The "What's for Dinner?" Question is Hard. Here's What You Can Do About It.
- Paige Smathers
- Sep 21, 2019
- 2 min read
One of the world’s hardest questions is "What's for dinner?"
Yes, even for me as a dietitian.
It’s a never-ending task to feed yourself (and your family if you’re feeding a family). And even when you take away the pressure of diet culture and work to promote a healthy relationship food for yourself, this question is STILL hard. No magic answers for you here, my friends!
As hard as this question can be for me sometimes, I have to pause and be grateful for a peaceful relationship with food. This question becomes orders of magnitude more difficult when you add on diet rules, body image stress and difficult family feeding situations and dynamics.
There are things you can do to help make this question easier to answer. You can learn how to plan meals and set yourself up for low stress by thinking ahead (check out my meal planning webinar!). You can work on your relationship with food by reading books, listening to podcasts, following people on social media, etc. to help illuminate the causes and conditions that lead you to struggle with food. You can learn about how to set up structure and systems in your home to make feeding your kids smoother (check out my new course Raising Intuitive Eaters!). All of these things are worthy of your exploration and can potentially ease your stress around the “what’s for dinner?” question.
And just to be totally transparent and to hopefully set your expectations up appropriately: I don’t know if it ever gets *effortless* to meet your needs with food. But, it doesn’t have to be so hard. I’m here to help! (Along with SO many other fabulous clinicians, coaches, activists, educators, etc. online). I BELIEVE IN YOU!
Deciding what to eat is always a challenge, especially when trying to maintain a healthy balance during a busy week. I found myself pondering these meal ideas early this morning while checking the sehri time london to ensure I had enough time for a nutritious pre-dawn breakfast. It’s amazing how a little bit of planning can make those early hours feel much more peaceful and nourishing.
Reading this post on “The ‘What’s for Dinner?’ Question is Hard. Here’s What You Can Do About It.” really resonated with me not just because juggling meal plans can feel overwhelming, but because it reminded me of how much everyday decisions can spill over into stress in our academic lives. As a PhD student who also works part-time with Academic Editors assisting students in their academic work, I have a deep interest in helping others because in my college days I suffered a lot from these types of hustles I’m really conscious about my studies and others. That experience taught me that small, daily challenges like deciding what to cook can affect focus, motivation, and overall well-being, just like the struggle…
I really connected with the blog post about how hard the “what’s for dinner?” question can be, since it explains that even when you care about healthy eating the stress and choices can still feel heavy. Last semester I was juggling too many school tasks and once I even used hireSomeone to take my Mathematics exams because I felt overwhelmed and short on time, and that made me think about how stress makes everything harder. Reading this reminded me that planning and small habits can really help reduce stress and make daily choices feel more calm and manageable.
I can totally relate to how the article talks about the struggle of deciding “what’s for dinner” and how planning and mindset can make that daily question less stressful and more positive for both you and your family. I remember last term when I had so many courses to juggle I even used do my online course once just to keep up with deadlines while still trying to plan simple meals and feel less stressed about dinner time. It taught me that small systems and asking for help when you need it can make everyday tasks feel more balanced and easier to manage.
Deciding "what’s for dinner" can feel like a daily challenge, especially when trying to balance nutrition, time, and everyone’s preferences. Planning ahead and keeping easy options on hand can make mealtime less stressful. Just like a Chicago Bears satin starter jacket adds a timeless touch to any outfit, simple strategies can bring style and ease to your dinner routine.