I little bit of green goes a long way.

When I was a stay at home mom, yes I did that too, my husband and I were penny pinchers.  Most of the people in our social circle had double incomes in their household.  There were often times that we could not attend or go to functions purely for financial reasons.

One of the things that we did to be able to socialize was a cooking club.  We had two other couples that we rotated with each month.  It was a night out and we always got a great meal shared with good friends.  We were the only couple with children at the time.  We drug them with us, them in their jammies and a good video/movie, a special meal for them and a bowl of popcorn later.

Cooking at home has always been a part of my boy’s life.  I worried about them when they left home because they really never cooked in my kitchen.  To be honest, they knew they had a good thing going on with me and they did not rock the boat very often. 

When my husband and I visited our oldest when he lived off campus we were surprised when he showed us his turkey that he roasted.  He said it was cheaper to roast a turkey and use it as long as possible in many different dishes.  He talked about the other things that he and his cousin made with the 5 other gentleman that lived in the house at Madison, WI.  I quickly blurted…..”Where did you learn how to cook?  You never cooked at home.”  He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “Well, I watched you.”  He still does a lot of cooking and he knows that it is economically wise to do so.

I am proud of that and it really does show that when you cook you are teaching by example. 

I have said in an angry moment or two that I was going on “strike” when the kids were in high school.  To be honest, my mom worked while I was in high school.  I was the oldest and started cooking suppers for my family when I was in 9^th grade.  If we multiply that out I have made around 13,000 family meals in my life time.  (Subtracting 4 year for college) Yes, I like to go out to eat and in my old age I think that I deserve a break once in a while but that is the key.  “Once in a while” 

We have neighbors with young children that go out to eat every single day.  The only thing their kids know is to order off of a menu.  Not only is that expensive but it is unhealthy and does not teach children to learn to eat new things.  That is one of the great things about family meals at home.  They have to eat what you cook or they starve.  Trust me; if a child is really hungry they will not starve they will eat the food set before them.

Be an advocate for family meals and get the family on board.  I know it is difficult and sometimes you just want to quit.  I have been there. 

Cooking saves you money, it is much better nutritionally, and it is better for your family.  Get on board!

With love,

Your FACS teacher,

Jane