A few months ago I made it a goal of mine to cook dinner for my family more often. I knew I had become lazy in the kitchen when my afternoon telephone conversations with my husband sounded something like this…
Him: What are we doing for dinner tonight? Me: I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes! Him: You actually cooked?!
I had let our busy lifestyle become an excuse for me not to cook. It was affecting my relationship with him, our family time together at the dinner table, and our finances. I knew it was time to make a change and that is what I did!
How has my life improved since my cooking habits have changed?
My husband’s Love Language is acts of service and my not cooking was basically telling him that he wasn’t worth my time or effort to cook. Now that I am cooking more often, I hear more words of affirmation (which is my love language). When our love tanks are full, the whole family wins!
We always sit down and have dinner together as a family, but the quality of that time goes down if we are rushed or out at a restaurant. Since I am cooking, we are forced to eat at an earlier time, which in turn gives us more time at home to talk about our day.
The financial benefits of cooking dinner are pretty amazing! The average cost for take-out and/or eating out at a fast food restaurant for my family is $30! When I plan meals and cook at home, our average cost is less than $10 per meal! A huge difference for a family on a tight budget.
Now, our afternoon telephone conversations sound like this… 
These are some of my favorite websites that motivate me and give me ideas to cook each week…
Dinner Share: This is a Facebook group that I created to help motivate others to cook dinner for their families. We post what we are having for dinner each night and occasionally share recipes. It is an open group, so feel free to join us!
Hodgepodge: This is a fabulous blog with many frugal cooking tips and recipes! My favorite is Tricia’s Ultimate List of Easy Slow Cooker Recipes.
The $5 Dinner Mom: I love this blog for frugal recipes that will feed my whole family for under $5.
Southern Plate: This is a great site for delicious southern style recipes.
I would love to hear some of your ideas and/or resources that motivate you to cook for your family!
~written by Heidi
Tricia says
April 23, 2013 at 7:25 AMHeidi I love how you describe your conversations with each stage of your habit of cooking dinner. Wonderfully encouraging! All the reasons you list are also reasons for us to eat at home. So many benefits, huge savings and the blessing of gathering around the table.
Kim A. says
April 23, 2013 at 10:28 AMI love this! =) We almost always eat at home out of necessity… 1) it costs too much to eat out and 2) we live in the middle of nowhere, and are too lazy to get into the car and drive to a restaurant! I absolutely LOVE my crockpot and Tricia’s recipes, and $5.00 Dinners. I have one resource to add… Rachael Ray’s 30 Min Meals. She uses fresh ingredients, many of her recipes are simple, and the ones I’ve tried are all are delicious.
I’m heading over to join your facebook dinner group now!
=)
Heidi says
April 23, 2013 at 12:20 PMThank you for the reminder…I actually have one of Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals cookbooks I had forgotten about. I do love her simple and tasty recipes! Glad you are joining us on Facebook!