mom’s corner – Page 13

Cake Boss and Similar Shows

My hubby and I are not really the couch potato types. We are the type who will find things to tinker with rather than sit in front of the television for hours. In our family, only Alex and my MIL use the television most of the time. Not until we used the television to put ourselves to sleep.

Weekend nights are now spent watching the television together. We are glued on either TLC or Discovery Channel. We have discovered The Cake Boss, Fabulous Cakes, The Mind of a Chef, Layover and similar shows and they really entertain us, including the kids.

Alex and I even watch The Cake Boss on Wednesdays and I have been hearing her say that she wants to learn how to bake big, pretty cakes like those she sees on television. And I tell her, there is plenty of time to learn.

I should really start learning how to bake a cake and graduate from cupcakes. That way, I will be able to guide Alex in her journey to baking. The perks of being a stay-at-home-mom with an oven. 🙂

Importance of a Weekly Menu Plan

I am very fortunate, if I may say, that I am able to wake up without thinking what food to prepare for my family. How is this so? Because my mother-in-law is in charge of cooking, which has its own pros and cons. The downside of having a meal already prepared for you can be a long list but I do not dwell on it anymore. I decided to just be thankful for not being stressed in the morning due to meal preparation.

Well actually, a mom, or any home-maker can be free from stress about meal preparation if there is a planned weekly menu. This saves us from thinking every day what to prepare and also helps us manage our expenditure on our groceries. There are many more reasons why having a planned weekly menu is important like the following.

1. Having a weekly menu ensures that we are not serving the same dish more than once a week to our family.

2. A carefully planned menu helps us, parents, see if we are providing our family the right amount of nutrients they need in the food that we prepare.

3. A planned menu helps us take into consideration our family members’ vaying needs. If one is diabetic, another is hypertensive, one works in a very physical job, preschoolers who needs not only energy-boosting but also loads of brain foods and even infants who are just starting to learn how to eat, all these are taken into account when planning a meal.

4. A planned menu saves lots of time since we can prepare ingredients ahead of time when we have nothing to do and just refrigerate them.

Having a planned menu is something I have tried before and it really works. However, since I am not the regular cook, it is not practiced all the time. But now, I am determined to start cooking regularly. And as a start, I am putting here the food pyramid to serve as my guide, along with the others already posted in our refrigerator.

Still in My List

One of the things I would love to have for my girls, is a set of gorgeous birthstone jewelry for each of them. My eldest was born in January, while my youngest was born in June.

Well, they are still young and I still have lots of time to work for those stuff. I am sure they will not appreciate those now as much as they appreciate toys like dolls and art materials. So yeah, those can surely wait.