Meal Swap

I wanted to share with you a little more about the meal swap that I'm a part of. Our youth minister's wife is a work-at-home mom, and she, like the rest of us who are mommies, struggled with feeding her family healthy, well-balanced meals during the week. If you're anything like I am, I used to forego a home-cooked meal because it just took too much time! It wasn't just the time I spent preparing the meal that was frustrating, it was the time I invested thinking up interesting things for my family to eat. I do enjoy cooking, but given the option, on days when I have to teach until 1:30, I'm going to opt to eat somewhere where someone other than me fixes the food and washes all the dishes used in the preparation.

This is where the meal swap comes in. Amanda mentioned back in April to me and two other friends that she read in a book about having several families come together and cook meals for one another. I thought it was a great idea (as did the other ladies), but our husbands were skeptical and some of the children (and husbands) are very picky eaters, so we weren't sure how it would all work. Well, we sat down together, recipe cards in hand, and figured out the first month's meals. I printed the calendar, posted it on my fridge, and there was no going back.

I quickly learned that one boy doesn't like corn; there's a husband who won't eat vegetables of any kind unless they are well-hidden or potatoes. I caught on that my roast is a hit, which is nice because it's the easiest thing to fix, and that cooking for 4 families really isn't that different from cooking for one.

Once I had meals delivered every night, I knew that this was the way to go. My friends bring the food practically to my door every night, and sometimes I have to throw it into the oven to heat it, but that's way better than standing over a stove for an hour cooking something.

Also, with all the couponing I've been doing, I can feed all 5 families for about $20. We only do main dishes; the sides are up to the individual families, but I can open a can - how about you? I buy meat when it is on sale and keep it in the freezer until I need it.

This really is an awesome idea. Have any of you ever been involved in anything like this?