Feeding My Family Easy Healthy Meals When Life is Topsy Turvy

Life can be topsy turvy for any number of reasons. The birth of a new baby, serious illness in the family or maybe, say… selling everything and relocating your family across the ocean. Well I guess we’ve done all three now.

In the first two instances, it was definitely harder to eat healthy, than in our normal everyday life. However I did in those times have the benefit of either preparing ahead, with good meals in the freezer; or the blessing of community that rallied around and brought us good nutritious food. This time is a little different.

Change of Circumstances

We are staying in an airbnb until we find other accommodation, so I do have a kitchen. It is equipped with basic utensils but I don’t have my usual pots and pans or pantry of staples. There is no shelf of herbs and spices to draw from. No flour, sugar, salt or other dried goods sitting in bulk bins ready for me to grab what I need. I don’t have my bread pans or large stock pot or favorite biscuit tray. That, and all my other everyday essentials got left behind. Either sold or given away to friends.

When we are on holidays I usually let my standards slip a little and we enjoy the novelty of eating out and I give myself a break from bread making. This is fine and good and has it’s place, in our family at least, as part of the ebb and flow of life. But our holidays are usually one to two weeks at the most.

By the end of the second week that we were here, the jet lag was subsiding and we were hankering for a good homecooked meal. When I say we, in truth it was really my husband and I. It seems the children have a higher tolerance for pretend food than we do! In those first couple of weeks, I had prepared some basic meals. Spaghetti Bolognese, scrambled eggs on toast, chicken and salad wraps.

What our bodies were craving was good old fashioned home cooking. Meat and veggies, soup and homemade bread, or casserole made with real bone broth. Hearty, nutrient dense, real food.

Make Quick Easy Bone Broth

So after about ten days I was desperate enough to take action. My first attempt was not what you would call a culinary delight. We had bought some hot chooks (rotisserie chicken) from the supermarket and eaten them with salad on wraps. I saved the bones and made a basic broth. It was just chicken bones covered in water in the biggest pot available. All I had to season it with was salt and pepper. Usually I would add onion, ginger root, tumeric, bay leaves and peppercorns.

The result wasn’t great but at least it was a beginning. Sometimes you just have to do what you can with what you have. It was still nutritious and full of all the goodness in those bones. I strained it off after cooking on low all day and used it as a base for a chicken casserole and also added some to a Bolognese sauce to make it a bit more nutritious. Hidden in meals like that, nobody even noticed it was there.

Don’t Wait for Everything to be Perfect

One thing I have learned over the years is that you can’t always be a purist. Sometimes, especially when it comes to a healthy diet and lifestyle, I can be a bit of a perfectionist. In the past I have wanted the very best, most nutrient dense, cleanest ingredient listed foods possible. In reality, I guess this is still my goal.

But, there are plenty of people out there who will tell you that you must pursue this at all cost. I did for a while until I came smack up against some hard truths… the main one being my budget. It is best to use only grass fed, grass finished meat, organic fruit and veggies, raw dairy. I completely agree with this statement. I have read the books and articles backed by innumerable studies and experts.

Yet the fact remains that I have a family of nine to feed and I have a limited budget. I want to be a good steward of what God has given me. My desire is to nourish my family with wholesome food. So I do the best I can with what I have; work hard to do more and do better; and I pray.

My family also needs a cheerful, content mother. Not a fractious, irritated mother who wants what she can’t have just yet. Grace covers what I can’t, and I’m ok with that. I’m thankful for that.

I didn’t always have that peace. I used to fret about it. If that is you, please give yourself grace. Do not beat yourself up because you cannot access raw dairy. Or because you cannot afford organic or grass fed meat. Work towards it and rest in the knowledge that you are doing your best.

Bake a Loaf of Bread

So basic broth was my first step toward more nutritious food for my family in this new season. The second was to bake some bread. Again, my first attempt didn’t break any records. I had given my sour dough starter to a friend back in Australia and I don’t really have the resources yet to start another one.

Instead, I did the next best thing. I went to Costco and bought some organic bakers flour and called into Walmart and grabbed some instant yeast. With all my recipe books still packed, I had to kind of wing it. In the biggest bowl I could find I combined, several cups of flour, a teaspoon or so of salt, yeast and warm water. This I mixed with a wooden spoon until it formed a soft dough. Then rolled it out onto the bench to knead for a bit. Maybe 5 minutes. I then popped it back in the greased bowl and let it rise.

Once it was about doubled in size I put it into a pan I found which looked like it might work, and baked for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The result was unfancy warm fresh bread to nourish my family. Basic, not too pretty, good food working with what I had.

With all things instagram and trendy, it can be hard to take things back to basics in our minds. Food doesn’t have to look fancy or decorative to be good. Our grandmothers had no such hang ups. Just the practical need to feed the hungry with what they had.

Keep it Simple

It not only doesn’t have to look fancy but it also doesn’t have to be complicated. Good wholesome food is actually made from some of the simplest ingredients and methods. No need to go searching for the latest super food or most unusual ingredient. Just save your bones and recycle them into a nutritious liquid by simmering gently and adding salt and pepper. Or mix flour, salt, water and yeast to make a basic loaf of wholesome bread to accompany any meal.

Of course this is just two examples. There are a myriad of other simple steps you and I can take to cook like our grandmothers did and make healthier meals for our family. This week I was reminded that no matter where I am, or how limited my circumstances, I can make little decisions every day that move my family toward better health. One step at a time.