I had every intention of putting together a post on stress and hormones this week; however, in the interest of my own stress hormones I had to let that go. It’s still coming, but it’s going to take me a bit longer than I thought.
I’m always optimistic about what I can get accomplished in a week. Recently, I listened to a podcast interview where the guest said something along the lines of, “I have that thing where your eyes are bigger than your stomach… but with energy” and I just had to laugh. This is me! I think I should be able to make more things happen than is actually realistic. Alas, the past week involved parenting five children while my husband attended an out of town training, a baby who both caught croup and was cutting not one, not two, but four teeth (!!!), Daylight Savings Time (!!) and oh yes, wacky postpartum hormone shifts1.
While I was wondering what I could put together for you all this week2, I hatched a crazy plan. What if I just wrote down exactly what I fed my kids and myself during this less than ideal (but also not that out of the ordinary) week of food? It would not be impressive, but it might serve as a sort of template for how to triage a meal plan. How do you feed people when you’ve got to consider food intolerances3, you can’t just grab fast food or takeout, but you also have nothing left in your tank and the fussy child literally will not let you put them down?
Well, the answer to that, at least at our house, is not food-blog food. It involved a lot of toast and canned fish. But it was fairly nutritious, everyone’s bellies were filled, we didn’t break our grocery budget. And also — and this is important! — I was not completely deranged when my husband got home.
The Prep
If I know I have a stretch of solo parenting coming up, I prepare accordingly. I prioritize having easy protein sources on hand — things like fully cooked chicken sausage, canned fish, turkey bacon for a quick hash, jerky bars for protein snacks, sweet potato or plantain chips, and obviously a well stocked supply of coffee and chocolate. For this week I purchased a couple packages of chicken apple sausages, along with some paleo breakfast sausage links the kids have been enjoying. I also made sure we had canned tuna, sweet potato chips, a few more exciting snack options (seaweed and some Bobo’s oat bites from Costco) and a bag of Siete chips. I planned to do a grocery pickup mid week and had a loose plan for the week: leftover beef stew (we had a roast Saturday night), frozen pizza one night, sourdough waffles one night, chicken apple sausage, maybe burritos? It wasn’t rock solid, but I figured we’d make it work. I don’t usually provide breakfast and lunch options in my meal plans, but I’m going to give you some notes on those too, because sometimes I think we need to know that other people are not feeding their kids really awesome food all the time.
Here’s how the week actually worked…
Sunday (I didn’t start taking notes til Sunday dinner)
Dinner - Leftover beef stew
My husband left a little after lunch, I put the baby down for her nap and decided to make bread for the week. No sooner had I gotten the bread in the oven (honestly, it may have even been on the stove rising), when she woke up coughing and sad. She would not let me put her down, and the baby carrier was in the wash. I had a moment of “what on earth are we going to eat?!” — I could just feed the kids sandwiches, but then what would I eat? I ended up having the nine year old help me peel carrots and sweet potatoes and then did some pretty sketchy one handed chopping. I had the leftovers from balsamic pot roast in the Instant Pot, so I added four carrots, four stalks of celery, two sweet potatoes, a can of pumpkin purée, some water and a large pinch of sage along with some salt and pepper. I put the Instant Pot on High for 8 minutes, and about 30 minutes later (by the time the IP de-pressurized and the stew had cooled) I had dinner. I served it with bread and butter for the kids. I ate standing at the counter, with a baby in the carrier, because #momlife.
Prep: I was optimistically hoping we’d make it to the zoo the next day. I’d made a plan B for the kids to still go with grandma, even if the baby was sick, so I packed PB & J sandwiches4 (this is why the bread is key), along with some salami, sliced apples and carrots and some seaweed packets and snack bars. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it or not, so I stuck a can of tuna with a fork in the lunchbox so I’d have some protein.
Monday (Zoo day):
Breakfast - One kid wanted rice cakes with PB, the rest had peanut butter toast. I ate more beef stew at the counter again, along with a hefty amount of coffee.
They were excited and we were trying to get out the door, so of course at least one child left half their breakfast on the table. The baby was feeling better, so I figured she could sit in the stroller, we’d skip the indoor reptiles and she’d be happier outside anyway. The zoo is a glorified walk with animals, right?
Lunch - The kids ate the packed lunch on the drive home, I munched on some of their leftover carrots and apples. By the time we all got home the two littlest had decided car naps counted as real naps, I was exhausted, and everything was chaos. I stared at the wall5, and didn’t realize until almost dinner time that despite my best efforts I'd forgotten lunch #rookiemistake. I think I ate chocolate6, snacked on sweet potato chips and drank more (decaf) coffee because I’m a grownup who makes great life choices.
Dinner - Waffles, chicken sausage and blueberries for the kids. I’d meant to make my sourdough waffle batter7 before we left the house, but 1) my starter had gotten funky from neglect and 2) I forgot. So I ended up making this recipe instead. It’s not as nutritious as the sourdough, but it works.
I made myself a big ol’ salad with tuna fish, olives, a whole avocado, cucumber, and balsamic dressing8 and a whole sheet pan of sweet potato fries. The kids pilfered a few of course.
Tuesday:
Breakfast - Toast with sunbutter or peanut butter and jelly again (are you sensing a theme?), I had leftover beef stew again.
Lunch - I looked around in the fridge and decided to use up the leftover rice. My very quick and easy version of fried rice goes something like this, dice some onion (about 1/2), slice a few carrots thinly, slice some cabbage or a bit of broccoli, whatever I’ve got. I’ve got a kid who can’t eat eggs so I don’t bother with them, but add either some leftover chicken or a bit of chopped deli meat for protein. I start with a hefty spoonful of coconut oil in the wok (or frying pan), then sauté the onion and carrot for a bit, I crumble in the rice with my hand so the grains get unstuck and they can get more evenly coated with oil. Sauté it until the veggies are getting tender and the rice is warmed through. Then I drizzle a tiny bit of sesame oil, add salt and pepper, and usually finish with a bit of coconut aminos. It’s definitely not “real” fried rice, but they gobble it up.
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I think I ended up just eating deli meat, sweet potato chips and some apple.
Dinner - I promised the kids that we’d go to the park, so we took a walk, and by the time we got home we were all tired and suddenly everyone was very hungry. My plan was to just heat up some chicken sausages, chop up some vegetables and throw the package of Trader Joe’s tater-tots I found in the freezer on a sheet pan. I got most of it going, and got some sweet potato fries in the oven for myself. I think the baby was really fussy… something was going on. Anyway. I burnt everything. The sausages and tater-tots made it. The sweet potatoes were mostly unsalvageable, but I had already eaten so many chips (that hanger hits fast…) that I wasn’t that hungry anyway. I don’t think anyone ate a vegetable, unless ketchup counts.
Wednesday:
Breakfast - Hot cereal for the kids. They like this Bob’s Mighty Tasty cereal better than either the plain brown rice or buckwheat. We’ve been experimenting with gluten free oats too, but a couple of the kids either don’t like them or don’t do well with them.
I was trying to make breakfast, but the baby was a wreck and everyone was melting. I ate a couple cold chicken sausages and the toddler begged. Sigh… (I was going to make a little sauté with some mushrooms and onions and avocado. RIP nice breakfast).
Lunch - I made “snack plate”. This is one of my favorite life hacks for lunch. I have a big wooden cutting board so I’ll put out some rolled up turkey, salami, chips or crackers, whatever fruits and veggies I can find in the fridge, sometimes a few nuts or a piece of chocolate for everyone if I’m feeling generous. The only rule is that they have to eat all the things that will go bad if they sit out (basically just the meat). I leave the rest out and refer them to it for snacks when they inevitably come pester me an hour later. They don't get more food until they’ve eaten everything on there.
I had another tuna salad with another sheet pan of sweet potato fries (are you sensing a second theme?)
Dinner - We did a grocery pickup before lunch, so I got frozen pizzas for an easy dinner. I was really feeling the no sleep/solo parenting/time change this day. The baby was a clingy mess. I had gotten ground beef out, intending to cook it for myself, but I was so tired that I put it in the fridge and ended up eating a couple Epic bars and a bunch of Siete tortilla chips for “dinner”. I think I cut up some carrots and cucumbers for the kids, but who knows.
Prep: At this point I was feeling a little under-fed (probably partially because the baby was nursing more), grumpy, and very tired. I made sure to get ingredients for soup, some salmon fillets on sale (1/2 price!) and some extra protein snacks (Epic bars) in the grocery order.
Thursday:
Breakfast - PB toast, rice cakes with PB, and chicken sausages9 for the kids
I sautéed a pound of ground beef with some onion and salt and pepper and had about half of it with an avocado.
Lunch - leftover pizza for the kids, cut up veggies
I had Siete chips, the rest of the ground beef, and whatever was left of their veggies.
We got a “big” snow storm and the baby was still crabby which meant our plans for Thursday got cancelled. Everyone was a bit glum and grumpy. I remembered that I had some coconut whipped cream in the freezer and this ended up being the real MVP for the week. To make dairy free hot chocolate I use two methods: the easiest is to just use Hershey’s Simply 5 (no corn syrup) and squirt enough into the dairy free milk to make it appropriately chocolatey (we usually use almond). The next morning I ran out, so I used cocoa powder and sugar whisked into the almond milk (for four mugs of hot chocolate I used 2 Tbs of sugar and 2 Tbs of cocoa powder. Roughly 1:1 ratio of cocoa powder and sugar, but it might vary depending on how sweet or chocolatey you want it).
Dinner - I needed a real meal! I was able to have the older kids occupy the cranky baby for long enough to put this wonderful Healing Chicken Ginger Soup together. It is one of my absolute favorites. I started cooking some chicken breasts in the Instant Pot (if they’re partially frozen and I’m doing a lot of them I bump the time to 17 min on HIGH because I don’t enjoy salmonella) and then got to work chopping. Do not knock plantains in soup ‘til you try them, because they are the best part of this recipe. I can usually find them at either Walmart or King Soopers (Kroger). I forgot the celery, but it was still great and I was very happy to have real food. Make sure to top it with plenty of cilantro and avocado, and a little red onion if you like.
Friday:
Almost there! Hallelujah. Kids were going to grandma and grandpa’s for a sleepover, so I just had to get to lunch time.
Breakfast - a couple kids wanted rice crispy cereal, the rest had rice cakes with peanut butter and a few leftover sausages.
I had leftover soup, but you knew that’s what I was going to say, right?
The older kids got to work on shoveling the driveway, with the promise of more hot chocolate and whipped cream dangled as a carrot. I put whipped cream in my coffee because YOLO.
Lunch - Nachos for the kiddos — I use the Daiya shredded “cheese”, canned black beans and because one of my kids still doesn’t do well with corn, I make one end of the sheet pan with Siete chips or potato chips10.
Leftover soup for me. I live on leftovers.
Dinner - I was cooking for only myself and the baby, who wasn’t really eating much due to the four teeth popping through. I wanted real food, but I didn’t want to work hard for it. Enter, salmon. I pulled out a frozen fillet mid afternoon and thawed it in the sink (cold water works best). Then I whipped up this sauce for Honey Mustard glazed salmon which is easy enough that you can do it one handed. And yes, I made more sweet potato fries.11 I served the salmon over a pile of mixed greens and ate it while watching 27 Dresses. No one said words to me, but I still ate with a kid on my lap.
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Saturday: I had leftover salmon and sweet potatoes for breakfast… nothing remarkable. Then I drove to the airport to pick up my backup dearly beloved husband.
We had hamburgers for dinner because it was warm and I had someone to do the grilling! The household returned to its normal rhythms and the fussy baby followed my husband around with his shoes, begging to go outside. All was well in the world.
Now, I’d be remiss if I left you without a recipe… This one is so simple it’s almost not a recipe. But if there’s one thing I make more than almost anything else, it’s oven fries. They’re easy, they’re filling, they’re cheap12 and gosh, who doesn’t like a crispy potato? What’s not to love?
The secret to my favorite sweet potato fry is to use white sweet potatoes. They go by a few different names, sometimes they’re called Jersey or Hannah varieties, and will be next to the orange ones. I still get a little confused on the exact botanical details, but despite their white flesh, they’re not part of the nightshade family. They are drier and slightly starchier than sweet potatoes so they crisp up and are less mushy than the orange sweet potatoes. I eat the orange ones too, but these make me forget they’re not real fries.
I like to dip them in mustard, or my homemade chimichurri sauce. These are a great all purpose side, but perhaps my favorite time to eat them is when I sit down for lunch. If you put them in the oven before you put littles down for the nap, they’ll be about done by the time you get everyone situated. I can come out, assemble some sort of a quick salad or leftover, and eat something hot and crispy without (too many) small mouths begging for it. It’s the most rudimentary form of self care there is — carbs, fat, and salt.
Why is the return to cycles, postpartum the worst? (Progesterone. It’s the lack of progesterone).
You know, after I let the dream of a beautifully researched post go.
As a reminder of what we’re dealing with in our family, I eat very close to an AIP template to control my autoimmune diseases. My kids eat gluten and dairy free, but I also have one child who doesn’t tolerate eggs well which limits our options a bit.
I’ve got a kiddo who doesn’t do PB yet, so sunbutter works well too!
Ok, read Substack Notes…
I can’t link it, but Kroger’s Simple Truth has an 85% dark chocolate that is dairy and soy free, and surprisingly decent.
I make this with Bob’s 1-1 flour, not buckwheat, and my gluten free sourdough starter. I also use 1/4 c. oil in the recipe.
By “dressing” I mean I glug olive oil and balsamic on top of things, shake on some pepper and mix it up.
These were the Amylu’s chicken sausages. They taste great, but I’m 99% sure, based on trying them a few times recently that they do have red pepper, so if you’re AIP or super sensitive to nightshades proceed with caution.
Also, any time I mention the word “sheet pan” insert the words “covered with parchment paper”. It may not be the most cost effective, it might be slightly wasteful even, but covering the dang pan and throwing away the sheet of paper instead of washing the dish every time saves.my.bacon. Also, it makes better sweet potato fries because they don’t stick to the pan and they kind of fry in the oil.
I wish I had another great carbohydrate source, but I eat a sheet pan of fries a day when I’m nursing. I need the good carbs to help with sleep, and any time I’ve gone too low in carbohydrates — EVEN IF I’m eating enough calories — I feel constantly hungry.
Okay, sweet potatoes are not as cheap as I wish they were — but they’re cheap compared to other starch options I can eat. If I’m making oven fries for the whole family I do a pan of sweet potatoes and a pan of regular potatoes because the regular are half the price. The technique is the same.
That is a great sweet potato hack! I never thought about trying a different kind for the oven fries!
Also, many lines here cracked me up, but especially the one about how you "did some pretty sketchy one handed chopping." I can 100% relate.
Finally: do you have the great big sheet pans? I only discovered a couple of years ago that you can get ones that are 21" x 15". Life changing with a big family.
SO MANY GOOD TIPS HERE. (The canned fish hack is highly underrated, in my opinion.)
This entire thing made me realize just how much we think about FOOD and HUNGER and MEALS (and allergies) and how it's all going to happen over and over. It's a legit skill to learn how to plan, prepare, pivot, make do, re-pivot, feed yourself, live your live, plan, prepare, cook, take care of yourself, pivot some more.
Doing this all while solo parenting and holding a clingy baby. Whew. I felt this post so much in my bones it almost made me exhausted. :') My husband was gone for two nights recently and it was a lot. Well done.