What CAN I Eat for Dinner? Real Food Ideas That Actually Work for Moms | Ep 86

2025-07-09

We’re back with part three of our “What CAN I Eat For…” re-recorded series—and this time we’re tackling the end-of-day decision that can feel impossibly heavy: dinner. Whether you’re feeding toddlers, teens, husbands, or just yourself after a long day, this episode is your honest, grace-filled guide to making dinner work in real life. We talk about the mental load of planning, how our dinners have changed over the years, the pressure to cook “the right way,” and the tension between nourishing food and realistic expectat...

We talk about the mental load of planning, how our dinners have changed over the years, the pressure to cook “the right way,” and the tension between nourishing food and realistic expectations. This isn’t about rigid rules or gourmet meals—it’s about grounding your family in good food, served with love and sanity.

🍽 Topics Covered in This Episode:

✔️ Why dinner is often the most emotional and overwhelming meal of the day

✔️ The pressure to “do it right” and how we’ve let that go

✔️ Our personal dinner rhythms, patterns, and go-to meals

✔️ What to do when your family doesn’t eat like you

✔️ How to keep dinner nourishing—even when it’s simple

✔️ Why short-order cooking leaves everyone more stressed

✔️ Tips for prepping meat, choosing meals, and reducing last-minute chaos

✔️ How we think about organ meats, nutrient density, and budget meals

✔️ Reframing dinner as a spiritual and relational moment—not just food

✔️ Real talk about burnout, resentment, and feeding with joy

🧠 More About This Series: We first recorded a full “What CAN I Eat For…” series in 2022—covering breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts, and drinks. Because these episodes have continued to resonate, we’re re-recording them with better sound, updated ideas, and the perspective we’ve gained since. This one’s for every mom who’s stood in the kitchen at 5:18 p.m. with no plan and a hungry crowd.

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned:

📍 Real Food Real Families course: (https://nourishthelittles.com) (Code NTL10 for 10% off)

📍 Corey’s Cookbooks: (https://www.fornutrientssake.com/shop) (Code MAM15 for 15% off)

📍 Christine’s fallback meals: ground beef bowls, stir fry, bone broth pasta, roast chicken

📍 Our favorite meats: Northstar Bison, US Wellness Meats, local farms

✨ Featured Products & Brands: Masienda (https://masienda.com) | Code MAM10 for 10% off | Great for heirloom masa & quick dinners

Seatopia (https://seatopia.fish) | Code ANCESTRALMAMA for 10% off | Christine loves their clean seafood options

Farrow (https://farrow.shop) | Code ANCESTRALMAMAS for 10% off | Gentle skincare for busy moms

Redmond Real Salt | A pantry staple for real food meals

⏱️ Chapters for This Episode

00:00 – Intro: Why Dinner Feels So Emotionally Heavy

05:30 – Our Honest Struggles with Planning & Prep