I am often asked how do you feed your family? So I thought I would begin to share how we do things in our family every day... starting with eating. I started out in college in a BS program in nursing... and took some nutrition classes. I think we eat healthy most of the time and in all reality for me it is not to difficult anymore.... For breakfast we have one person whose chore is to prepare breakfast....We home school and part of our curriculum has included a unit on nutrition. So they all know what is expected for meals... At breakfast some form of calcium like milk, yougart or cheese, one fruit, a grain like cereal, bread, pancakes and a drink. We eat eggs 2 times a week. All the younger kids take a multivitamin plus iron and our older kids take an older same vitamin. I place the older girls vitamins on a paper with their names listed because some tried to skip it and now I know who takes their vitamins. At lunch we eat a protein, grain, 2 fruits/veg. combinations and sometimes a dessert and drink. Dinner is a protein, grain, and usually 3 to 4 fruits/ vegs. , drink and sometimes dessert. Snacks are usally fruit or pretzels, cheese, popcorn, granola bars. In the summer when we are swimming I make a snack about 3 pm because the kids are more hungry after swimming all day.... popsicles are a big hit too.
I shop 2 times a week.... once at Walmart and once at Sams Club... I buy 10 gallons of milk, 6 gallons of apple juice, 2 gallons of sunny d, koolaid for drinks. I buy 16 loaves of bread, 72 eggs a week, 2 lg. containers of cottage cheese and sour cream from Sams, we eat 5 lbs of hamburger when we cook with hamburger at each meal. We eat lots of chicken and beans. Rice, noodles and potatoes are a staple in our dinners. I make snacks from cereal mixed with chocolate covered raisins, nuts, pretzels or whatever else I can find to throw into it and they love it. We often eat 30 lbs of apples a week. They love fresh veggies and we grow a large garden in the summer. We also drink lots of water. I spend anywhere from 5 to 800 hundred dollars a week on groceries... and often can get all of our extras in that too..... like birthdays, or holiday meals.
Here is a picture of hot chocolate for the 10 little ones ( includes Abraham's). The weather has turned colder here and yesterday morning I fixed hot chocolate for all to celebrate. Notice the hot water pot behind the cups ? When we have been in Europe the kitchens all had these to make tea and coffee. I love ours and it boils water in less than a minute. We use it all the time.
Our first day of school we make "Stone Soup"... the book is read and the kids give me some stones they find outside and we make the same soup as the soliders in the story.... I have been doing this a long time ( actually most of the 24 yrs we have been home schooling).
On the radio talk show we were on someone asked,"How do you express love to so many?" I shared that many times it is thru the meals we cook and share... it is a happy time at our home when we have meals... and since we are together 24/7 we eat lots of meals together :) My kids get as excited the days before a holiday as we prepare the "special " foods we will be eating on the holidays. I have shared before almost every meal there is a "choir" of thank you mom for dinner. They are very appreciative and I love to cook with and for them.....
