Mom's Talk - Getting Dinner on the Table

How, exactly, is a homemade dinner supposed to appear on the table every night? Mom's Council member Deneen Wohlford writes that this is a common discussion with her friends and her husband.

We all know that hitting the drive-through on the way home is not the best choice in terms of nutrition, but it's tempting when the hour grows late, the stomach grows empty and the day is hardly over — there is still homework, sports practice and plenty of domestic details to take care of before bedtime. The idea of cooking a nutritious meal from scratch night after night seems daunting, sometimes beyond possible. Shopping, chopping and cooking take time, energy and planning.

Around my house, I'm in charge of the cooking, and I do cook most everything from scratch. But I have the luxury of working from home, and it's important to me that the family eat well most every day. So I schlep to the store several times a  week, and every day I plan what we're having the next day just to make sure we have what we need and I don't have to make a last-minute rush to the store.

I always have a huge salad made, so there is enough for two days. And whatever we have for dinner is generally what we have for lunch the next day. Fast food is simply not an option at my house, but we occasionally go out to dinner. Mostly, though, we share our breakfast and dinner together as a family. For me, it's worth the effort, though sometimes I wish my wife and kid would help a little more with things like shopping.

Here's a New York Times blog on the topic. Tell us what you do to feed the family on a daily basis.