May 10, 2007

Author Interview: Mary Jo Rulnick

Now that you have a summary of what you will find in Mary Jo’s book, The Frantic Woman’s Guide to Feeding Family and Friends, here’s an in-depth look at how she helps women everywhere become a little less frantic! 

TDF (The Dana Files):  How did you come up with the system of two-week menus and grocery lists? 

MJR (Mary Jo Rulnick): I surveyed and discussed the family evening meal with over 90 families to find out why the traditional American dinner was going by the wayside. The jam-packed schedules seemed to be the biggest obstacle along with today’s fast-paced lifestyles.  With that in mind, I created a system that would allow women to double some of the cooking process without being overwhelmed.  And I wanted options for all the variables that happen in daily life.  Kid-friendly meals for nights the kids bring friends home.  Slow cook recipes for evenings you really don’t have time to cook.  Quick fix or grab-and-go when the schedule is jam-packed. ‘I Can with a Can dinners for days you barely have the energy to open a can.  And I wanted to incorporate the seasons (we definitely cook lighter in the summer than the winter), holidays (there’s a week’s worth of menus for leftover ham and turkey) and even PMS week (using ingredients to help replace the nutrients we loose during that time and easy recipes for those sluggish days we just need to get by).  In my survey, I discovered women dreaded planning meals and writing a shopping list.  So, I do the thinking so you don’t have to.

TDF:  I’m very disorganized when it comes to my kitchen and your advice on planning workspaces was inspiring.  I’m still getting used to the new arrangements and feel a bit frazzled.  With practice, will I find it easier to be more organized?

MJR:  Absolutely!  Any time we make a change, a new job, a new baby, a new house; it takes some time to adjust.   A new system to stay organized might seem awkward in the beginning.  However, once you’re accustomed to it the system becomes automatic.  Think about driving a car.  When you were first learning to drive, it probably seemed like you’d never be comfortable behind the wheel.  Now, you hop in the car, turn the ignition, put the gearshift in drive and you’re off.  It’s automatic.

TDF:  My husband does a bit more cooking than I do, but he makes such a mess in the kitchen.  Can I train him to be a less frantic man?

MJR:  Oh, I can identify with your husband–I’m a messy cook, too.  Here are some of the things I do now to eliminate a mess in the kitchen.

- Before I start cooking, I fill the sink with soapy water and dump used dishware in it as I go. 

- When I’m waiting for water to boil, meat to brown, veggies to cook, I rinse the dishes and load them into the dishwasher.

- Once I finish with an ingredient, it gets put away.  This is a great task for kids to do and an easy way to get them familiar with food preparation and meal planning.

- Place a medium-sized bowl or larger cup near the stovetop/oven to put the stirring spoons.  Spoon rests are lovely.  But, I’ve found they’re too small to be practical for messy cooks.

- Keep a plastic grocery store bag near the cutting/mixing area for garbage and empty bottles, boxes and cans.  Toss as you go.

- Have a wet rag handy to whip up any spills as they happen. 

Now, try to get him to tackle one of these tips at a time until he gets into the habit of doing it. Then, once that mission has been accomplished, move onto another one.  Asking him to do all of them at once could have him handing you the chef’s hat or throwing in the kitchen towel. 

TDF:  I made the edible play-do for my son and he loved it!  Where did you find this clever recipe?

MJR:  When my daughter was a toddler, I belonged to our local Welcome Wagon Organization and we had a kid’s play group.  One of the moms had a recipe similar to this one and I tweaked it.  That’s the great thing about recipes.  You can take one and add or subtract ingredients to customize it for your own family.

TDF:  For the women (and men!) who read your fabulous book, what is your favorite tip or advice that you’d want us to remember?

MJR:  Oh, that’s a tough one because each tip offers a way to save time and/or money or calm the chaos.  The kitchen tips I mentioned previously are some of my favorite tips because those little tasks make clean-up time go much quicker.  So, if I had to give one piece of advice it would be to create a system (whether it is mine or one you’ve adapted) that works for your family’s lifestyle.  Evaluate what isn’t working in your meal planning and preparation and find simple solutions to solve these challenges.  (I like the word challenge rather than problems.)  Conquer one area at a time and move on to the next.  The benefits of the family dinner meal are worth it.  And this brings to mind one night my son had a friend and I had made a turkey. (It was a busy week ahead so the turkey gave me the foundation for a week’s worth of meals.)  We invited the friend to stay for dinner and had a great time talking about school, sports and classmates.  The next time my son’s friend was over he said, “It was that night we had family time on the patio.”  I don’t remember what we were discussing, but I remember our dinner that night made such an impression on him that he not only recalled it, but he referred to it as family time.
I’d like to thank Mary Jo for taking the time out of her very busy schedule to answer my questions.  I am so grateful to her for allowing me to review her book.  You can read about it here.

I look forward to her next book on convincing my frantic toddler to sleep in his own bed.  Hey…a frantic woman can dream, right?

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