Cooking Days

Are you looking for a great idea to get your kids off screens, an opportunity to connect the generations, and an entire week of meals made?

Here’s how it works:

1. My retired mom, who is limited physically but is intellectually sharp, has the ability and time to plan. She chooses recipes and makes a shopping list.
2. Next, she orders all of the ingredients for pick up from the grocery store. (If this is not an option where you live, then you can just make a shopping list and go shopping together.) We choose to split the cost. 
3. On our cooking day, I pick up my mom and we go to the store and pick up our order.
4. We drive back to my home. Then my mom does what she has always been good at doing with her daughters- she tells me what to do to put our meals together. We usually double or sometimes triple the recipes. We put my son to work this summer!
5.  After everything is made, we put the meals in containers that can freeze well. We divide the food up between our two families. Gallon sized bags work well for saucier recipes. 
6. We write out the instructions on notecards that we tape to the meals. 
7. We will cook one of the meals right away and enjoy it that day with our families.
8. Over the next week, my dad and my husband can easily thaw and cook one of the frozen meals that my mom and I prepared with the instructions we have written. 

The cooking days have been a great way to spend time with my mom. It has given her independence and the ability to choose what meals she and my dad will eat. It has relieved a lot of my stress of having to plan a menu. I like that I get to be involved in preparing my family’s dinners. 

Other ways you can use cooking days:

If your loved one struggles with intellectual disability or dementia then you can still have a cooking day like ours by simply reversing the roles. You plan the meals and make the shopping list. On cooking day, give your family member clear simple step by step directions. They will love being involved with preparing the meals and the productive time together will be good for both of you. 

Get the kids involved! Kids interact better with their grandparents when they have a shared project. 

One of my friends, living in Africa, has five kids. She makes a monthly menu and puts each of her kids at a meal prep station. The whole family works together to make a month worth of meals. That saves this homeschooling mom a ton of time in her busy school week. 

Families that are trying to eat healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables would benefit from a weekly prep day. Buy fruit and veggies. Wash and chop up your fresh food, then divide into easy-to-grab snack containers that you can eat on through the week. I like to put carrot sticks and hummus in containers or make mixed fruit cups. 

Prepare salads for the whole week. Put salad dressing in the bottom of a large jar, then add chopped vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, and peppers. You can add feta cheese, chicken, and olives for more flavor. Finally, put the lettuce on top. Grab one of the salad jars and pour it into a bowl for an easy, affordable, healthy lunch. (The lettuce doesn’t get soggy by putting the salad dressing on the bottom.)

I know that many global families don’t live close to grandparents. I want to encourage you to invite an older friend to teach you and your children how to cook one of their favorite dishes and enjoy it together.

We’re always looking for more freezer friendly and healthy snack recipes. Please share your ideas, recipes, or posts related to this topic!