It’s been about two months since I first began the experiment of getting my teens to cook dinner and soccer season is officially wrapped. The kids have been doing their “duty” diligently and have done a pretty good job.  I have to say; having them prepare the family meals has really been a lifesaver.  Simply taking that one thing off my to-do list has made all the difference.  As the weeks went on, I began to see how each child had a different approach and a different interest level in their new weekly task.

In the beginning, both children started out making the weeknight family meal favorites that I typically cook.  You know the quick, easy meals that you can make quickly when you are tired and just want the kids fed, such as spaghetti, chicken, rice and vegetables, or burritos. But after the first two weeks, I began to see their “food personalities” emerge.

My 16-year-old boy decided that he wasn’t willing to put any time or effort into the meal planning or anything that would require more than he was already being asked to do: simply prepare the meal.  So, he began making very simple dishes, such as sloppy joes, pancakes (breakfast for dinner), tacos, etc.  He is not a planner and would prefer to simply look in the refrigerator and the pantry and decide what to make on the spot. I still require that he tells me what he is making the weekend before so that I can include it in my shopping and this drives him crazy!

My 12-year-old daughter is the exact opposite. After the first week or two, she got bored with our regular stand-bys and started asking me what else she could make. I sat down with her at our computer, brought up the Meals Matter website and showed her how to use the “find recipes” tool.  She has been a faithful experimenter ever since. She is a planner and she is willing to try new things.  She has made a couple new dishes that I will now add to my regular rotation because they were quick and easy and more importantly, they taste good! One recipe is called Asian Rainbow Trout  and the other one is Broiled Tilapia Parmesan.

Now that I have learned about their personalities and their interest levels, I am moving on to requiring them to have a balanced meal. From here on out, not only will they have to plan and prepare the meal, they will need to make sure it is balanced. This means they will need to include all five food groups in every one of their chosen meals.  Who knows, maybe this will jump start my 16-year-old’s ability to plan since looking in the pantry and coming up with a simple main dish probably won’t be enough.  Wish me luck as I move onto stage 3 of my makeshift experiment!

Debbie Asada
Schools Supervisor, Northern California