Susan GrahamHow to Avoid Cooking Dinner -- Part 1
November 11th 2009 03:02
Declare tonight cereal night!
I don't know how this tradition started, but somehow cereal night became a family favorite--at least when my husband's not home for dinner. (Cereal night, doesn't quite work for him.)
How cereal night works at our house:
1) I make a big deal about it:
I was at a YMCA once, watching one of the workers entertaining children in the gym. She took a big box of colored balls and dumped them out. (Gasp--in my house, I'd call that making a mess.)
But this was the Y--and she called making a mess "fun". Actually making a mess is fun, but cleaning up isn't. Yet, somehow she managed to convince 12 kids that picking up the balls would be just as much fun as dumping them. I know this to be true, because I saw with my own eyes, a dozen children running around scooping up each and every ball and happily tossing them back into the box, smiling like it was Christmas and asking the worker if they could do it again.
And that's when I realized it's all about presentation. Instead of asking the kids to clean up, she'd said in a very perky voice: "Let's have a race? Who can pick up the balls first? One, two, three--go!"
Back to cereal night: So, when I don't feel like cooking I yell very excitedly: "It's cereal night! Yeah. Yeah. Whoo-hooo. Hee hee. " And everybody, including me is happy.
2) Make sure you pick something nutritious:
This isn't as hard as it sounds. After all, cereal boxes are sure to have at least one health-related banner on the front these day, such as:
"Now made with whole grains"
"With added fiber"
"Vitamins and minerals"
"A whole day's worth of calcium"
After all, cereal is a popular breakfast choice, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. See where I'm going with this? To add to the feeling that you've made a great decision, pick a cerel that's a single color--hint: the popular yellowish-brownish corn or rice or wheat looking color. Skip rainbow mixes here (see 3 for more info.). For even more value, choose a cereal with dried fruit. No reason to feel guilty here--you're covering three rungs of the food pyramid (grain, fruit, milk).
3) The best part of cereal night --beyond no cooking, minimal dishes, all those healthy labels, is ......DESSERT. Yes, cereal night easily comes with dessert. After your kids complete a bowl of the brown cereal you can happily send them back to the cupboard for the sugary kind. Cap'n Crunch, Trix (one rainbow kind), Fruity Pebbles (another rainbow kind), Fruit Loops (rainbow), etc. The list of dessert options is endless.
Don't you love cereal night?
photo provided by freefoto.com
I don't know how this tradition started, but somehow cereal night became a family favorite--at least when my husband's not home for dinner. (Cereal night, doesn't quite work for him.)
How cereal night works at our house:
1) I make a big deal about it:
I was at a YMCA once, watching one of the workers entertaining children in the gym. She took a big box of colored balls and dumped them out. (Gasp--in my house, I'd call that making a mess.)
But this was the Y--and she called making a mess "fun". Actually making a mess is fun, but cleaning up isn't. Yet, somehow she managed to convince 12 kids that picking up the balls would be just as much fun as dumping them. I know this to be true, because I saw with my own eyes, a dozen children running around scooping up each and every ball and happily tossing them back into the box, smiling like it was Christmas and asking the worker if they could do it again.
And that's when I realized it's all about presentation. Instead of asking the kids to clean up, she'd said in a very perky voice: "Let's have a race? Who can pick up the balls first? One, two, three--go!"
cereal night
2) Make sure you pick something nutritious:
This isn't as hard as it sounds. After all, cereal boxes are sure to have at least one health-related banner on the front these day, such as:
"Now made with whole grains"
"With added fiber"
"Vitamins and minerals"
"A whole day's worth of calcium"
After all, cereal is a popular breakfast choice, and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. See where I'm going with this? To add to the feeling that you've made a great decision, pick a cerel that's a single color--hint: the popular yellowish-brownish corn or rice or wheat looking color. Skip rainbow mixes here (see 3 for more info.). For even more value, choose a cereal with dried fruit. No reason to feel guilty here--you're covering three rungs of the food pyramid (grain, fruit, milk).
3) The best part of cereal night --beyond no cooking, minimal dishes, all those healthy labels, is ......DESSERT. Yes, cereal night easily comes with dessert. After your kids complete a bowl of the brown cereal you can happily send them back to the cupboard for the sugary kind. Cap'n Crunch, Trix (one rainbow kind), Fruity Pebbles (another rainbow kind), Fruit Loops (rainbow), etc. The list of dessert options is endless.
Don't you love cereal night?
photo provided by freefoto.com
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