Menu Monday 2022 Week 6

*Warning, incoming novel*

We have been on the struggle bus and related to that, so was this website. There was a significant technical issue that I had to sort out and I didn’t have the capacity to deal with it alone. Thank goodness for good friends and good help. I want to thank Michael and David; as of last weekend, we’re no longer crashing anytime anyone uses the search or when I log in to try to post something.

To understand what was going on, in general, you need a little bit of backstory. In the early fall, when we had COVID, three of us lost our sense of taste and smell. While it came back completely for my son, it only mostly came back for my daughter and me.

We’ve been dealing with what’s called parosmia, or distorted smell, for months, and it is obnoxious. For a few months, I would randomly smell urine. With two dogs, a two-year-old and a three-year-old in the house, do you know how fun that game was?

Zero fun. No stars, do not recommend.

Red wine? It tasted as though I had just brushed my teeth. How rude.

Ginger? Roadkill on a hot day.

Oh, and pre-COVID, when I went into a Thai restaurant, I would usually have to argue that yes, I really did mean Thai hot. Now? A Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich makes my eyes water, so it’s a medium at the very most.

All of that is to say, my love of cooking died. I can’t trust my palate, my appetite isn’t good, and one of my biggest joys has been taken from me. I’m pretty sure this is temporary as most of the worst stuff has abated; ginger tastes like ginger again, and red wine is ok, but my favorites aren’t really my favorites anymore, and I haven’t found new favorites.

Cooking was always my most significant contribution to our large household, outside of work, of course. With eight people, that is A LOT of planning and thinking about food, not even counting the cooking itself. And every day, all of this was just subtly reminding me that food was no longer a source of joy. (This wasn’t something I knew consciously, it was just slowly dragging me down.)

About three weeks ago, I was trying to figure out ways to want to eat even without being hungry—It’s hard to have energy if you aren’t eating much. While researching, I learned that there is a thing called habituation. It’s this concept that while preparing food, you imagine food repeatedly. When this happens, it’s no longer new and exciting and therefore less rewarding when you sit down to eat. If you have ever noticed that food made by someone else seems to taste better, this is why. Pile on depression and an appetite suppressing migraine medication, and who would want to eat?

For years, we have said that we’re a team, so now we are working together to get through this. Everyone is now regularly pitching in with dinner planning and prep, depending on their schedules, except the preschoolers, of course. When a person is in charge of a meal, they are in charge of the meal. They have to remember to pull the meat to thaw in time, to put the items on the whiteboard for the grocery list, etc.

The difference in mental load after two weeks is mind-boggling. Ray and I are doing projects around the house that we’ve been procrastinating on for months. I’m eating nearly a healthy amount. (Babysteps)

I share all this as a reminder that we’re all doing our best, and our best looks different at different times. For the past few months, our best has looked like the bare minimum, but everyone was fed, had clean clothes, made it to school, work, and doctors appointments, but that was it. Because that’s what we could manage. Now, as a family, we’re getting it together and are capable of a lot more, including some fun things.

So here is week three of our collaborative family menu plan. If you would like a free printable to help you plan your menu and shopping list, here you go. If you need help with learning how to menu plan, we’ve got a series on that.

Monday – Ray Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, broccoliTuesday – leftoversWednesday – me Dilled salmon,creamed spinach, couscous (I’m skipping the cranberry, might be adding cucumber, we’ll see)Thursday – Ellie Biscuits and sausage gravy, fruitFriday – Ray + Heather Burrito bowlsSaturday – Luke French Toast, fruitSunday – Aidan smoked wings, baked potatoes, salad (The link is for the rub recipe, we may document the smoking process this weekend, time and energy will tell)

I hope you have an excellent week. Onward.