by Ari Yares | Sep 9, 2021 | The Innovative Dad Blog
The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur is right around the corner (this year, it starts on the evening of Sept. 15). This solemn day for Jews to focuses on repenting and turning back to a path of kindness and respect. Whether or not you celebrate this holiday, it creates a...
by Ari Yares | Aug 31, 2021 | Menu Planning, The Innovative Dad Blog
The arrival of the Jewish high holidays each fall means lots of cooking. While aspects of the holidays reflect themes of justice and repentance, there is also a theme of joy and happiness at the start of a new year. Menus reflect this desire to start the year off on...
by Ari Yares | Aug 29, 2021 | Menu Planning, The Innovative Dad Blog
The start of the school year and the quickly approaching fall Jewish holidays means simpler meals and raiding the deep freezer. There will be plenty of cooking this week, just not for eating right away. For a long time, our deep freezer was a place where dishes went...
by Ari Yares | Aug 25, 2021 | The Innovative Dad Blog
In a household with two professional parents and four kids, planning and time management are incredibly important. Knowing who needs to be where with what and when as well as what needs to get done and when it has to be done is key to keeping our family functioning....
by Ari Yares | Aug 22, 2021 | Menu Planning, The Innovative Dad Blog
For a busy family, leftovers are a necessary and functional part of our meal planning. Guaranteeing that there are leftovers is usually relatively easy as meal prep often includes doubling recipes. The benefit is one or two nights a week where dinner can be quickly...
by Ari Yares | Aug 7, 2021 | Menu Planning, The Innovative Dad Blog
If you have been looking at these meal plans for the last several weeks, you have probably noticed that lunch is not included on them. The absence is intentional. It isn’t that we don’t eat lunch; we certainly do. We’ve just figured out some...
by Ari Yares | Jul 31, 2021 | Menu Planning, The Innovative Dad Blog
Someone once said that no plan survives encounter with the enemy. While this was probably intended as a reflection on the challenges of planning for war, I’ve frequently noticed that this also applies for my meal planning efforts. In our case, however,...
by Ari Yares | Jul 31, 2021 | Menu Planning, Recipes, The Innovative Dad Blog
Ingredients Mexican rice – we make our using this recipe in the Instant Pot. Refried beans – also an easy dish to prepare in the Instant Pot. No overnight soaking of the beans! Enchilada sauce Cheese – we use a blend of shredded cheese but you can...
by Ari Yares | Jul 26, 2021 | Menu Planning, The Innovative Dad Blog
This week, when I asked my kids for input into what we should eat, I was met with a table full of blank stares. Needless to say, this wasn’t encouraging. Clearly, a dose of inspiration was needed. One of my kids grabbed a kid-friendly cookbook and started...
by Ari Yares | Jul 25, 2021 | Menu Planning, Recipes, The Innovative Dad Blog
Ingredients 2 tsp chopped garlic 6 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil 5 tablespoons chili powder (add more if you like it spicier or reduce for a milder flavor) 2 cans diced tomatoes, including liquid (avoid using seasoned cans) 1 can tomato paste 2 teaspoons of...
