Eating: Mom's meals

Cooking a meal for my family is the ultimate "Mom" thing to do.

I struggle with deciding which I want to be, a "Mom" or a person who happens to have kids.

"Just a Mom" rings as a double sided insult, both as lessening the importance of moms in our culture AND as diminishing the worth of someone who is such.

Oh yes...I am going there!

Source: google.com via Tanya on Pinterest

But, I eschew all the mom stereotypes I possibly can which is ironic because, I am a mom. A good one. Albeit one who entered into the field accidentally and at first begrudgingly.  So in my quest to keep my street cred, I don't drive a minivan, wear velour jogging suits or go to Wal-mart. (All unfair stereotypes, I know...don't send me hate emails, Meg.)  Instead, I do laundry, put my kids activities ahead of my own, drive a Suburban (large minivan), am a room mom (for the 6th time!), "go for coffee", go to the orthodontist, cheer from all manners of sidelines  and cook. I cook a lot. A lot of healthy meals, by the way, which is a total mom thing to do. I also try to expose my kids to lots of new  foods so they are not scared as adults to try  new things, again...mom alert!

I struggle to keep our meals interesting. This is mostly for my own benefit as my family would eat tacos, chicken, and spaghetti in an endless rotation. However, I get tired of making them and I get tired of eating the same things all the time. So, I spend a lot of time researching recipes, hunting down ingredients and trying to get a little culture into my family's meal time. Or at least a little variety. However, it is a catch 22 for me. Variety also equals new skills to be learned and more planning. Usually, it also involves more dirty dishes.

I have started a new job three days a week and have to be more efficient in my meal planning. Less free time means greater efficiency for me, however. Less time to slack and makes me a better...dare I say it...MOM.

Casa Swann Mom's meals 

Source: 100daysofrealfood.com via Tanya on Pinterest

• sweet potato burgers, hamburgers and oven roasted broccoli
• Crockpot lasagna (no pasta) and baked chicken thighs
• Pork Carnitas (crock pot)
• Tortilla soup
•  Fish tacos  

PS. I don't think I ever had street cred. I just had delusions of "being a cool girl".  Now that I have kids, I have a lot more street cred and a purpose in my life. Raising cool kids who turn into really great adults.