Now, I may be of no help to those families comprised of picky kids or picky husbands (or, I suppose, picky cooks...). My husband eats nearly everything I cook without complaint and usually with a "Thanks for dinner, dear," only citing one meal I've made during our three-plus-year marriage as "inedible." My toddler subsists on eggs, cheese crackers, mac and cheese, and rice most days, but she is still nursing, so I don't worry about it too much. My baby is jealous of our full plates but hasn't yet succeeded in getting the food into her own mouth. So, I am really cooking what I like to eat and not dealing with the extreme picky-ness that plagues some families I know.
That being said, as I'll be continuing to post my family's menus, I hope to broaden the scopes of some of your Lenten cooking -- and I'd love to hear (if you happen to try a similar recipe) if the kids liked it!
For those of you who really have no idea what to serve during Lent, I'd suggest signing up for a menu service or searching the web or cookbooks for ready-planned menus. Leanne's Saving Dinner website is a wonderful resource. I used it exclusively for our meals for a couple of years and felt like I was taking a cooking class by doing so. I was introduced to so many different recipes and techniques. And her vegetarian meals and meat substitutions are so creative. If your family likes (tolerates?) mushrooms, try substituting thickly sliced, large portabella mushrooms for strips of meat in stir-fry or fajitas.
Hearty soups with fresh bread and salad also make good Lenten meals, especially if you have a crock pot and/or a bread machine that you can set up earlier in the day (earlier than an hour before dinnertime, when we often find ourselves doing the cooking). Make extra soup and freeze some for later on during the fast when you don't feel like cooking or need a quick meal.
Also, I find that whole grain dishes are much more satisfying than those made with their refined counterparts. When I eat white rice, white bread, white potatoes without their skins, I can feel flushed (a sign of too much sugar in your body) and soon begin feeling hungry again as my body quickly burns the (nearly pure) sugar I ingested. Since it is hard enough to fill up on Lenten food, it is frustrating to be hungry 15 minutes after eating, especially if one is attempting to avoid snacks as well!
These are just some preliminary tips. I'll be more detailed as I begin to think about my actual menus. Meanwhile, I'm sure that plenty of pasta with red sauce, lentils, and hummus will make it onto our Lenten meal plan.
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