I don’t know about you all but figuring out what everyone is going to eat can be a real stressor. These kiddos have to be fed not only every day but several times a day! As a mama to seven of them, I needed to find a way to simplify our mealtimes.

I needed to make mealtime easier for us but I had a couple of goals in mind. I am a mom that enjoys giving my children choices. I wanted to create independence so they could learn to do this themselves. I wanted to give them the tools that would encourage good, healthy habits for their entire life.

Freedom of Choices

I love to give my kiddos as many choices as I possibly can. God has made them all unique with various likes and dislikes. This can be tough when you have seven kiddos and their taste buds all different.

We had a pretty standard breakfast and lunch menu. Breakfast was either peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or cereal with fruit. Lunch was grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and pretzels.

These meals weren’t terribly unhealthy but I began to notice they were not satisfied. I needed to add more substance to their diet.

Personally, I like to eat the things I like and I wanted to offer our children that same opportunity. Plus, trying to accommodate this child’s preference and that child’s dislike, well, it was exhausting and irritating all at the same time.

Creates Independence

I was creating the meals and while some of my older children were helping me prepare it, I was the guiding force behind it. I really wanted them to have a healthy and balanced plate that they created, not me.

I wanted them to be building and preparing their own meals.

Meal Buddies

Of course, we have two little people who can’t do this on their own. This was a hurdle I needed to jump through if they were going to be picking and preparing their own meals.

In a large family, the buddy system already plays an active role in our everyday life. Our children are trained to help each other, it is expected.

A light bulb went off in my head and I realized this was my answer to the issue. I could buddy my two youngest children with some of my older children and have them help them build their meal.

Building Life Skills

Not only did I want them to learn how to prepare and fix the meals, but I also wanted them to learn what it meant to have a healthy, balanced diet. I wanted them to have the specific tools to learn how to eat the appropriate amount from every food group.

Menu Board

After weighing all these factors and goals, I came up with the idea of the Menu Board. We have a total of four dry erase boards in our kitchen area. I dedicated one of them to the menu board.

I divided the board into five columns.

• Directions
• Protein
• Grain
• Fruit
• Dairy

Directions

The first column is labeled with the meal type, breakfast or lunch. It also instructs them to pick one item from each column for the meals and just one item for their snack.

Protein

For protein options, they have the following choices:

• Egg
• Sausage Links
• Peanut Butter
• Pork Roast
• 1 Chicken Drumstick
• 1 piece of Ham

I note on the board how much they need to have. We boil eggs during our weekly kitchen prep day or we have a microwave egg poacher.

Grain

For grain options, they have the following choices:

• Bread
• Pancakes
• Tortilla
• Cereal
• Jelly
• Ramen noodles
• Pretzels

Another thing we make is Sheet Pan Pancakes on our weekly kitchen prep days. After they have cooled, they are cut into squares, wrapped individually in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag labeled “Pancakes.” This way on the mornings they want to enjoy a pancake, they can without much trouble.

The jelly option is a bit of a bonus since they may want to have it with their peanut butter.

Fruit

I usually try to have at least two fresh fruit options. Our favorites are bananas, apples, and mandarin oranges. I also buy enough individual cups of applesauce for each child to have one every day.

I did a price check on buying the jars of applesauce versus the individual cups. In our area, if I bought the cups at Aldi it was about the same amount as the jar. The cups are standardized portions and are a lot cleaner. Applesauce can be kind of messy when it’s being poured out by a bunch of kiddos.

Dairy

They have a few different options for dairy options.

• One half of a container of yogurt
• 1 slice of American Cheese
• 1 Cup of Milk
• 2 Tablespoons of Mozzarella Cheese

Our kiddos pair up in the mornings and share an individual container of yogurts. They pair up based upon their favorite flavors. This has worked really well for us and they can get a decent variety to enjoy.

Introducing the Idea

So my kiddos are just like everyone else and they don’t particularly like change. I know this so I proceeded with caution. I guess I have a method I follow for when I am introducing a new order of operations.

• Family Meeting
• Offer Training
• Be Patient

Family Meeting

My first order of business is to call a family meeting. I do this whenever I am changing something because the grapevine in a large family is a powerful thing.

I don’t want my children to feel left out so I announce to everyone at the same time. Now, I am going to be very honest with you and say that sometimes I will tell my teenager, Sam, ahead of time. I do this for a couple of reasons:

• I want his opinion.
• He is a leader in our home and his initial reaction to change sets the tone for the rest of the kiddos.

If I do talk to him, I make him promise not to tell the others and he has proven trustworthy.

Now back to the family meeting, I talk to everyone about what I want to do and why I want to do it.

Offer Training

The thing that closed the deal was the training that I did at the family meeting. Since I wanted to demonstrate that the sky was the limit on what you could eat, I prepared some demos.

I showed them how to make a breakfast sandwich and a ham and cheese quesadilla. It was an impromptu cooking class and they got to taste what I made.

They were sold and it was enough to get their imaginations started with all kinds of food combinations.

Be Patient

As with anything new, change takes time to adjust and learn to deal with. I always try to make myself available during these periods of adjustment. I also adjust the schedule to allow for a little more time.

Possible Food Combinations

Breakfast Ideas

• Egg and Cheese Toasted Sandwich with Fresh Fruit
• Pancake, Sausage, Yogurt and a cup of Applesauce
• Cereal, Milk, Sausage Links, and Fresh Fruit
• Breakfast Burrito with American Cheese and a cup of Applesauce

Lunch Ideas

• Pork Roast Cheesy Quesadilla and Fresh Fruit
• Ramen Noodles, Chicken Drumstick, a cup of Applesauce and a cup of Milk
• Grilled Ham and Cheese Panini and Fresh Fruit

Grocery Budget and List

I was a little concerned that I would see a spike in the grocery list but I did not. I am very specific about the amounts they are to measure out for themselves to eat. I pay attention to the serving size and adjust it based upon their needs. I also look at the cost per serving and try to keep it around $0.20.

CrewTip: The Concept Behind My Crazy

I try to keep each item on the board at 20 cents or less per portion. The way I figure this out is by taking the total cost of the item and dividing by the number of portions I get. The proteins can be a little tricky and sometimes they run up to 25 cents per portion.

I change the board here and there depending on the season and what I can get within our budget. The kiddos just asked for instant oatmeal to be added to the board and so I will look to do that.

When I am getting my grocery list together, I just make sure I have things that are listed on the board in the amounts we will need. For example, every week we use:

• 7 dozen eggs
• 6 loaves of bread
• 50 sausage links
• 1 large jar of peanut butter
• 2 gallons of milk
• 49 cups of applesauce
• 21 cups of yogurt
• 6 pounds of bananas
• 6 pounds of other fresh fruit
• 4 boxes of cereal
• 18 packages of Ramen
• 3 bags of pretzels
• 2 boxes of graham crackers

This makes shopping a little easier. The kiddos have learned the concept of supply and demand while I have learned what their favorites are. I try to adjust so we won’t run out of things but sometimes it’s inevitable. If everyone has a hankering for sausage links all of a sudden, there is a good chance we will run out. They will not be available until our next planned shopping trip.

One more thing, on those nights that dinner just didn’t happen, the Menu Board comes to the rescue! Instead of cereal, the kiddos can create whatever they want to eat. It’s a win, win!

Check out our YouTube video below where I explain this concept and you can see firsthand how the kiddos prepare their meals. Let me know what you think!

This really has made our lives so much easier! We have been doing this method for about a year now. It is so much fun to see our three-year-old getting the concept as she runs around building her own meal with the help of her buddy.

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I hope this will help your family in some way! I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for reading and watching! We appreciate you!

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