I don’t always have the time or money to make sure those things are in the pantry and we use the same stuff that everyone else uses.

It really doesn’t get any easier – 2 boxes of mac and cheese, 1 pound of ground beef, a can of tomato soup and dinner is done in 20 minutes flat. Add a bagged salad and a bottle of Ranch dressing and my kids go to bed with very full tummies and smiles on their faces, and when it comes down to it – that’s the thing that matters the most.