Have you ever tried to cut up a piece of french toast with a fork? It’s cold before you get it to your kid. Well, the first one. The second and third are lucky it’s not frozen by the time they get theirs because you’re trying desparately to slice through that tough scrambled egg part of the toast on the edge. As I struggled one Breakfast As Dinner evening to get hot food to my kids, I was inspired by the out-of-the-box thinking done by our forebears during the Depression (the first one). When the going was tough, my grandparents used things in new ways – ways that the objects weren’t named for. Like feedsack dresses and aprons, or eyeliner for nylons. Listening to my grandmother tell stories of what they used for what causes lots of “Duh!” moments when we realized how many different ways something can be used just by thinking outside of what and item is named.
Take for instance the lowly Pizza Cutter. Our labeling society has somehow limited our imaginations by naming the use of something in it’s marketing. After harkening back to the “Good Old Days,” I no longer call my pizza cutter a pizza cutter. It is now The Slicer. Pizza? Of course. French toast, sandwiches, hamburgers, burritos, regular toast…? Yep, those get a little rock n’ roll action, too, thanks to my handy-dandy rocking pizza slicer. At first I wondered if I’d actually save any time using The Slicer instead of a fork to slice my kids’ french toast. The result? I was able to cut up two pieces with a slicer in less time than it took me to cut up one with a fork. How’s that for hot food in a hurry? Next time you’re in the pizza section of the store, grab one of the plastic pizza slicers hanging off the freezer door and plan a menu full of slicing and dicing for your kids.
What else can you use in a new way to speed up the mundane parenting tasks so you can get to the fun with your kids?
(Photo courtesy of Kowitz)
