I love to eat good food. Healthy, fresh, nourishing food. I want my family to eat the same way. Problem is, I really don’t know how to cook. More specifically, I don’t know how to grocery shop. Every time I go to the store I walk out with $100 worth of ‘nothing to eat’. I crave ethnic foods like Thai, Japanese, French, Mexican & Greek. That added to the fact that I rarely eat red meat, and CANNOT stand touching raw meats or fish at all (a nice little quirk left over from being pregnant), really stunt my meal options.

For breakfast I grab the best invention in processed breakfast bars ever – a Fiber One bar – and a 20oz mug of coffee. Lunch is maybe some raisins or chocolate chips & another Fiber One bar, and dinner is a nibble or two of what I make my daughter for dinner. Wow, I eat like crap. I’m not sure I even classify that as eating. No wonder I never have any energy and fall asleep at 9pm. Lack of food plus the fact that I’m nursing my son about 8-10 times a day must really be doing a number on my system.

I’ve been toying with the idea of a diet program like Jenny Craig or something – mostly for the frozen meals that just need five minutes in a microwave to cook. In the long run, it won’t really teach me to cook, or feed my family properly. As it is, my lazy kitchen skills have turned my daughter into a ‘white food and carb’ junkie … mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, fries, grilled cheese and pasta. I don’t want the baby to grow up with the same bad eating habits. Hell, I need to eat better if I’m to have any chance of keeping up with an infant and first grader this summer.

This past Saturday I went to a local women’s expo, and there I found the most perfect idea. A meal preparation service, Cena To Go, looks like a godsend to me. Trouble is, I’m having a hard time rationalizing the cost. In a way, I don’t spend enough money on food for the family as it is. Look at my diet, it can’t cost all that much a day to eat like that.

I grew up with very limited means, and still remember government cheese being a treat. To this day I can’t stand spending a lot of money, especially on food. Paying a premium for a service like this seems wasteful. I mean, I’m home most of the day, I should be able to whip up a wholesome meal with an apron tied around my waist, right? Services like that seem like they are only for uber-busy career women with three kids and money to blow.

In the end I think I’m going to try a few meals from Cena in exchange of meals out. Somehow it feels like a failure on my part, but dammit I’m hungry and really need to start eating better.

[tags]cooking, family, meals[/tags]