Every housewife out there will agree with me when I say that preparing the weekly menu is one of the HARDEST things to do. I found out about this when I got married 3 years ago.
When I was little, my brothers and I would always complain about how we always eat the same food week after week...after week! Fried chicken, again?! Adobo again?! Our yaya would ALWAYS tell us, "Eh, di kayo ang mag-sip ng ulam linggo-linggo!" (Then YOU think of the weekly menu!). Back then, I would reply with, "Anong mahirap doon?!" (What's so hard about that?!).
My, oh my! Was my yaya right! Menu-planning is a LOT harder than I thought it would be. You plan for 7 days, at 3 square meals a day...that's 21 meals, total! Then, you factor in vegetables and even desserts. You make sure to prepare meals from all meat types -- chicken one day, beef the next, then pork, fish and shellfish so that you (more or less) don't serve the same viand again and again. You consider planning healthy dishes so that everybody eats healthy. In some cases (like mine), you even have to put into the equation the "schedules" of people living in the house.
Think about it...menu-planning is so hard a task that one will hardly see a recipe book published without a suggested weekly menu planner accompanying it. I've also heard of websites that also cater to this specific household chore.
So hubbies and kids...try giving your moms and yayas a break when, at times, they seem to run out of ideas in the kitchen. Try to offer some suggestions, help out from time to time....then, who knows? They might just get the much needed inspiration to aid them in working up yummy dishes for everyone in the family.
