Giles the house husband
Forty-year-old house husband Giles has a busy routine looking after 2- and 4-year-old daughters while his wife brings home the bacon. An early start is the norm, followed by a frenzied schedule to get the kids ready and out the door for their activities. More often than not, it’s a bit of a rush up until the afternoon when the girls have a nap (unless they refuse). He has the family dinner ready when his wife gets home, however he tries to have a separate, later dinner with just the two of them at least once a week — if he’s lucky. He says he’s never seen what other house husbands eat so isn’t sure if his diet is typical, but says “I imagine that a rushed breakfast and lunch, and indulging in the odd snack intended for the kids is fairly par for the course. Unless others are much more disciplined, have better time management skills and have better behaved children… oh dear.”
6.30am A bowl of bran flakes with trim milk, glass of cranberry juice and a cup of tea with trim milk and 1 sugar. Feeling rushed, trying to focus on the TV news and trying in quiet desperation not to notice the kids' porridge hitting the floor.
10am No chance of having a cuppa between dropping one daughter off at kindy, taking the other to gym class, and then heading to the mall for supplies. Though I share a couple of cream crackers with the youngest.
1pm A piece of toast with cottage cheese, eating standing up in the kitchen while the kids have their lunch at the table (it's the only way to keep my lunch to myself). Feeling rushed again. I also have a Berocca tablet in water.
2.45pm Phew, time to relax while the kids take a nap. Enjoy a mug of tea and cookie in silence.
5.15pm Marinated pork strips stir-fried with ginger, onion, capsicum, mushroom and spinach with Japanese rice and a glass of red wine. Dinner eaten in mild frustration. Wife is now home and kids won't stop talking to her, so after a few false starts at conversation I eat in silence (I should have learned by now).
7.30-10.30pm Mug of coffee and a few cream biscuits. Later, a few spoons of natural Greek yoghurt (hopefully to aid digestion).
Nadia Lim’s quick nutritional analysis
Beware of getting into the habit of eating snacks (in your case biscuits and crackers) every time your kids do, and finishing off their leftovers — many parents put on weight doing this. There are too many cookies and biscuits in your day — limit to no more than two a day and substitute the others with fresh fruit. You could jazz up lunch by adding some sliced tomato and smoked salmon. With your busy schedule I’m impressed that you still manage to cook good nutritious meals almost every night and the family eats dinner together most of the time — it’s the best way to get kids to form good eating habits. Continue to include lean meat and at least two or three different veges in dinner every night to get a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, important for both you and the kids.