A Kitchen Sabbatical

Food. I have such a complicated relationship with food, both from a personal standpoint and what I choose to feed my family. 

I whole heartedly believe that homemade is best, but this week this mama decided she needed a rest. I put my grocery order in and instead of ordering mostly from Whole Foods I chose to order from Walmart. Instead of ordering organic (which is a must for me under normal circumstances) I ordered as much nonorganic generic food that I possibly could. 

Instead of simple ingredients that I use to make just about everything from scratch, I bought canned, jarred, frozen, and premade this and that. 

I just need a break. I need a week where every meal is easy. A week in which I don't feel guilty for my utter failure in making this dish as good as it could be, or that dish as it could be. 

A break from trying to make three meals and snacks from a recipe in my binder/pouch. This week my kids can get up and have their choice of 4 different boxes cereals, premade bagels, frozen waffles, or English muffins. Lunches will be sandwiches or leftovers or something that can be easily popped into the oven. Dinners, too, will be incredibly easy with jarred sauces and frozen this or that. 

I don't know why I put the pressure on myself that I do to buy only organic, simple ingredients and make as much as I can from scratch. (Well, that's not entirely true. I know exactly why I do so.) It is so time consuming and there is not one meal in which everyone is happy with what I have decided to make. 

I am sure this sabbatical will not last very long. I have been making stuff from scratch for over a decade and I know the importance of not eating crap food filled with preservatives, but this week? Oh man, I plan on enjoying the hell out of easy meals and snacks for an entire week. This mama sure needs a break.