Fries and Green Beans is not a Meal, Mom

Recently I was chatting with a friend and she said that her teenage son once told her that fries and green beans was not a meal.  She told him that's all there was.  Right then we decided she needed a little help.  So we got together and began writing down meal plans.  And that is where the table got a little sticky, you might say.

I began with my usual meat-starch-vegetable list.  Rather boring, but thanks to boxes of noodles and rice, quite easy, thankyouverymuch.  I tend to cook the way my mother did.  Then I looked over at my friend's list.  She had begun with the main dish of the meal.  The first line read 'Spaghetti.'

Remembering the fries-and-green-beans comment, I asked what meat she would put in the spaghetti sauce.  "Meat?" she said, "Oh! Well, hamburger."  So there we had a teaching moment on how Men and Boys Require Meat in their Meals.  Women will be happy with a strawberry concoction, but Men and Boys have to Have Meat.

We checked over her meal list and talked about what meat to put with the pizza, what starch to go with the fish fillets.  I personally wouldn't put toast there, but she has a picky eater who likes toast, so it stayed.  A little bread does round out the meal.  We planned out what vegetables to have as well, and she said she's never served carrots and ranch dressing to her family.  Hidden Valley Ranch, Take Note!  Perhaps they will be new buyers.

Our lists looked quite different, which goes to show that we all plan and cook meals quite differently too.  She likes to use the rice and noodles plain from the bag most of the time, and almost never uses potatoes. I prefer to use the boxes with their seasonings already provided, and often use potatoes.

Then there is the makeup of the family - she has a husband, a teenage son, and a younger picky child.  I and my husband are empty nesters, and my husband is not often home for a regular dinner hour.  Her husband walks in at nearly the same time every day, and promptly begins snacking if the meal is not ready to put on the table.

The next time we get together, we hope to organize her pantry, a cupboard or two, and maybe a shelf in her food storage area.  She says her husband likes labels, so we plan to use a labeler for signs on the shelves.  This should be interesting.