Food For Thought: Feeding Those You Love During NaNo

Spouses and children alike groan with despair when November 1st comes around. Why? Because they know it's time for them to try and survive on their own without our help. We are too busy creating alternate realities, for Bard's sake. We can't just stop in the middle of a scene because people are hungry. If you've read any of the comments, you'll know that I am the mom of a 3-year-old and a 19 month-old, and that I routinely throw food in their general direction from my place at the computer. I have a confession to make. I only do that during snack time. I really do make up and serve 3 meals a day for their little bellies.

Where is my DH? Well, he works so that I may stay home and raise our lovely children, or so he believes. I'm usually writing when I'm not teaching them to be polite, independent, creative, and generous human beings. The housekeeping suffers. Hey, I'm a stay-at-home-mom, not maid.

But we all have to eat. Living out in the boonies leaves us limited take-out options, so I have to come up with easy, fast, and yummy foods. I really don't want to cut into my limited writing time, and those doing NaNo know what I speak of.

So, my friends, here are some yummy recipes and hints that will make your significant others happy and keep your children's bellies full.

HINT ONE: Buy lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Apples, oranges, bananas, broccoli, carrot sticks, grapes, berries, peppers, cucumber, etc. These are great quick things to feed them that have little or no prep work. Other items to pick up: Whole wheat crackers, natural applesauce cups, cheese sticks, yogurt and yogurt smoothies, raisins, dried fruit, canned fruit (in pear juice). A romaine lettuce salad with dressing as a side dish makes even your most lazy moment (delivery pizza) seem a little less lazy. I also splurge and buy juice boxes. Less sippy cup parts to wash.

HINT TWO: Buy meat in bulk, then take an hour to make and freeze meatloaves, meatballs, cut up cheap cuts of beef into cubes for stew. This 1 hour on 1 day will save you loads of time later in the month.

HINT THREE: Buy easy-to-make foods, such as whole wheat pasta, mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, brown rice, and canned beans. Then even the big kid in your house can help out when prepping.

HINT FOUR: Cook for an army, even if there are only three or four of you. The rest can be frozen or refrigerated. If you aren't a leftover kinda person (I'm raising my hand here), just dump the wet stuff into a resealable bag. Rice freezes REALLY well. A few days later, on your way to the computer, pull it out and pop it in the fridge to defrost. It's already cooked, so when you remember you have people to feed, toss it into a dish and microwave with a a paper towel on top. Then go back to writing. They can serve themselves.

When reheating rice, add a tablespoon or two of water, then lightly cover with a microwave-safe lid.

Ok, onto the recipes!

African Beef Curry Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

This is a favorite at our house. Easy to put together, pretty much everything comes out of a can or from the snack closet. We don't usually add the coconut--it's not in our pantry--but I highly recommend tossing pineapple on top. It cooks for awhile, but that makes the house smell good and others will think that you actually care about food.

Make "breakfast for dinner". Scrambled eggs (we add a tablespoon of real whipped cream to the eggs, along with salt n pepper. Trust me. It's freaken yummy), toast, and melon. Sometimes we have sausages. This also includes oatmeal and cereal.

Black Beans & Rice.

Just as it says. Heat up 2 cans of black beans with 1 bullion cube. Pour over rice. We add balsamic vinegar and chopped, seeded, cucumbers.

"Dump Chicken"

When you buy chicken pieces, add salad dressing to the bag before you freeze. Then defrost and bake as usual. Visit the The Dump Chicken Pages for some real fancy cooking, and if you do Once A Month Cooking, then that place will be like mana for your cooking soul.

The old standbys--Spaghetti and meatballs, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese with fish sticks or hot dogs, and soup. Dust out the old crock-pot and start using that baby. Chili is at it's best when made in a crock-pot. Here are some crock-pot recipes to get you started.

Also, skip dessert. Really. The kids don't need the extra sugar to burn off and it just makes more dishes.

The best piece of advice I can give: Everyone eat together at the table. Chances are they have seen you scream, yell, curse, and watched in awe as your head spun around while writing your NaNo. Everyone at the table should see you in front of a hot meal instead of a keyboard, and though your thoughts may be distant (should your main character already know how to use a sword or would that be a great characterization scene if they were to learn it?), they would all appreciate you just being there.

Hope this helped and good luck NaNos!

"It's a family show!" "How do think families are made?"

The two quotes above are from one of my favorite Renaissance Faire skits from waaay back in the day. I believe they came either from the Trial and Dunke (<--yes, the e is intentional) or the Wench Auction at PARF. Doesn't really matter who said them (Jackie Cupshotten and Sheriff Marshall Law ;-) but the idea actually translates (at least in my mind) to right now.

I've mentioned before that writing often seems like a solitary endeavor. You probably come up with your initial concept alone. You probably write your outline (hiss! ;-) if you write such things, alone. And your rough draft? Probably also written alone. Some of us are lucky and brainstorm with our spouses and some of us subject them to reading what we've written (guilty ;-). When you get your copyedits you'll almost certainly do THAT alone (my DH wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole).

But, like many writers, you probably have a family, too. And here's the rub--you can't be entirely solitary with your career if you're part of a family show (or three-ring circus in my case ;-). You helped make the family, you have to be part of it, too. And let's face it--some of our best material comes from our family (shhh--don't tell the in-laws, right? ;-).

If you're like me you may have a workaholic streak. I was trained into it early on by being a competition shooter (those of you who've read 13 to Life'll start putting pieces together now, probably ;-). There's a near-obsession that's encouraged in certain levels of sport--an addictive quality. That can translate pretty easily into other addictions. Mine's writing (or art when I'm knee-deep in a project) and (if I don't watch) chocolate (the Devil's bean ;-).

When I'm deep in writing a novel, the house could fall down around my ears and I'd probably just mumble at the DH. It does not make me a good spouse or a good mother at those moments. Luckily, my spouse is awesome and takes up the slack (though he shouldn't have to *grumble*). And we're both new enough at this writing thing that we know we're still learning--still looking for the balance.

A writer I greatly admire recently mentioned the struggle she was facing with the obligations of her writing and keeping plugged in when it came to her children, too. Like me, she's a bit obsessive with the writing. And I know there are others of you who have had to recently talk with spouses and family about finding the balance, too.

The fact is, as solitary as writing seems, we're all part of our own family "shows"--the success and failure of which rests on our shoulders as well as those of the other family members. To keep the show running, we all must plug in and do our part. We must make sure our spouses, etc, know when the crazy times are approaching and talk about expectations and needs (everybody gets a say).

It's not always easy, and you may feel like you're having to be everything to everyone, but if you want a career in writing AND a strong and happy family, you have to find the balance. Talk about it. Writers are supposed to be decent communicators--so prove it by making time to communicate with the rest of your family and friends.

On with the show!
~Shannon