Being the one who feeds everyone can make you very tired. Not just cooking, but also planning. Putting into words. Making changes. Keeping track in your head of who eats what, what they don’t like, what they can handle, and what will cause a full-blown meltdown at the table.
You are not the only one who has ever stood in your kitchen and thought, “Why is this so hard?”
It’s harder to cook for everyone now than it used to be. Food preferences. Health needs. Problems with texture. Strong views. And on top of all that, the pressure to do it “right.”
It’s not surprising that so many people think they are failing at dinner.
Most of that stress doesn’t come from cooking, to be honest. It comes from wanting to be perfect.
The trap of trying to make everyone happy
At some point, cooking for a family became linked to the idea that everyone should be equally happy, satisfied, and in line with whatever you choose to do.
That is an impossible standard.
People are not the same all the time. Needs change. Tastes change. Kids eat what they ate yesterday until they suddenly stop. Partners learn about new health problems—levels of energy change.
Trying to find a perfect system that works for everyone all the time will make you burn out.
You can relax when you stop trying to be perfect and start trying to be useful.
A change in your way of thinking that changes everything.
This is one of the most helpful changes you can make. You are not making the same plates. You are making food for other people.
That difference is essential.
Eating together doesn’t mean everyone has to eat the same thing. They need to be similar enough that everyone stays at the table. They need to be able to change without drama.
This is where The Balanced Plate: Healthy Recipes With Keto Alternatives really stands out.
Chef Monika Jensen didn’t write her cookbook with the idea that everyone eats the same way. She made it based on the idea that everyone eats together.
First, recipes are written as full meals. Keto options are given as suggestions, not rules. That means one meal can meet many needs without becoming many different projects.
You only cook once. You change quietly. You go on.
That simplicity isn’t an accident. It comes from cooking in real kitchens where there isn’t much time, energy, or patience.
Letting go of the perfect meal
Perfection is the quiet enemy of weeknight meals. It looks like overthinking. As second-guessing. As the idea that you are doing something wrong if you don’t get this right.
Giving up on perfection doesn’t mean lowering your standards. It means changing what success means.
Everyone getting enough food might be a sign of success. Or not fighting and/or finishing dinner without crying and/or just sitting down together.
Letting go of the need for every meal to be perfect makes room for it to be human.
People who read The Balanced Plate often talk about this change without naming it. They talk about how cooking makes them feel more at ease, how dinner feels less tense, how they don’t have to keep changing their aim to hit an invisible target.
That calm comes from being given permission.
Helpful tips for making cooking easier
You don’t need to use complicated strategies to cook for everyone. It takes a few good habits.
Pick meals that can change. Recipes with flexible parts work better than strict ones. Soups, bowls, and main dishes with sides that can be changed. Food where a small change doesn’t ruin the whole thing.
Stop making changes known. You don’t need to explain every change. Changes that happen quietly lower stress and focus.
First, add flavor. People are more forgiving when food tastes good. Good sauces, layered spices, and textures that make you think go a long way.
Plan for leftovers without feeling bad. One meal can last for days in different ways. This is not a failure. It’s efficiency.
Realize that not every meal will be a hit. This is how things are. The goal is not to be perfect. It is consistency.
The Balanced Plate doesn’t explicitly outline these practices, but it does encourage them. The recipes are meant to be flexible. They expect change.
Why trying to be perfect makes cooking harder
Being perfect puts pressure on you. Pressure makes people angry. Cooking feels heavy when you’re angry.
Letting go of perfection makes cooking easier. It’s easier to make choices. Food feels less heavy.
This is especially true in homes where people have different dietary needs. Trying to make things fit together often fails. Allowing change makes things easier.
This is an excellent example of Jensen’s approach. Keto is an option, not something you have to do. Carbs are not seen as mistakes. Nutrition is there, but it’s not the main thing.
This balance lets the cook focus on the food instead of the math.
Cooking as care, not a show
One of the most critical changes in your mind is to remember who you’re cooking for. People in real life. Not a set of rules. Not ideal. Not a version of you that will happen in the future.
Cooking is not a show; it is an act of care. It doesn’t need applause. It needs to last.
When cooking starts to feel too hard, it’s usually because your expectations are too high.
The Balanced Plate brings them back together.
Taking back your kitchen
You can make meals that aren’t perfect. You can change things quietly. You can put your own mental health first.
You don’t have to be a martyr to cook for everyone. It needs to be flexible.
It’s not your fault if dinner has become a source of stress instead of a connection. It means that the system needs to change.
This book shows one way to move forward, not by adding rules, but by taking away stress.
You can now get “The Balanced Plate: Healthy Recipes With Keto Alternatives” by Chef Monika Jensen on Amazon. It gives people who are ready to cook for everyone without going crazy a calmer, more human way to get back to the table.