Jaime, Mr. Food Customer Service Coordinator
My name is Jaime, and I’m the Customer Service Coordinator for Mr. Food. When I was asked to share my experiences about making dinner for my family every night, I jumped at the chance.
Growing up, my mother made a home-cooked meal probably 6 out of 7 nights a week. Occasionally, I would ask what was for dinner and she would say, “chicken.” I would reply with, “I don’t feel like chicken.” She would quickly respond by saying, “You don’t look like a chicken either.”
Now that I am the mother of a 10-year-old son, the rules haven’t changed much. I make dinner and we all eat it. On occasion, I will ask what everyone else would like, and I try to satisfy those requests – within reason. Sure, there are the nights that I make my son’s favorites: hamburgers or spaghetti and meatballs. There are also the nights that we have grilled chicken, rice and, heaven forbid, a vegetable! Honestly, I don’t know many kids that truly enjoy vegetables, but in our house, you need to at least try them. Some of them my son may actually like – whether or not he admits it. I used to make myself crazy when he was younger. My pediatrician would tell me that as long as he was taking his vitamins, he was fine. I learned how necessary it is to choose your battles.
My husband and I typically have date night on Saturdays and our son stays home with a babysitter. Those are the nights that we make him macaroni and cheese or a frozen pizza, and he couldn’t be happier. And so am I, since those meals do not involve actual cooking. (When I do want to make it from scratch, Mr. Food’s Homestyle Mac ‘n’ Cheese is the one I make; it’s fantastic and my son loves it!)
Mr. Food's Homestyle Mac 'n' Cheese
I take my son to the grocery store with me and, each week, I let him pick one new item from the produce department. Then we go home and prepare it together. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t, but at least we try, and it exposes him to new foods.
However, we know parents that make a different dinner for each child and then another meal for themselves every night. Really?! What is this teaching the kids? They say their kids will only eat this or that, and they don’t want them to starve. I promise, they are not going to starve. If they get hungry enough, they will eat. They may even eat what you eat. Please understand that I am not referring to infants and toddlers that eat baby-type food. I am talking about kids that are 5, 6, 7 to 10, 11 and 12 years old.
Life is much different now than when I was a kid. As a busy mom, I don’t always have the luxury of time to cook 6 nights a week. Now that I’m a parent, I appreciate my mom so much more for what she did. If someone offered to cook you a homemade meal 6 nights a week, wouldn’t you eat it? I know I would…and I’d love it!
How does mealtime work in your house?
Share and Enjoy
One of the things I love about working at Mr. Food is that I’m constantly surrounded by – you guessed it – food! I love to eat as much as I love to cook, and when I travel it’s no surprise that I’m always about the food.
