As a mom, “meal time” is no longer about leisurely enjoying a well-cooked meal at the table. Instead, it becomes a chaotic series of snacking, nibbling on scraps and hoping that ,at some point, you’ll get to eat something proper. If you’ve ever caught yourself munching on leftover chicken nuggets or fruit snacks, food your kid barely touched, you’re already living the “mom diet.” Welcome to the real world of parenting, where your meals are whatever crumbs your child leaves behind, and the fridge is your culinary battlefield.
The Breakfast Shuffle
Ah, breakfast. In the pre-kid era, breakfast was something to savor: hot coffee, a fresh omelet, and maybe some fruit. Now? It’s a race to get everyone fed and out the door, while you juggle a hundred things at once. You make pancakes for your kids while silently praying they don’t spill syrup on the table or start a cereal war. Then, once your little one leaves their plate unfinished, you’re left with the classic dilemma: throw it away or finish it yourself.
If you’re like most moms, the answer is always the same. You finish it. Maybe you didn’t want pancakes in the first place, but they’re still breakfast, and who will let perfectly good food go to waste?
Lunch, But Make It Leftovers
By lunchtime, your original plans of making a healthy salad have gone completely out the window. You open the fridge and find half last night’s dinner still sitting there. It’s not hot, and it’s definitely not fresh, but it’s food. And, let’s face it, it’s better than trying to make a sandwich in between refereeing sibling arguments. Sure, you could stick to your “healthy” eating plan, but let’s be real. That leftover pizza from the night before? It’s lunch now.
Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not balanced. There’s cheese, there’s some crust, and hey, there are vegetables in there, somewhere. It counts, right?
Snack Time, Baby
The snacking phase of the day is when your diet truly gets chaotic. No one expects to eat three meals daily when constantly on the go. You grab a quick snack: maybe a granola bar that’s partially crumbled or a bag of chips that’s still half-full because your kid got distracted and moved on to something else.
And then there’s the pantry. You know that bag of chips hiding in the back? Yes, you’ll eat that too. Maybe some leftover crackers, a few raisins, whatever’s left around. It doesn’t feel like “real food,” but it’s enough to get you through the day without collapsing. It’s survival mode, and you’re handling it like a pro.
Dinner: The Illusion of a Full Meal
You’ve been living off scraps, leftovers, and snacks by dinnertime. But hey, dinner is supposed to be the big meal—the time to finally sit down and eat a full meal with your family. Yet, somehow, it never happens as planned. As you set the table, you realize your kid is already having a meltdown because they just remembered that they don’t like peas.
You try to sit down and eat, but within seconds, you’ve handed over your plate to your child, who suddenly wants what you’re eating instead. So, you grab whatever’s left: another slice of pizza, or maybe the leftover macaroni—and pretend it’s a complete meal. After all, you’re eating, and that’s what counts, right?
The Final “Meal” of the Day
Once the chaos of dinner settles, you retreat into the kitchen for a moment of peace. You think about having a nice, quiet cookie (just one, you promise). But before you can take a bite, your kid claims it as their own, and you let them have it. At this point, you’ve already eaten half their lunch, so why not just finish off the cookie yourself?
You call it a “snack,” but deep down, you know it’s more than that. It’s the final meal of your day. Because, after everything else, a cookie (or two) is exactly what you deserve.
The day is over, and you realize you’ve lived off a diet of bits, bites, and whatever’s left over after everyone else has eaten. But it’s okay. You’ve survived, and you’ve kept everyone alive. In the end, that’s all that matters, right?
Farah Zeb is a mother of five, including two children with special needs. She shares practical parenting tips and resources to help other families navigate daily challenges and create supportive, nurturing environments.
