As summer screams into the Pacific NorthWest I have to think about how to continue feeding my family and me healthy foods in the middle of summer travel and hosting guests. If you know me you know that my family is all over the country. We are dispersed from Washington State to Arizona, some middle states and then East Coast states. If you’ve been to the PNW you know when everyone wants to visit… hint– it’s not December or February… It’s June-October. This means that we travel to see family in the area over the summer and host them as much as possible. This also means I cook A LOT! And for large numbers of people with dietary restrictions. Soft foods, not soft foods, no beef, all the beef, gluten free or all the gluten etc… How do I manage that? Planning.
I have a friend, Megan Sumrell (https://www.megansumrell.com/) who teaches planning. She says that there is freedom in planning and at first I thought “lady I love you but you’re full of shit” but then I tried the planning thing. She. Is. Right. I’m not talking a hard and fast plan with every activity scheduled to the minute. I am however, talking about a basic plan of what you can quickly and easily cook for a large group of people based on the activities of the day. For example: On Saturday I will have my parents staying at my house, my in-laws in a near-by hotel, three dance recital shows and swim lessons. I know that Saturday will must be a quick easy meal but I will be home in the middle of the day to make bread and either pre-cook food or pass on the plan to my dad or hubs. Both are great cooks so I have it easy. This means I have to plan the food accordingly. I’m not going to make them Coq-Au-Vin because that requires a silly amount of cooking time. I may however cook/prep smashed potatoes, pesto salmon and a salad. I can make the salad in the morning, pesto salmon is ridiculously easy and everyone loves it and smashed potatoes can be made in advance and just heated up at the end. Booom DONE. Stress is relieved, family eats healthy and we can spend time hanging not cooking.
My other trick? Ready for it… I don’t serve lunch to guests and rarely serve breakfast. I cook food for the kids, offer to make more for any guests and call it good. The majority of my guests can cook and as adults their needs are different than the kids. My kids need to eat regularly and require snacks. All guests of mine know that the fridge is theirs, snacks are free game and they make themselves at home. This means that I sometimes cook breakfast for the whole clan and sometimes I don’t. It’s pretty easy to add four extra eggs to a scramble, pour more cereal etc. If I’m making sandwiches I just make an extra one of what we have or offer leftovers. Does this make me a bad host? I don’t think so but if it does too bad. I ADORE my family and friends and will cheerfully fix them their favorite treat meals for dinner. But I can’t do it all and I do require sleep. So I found my limits and it works for us. This gives me a few extra minutes to breathe and do glamorous things like quickly clean the main bathroom. Because let’s face it life over here is full of glamour… ? No? Well we at least eat well and have fun.
Here’s to you hosting with minimal stress and more fun this summer!
All the love to you!
Liz