Food Tip 6

We’ve had a lot of houseguests here for the last two days. Most of them are children, our nieces and a nephew.

Having them around has been fun for our own boys, who’ve only had themselves to smack around for the long summer days -not that there’s been any smacking, of course. The worst altercations so far have been slight tiffs regarding Legos.

Having them around has also increased The Meals Game to Maximum Level.

Where we once could throw together a few sandwiches or a pot of soup, I find myself instead considering the entire side of lamb at The World’s Biggest Costco or gauging the capacity of our largest pans.

Today’s tip has less to do with amount of food, though, and more to do with stretching what you have. Like, these apples:

We only had six apples in the house and I needed a side for lunch. (Which, in case you wondered, was instant Ramen noodles.) Knowing this, I employed a little trick I’ve learned with my boys.

Slice thinner.

Yes, it sounds simple. That’s because it is simple. Using our sharpest, nicest knife, I cut all of the apple slices thinner. The kids know they ought to take a fair number each, and feel better about being allowed ten instead of four.

This trick also works for cookie dough (make the cookies smaller), grapes (cut them in half), and cheese slices (I like them nearly transparent anyway). Go ahead; try it.