The MomSpeak

You don’t have to conduct an elaborate research project to know that busy moms rate mealtime as among the most stressful times of the day. As we all know, it’s no small feat to tackle all your daily to-dos AND get something heathy, economical, and enticing to the table seven days a week.

Let’s imagine a familiar scenario. You are scheduled to work in your kindergartener’s classroom in the morning, then pick up your baby at the sitter and take her for her six month’s checkup before school lets out.. When it does, you’ve promised to take your two and your neighbor’s toddler to the playground. After that, it’s absolutely crucial that you take the car in for the oil change it’s been needing for at least a month. In the midst of all this, your partner, who usually does grocery duty, gets called out of town on business before making it to the market, As you’re all too aware, the fridge is empty, but you’ve taken the kids out for pizza one too many times this week.

What’s a busy mom to do?

We know you’re a conscientious parent seriously concerned with your kids’ health as well as with making dinnertime a significant patch of family together time. But tonight, a gourmet child -friendly dinner is just not in the stars. Let it go. Don’t think of what your mother\or the helicopter moms at school would do or say. This is the time to consider the virtues of the backwards dinner. Breakfast for dinner. It’s quick, it’s economical, it’s easy. Most of the ingredients are likely to be in the barest of cupboards and the most barren of freezers, and best of all, your kids will think it’s very cool. If you play it right, it can even be nutritious.

Mix and Match from this Backwards Dinner Buffet:

* Instant Oatmeal
* Whole grain Cold Cereal (no added sugar, please)
* Scrambled Eggs
* Pancakes
* French Toast
* Side of Fruit
* Waffles
* Yogurt
* Blueberry or Banana Muffin
* Smoothie
* Box of Raisins
* Toast with butter, jam, peanut butter or some combination
* Milk
* Juice
* Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows

There’s a catch to this, of course. Aside from making sure that the cupboard stays stocked with cereal and peanut butter and you’ve always got at least a quart of milk and three eggs left in the frig, you can’t pull this trick too often. Novelty is what makes it work. So if you’re running on empty right this minute, buy some extras, at least of the dry stuff, next time you do make it to the store.