The Innovative Dad
A psychologist’s blog about raising and educating children through the lens innovation.
Isaac’s Bubbie’s Zucchini Soup
Our friend Isaac introduced us to this recipe from his Bubbie's catering business. It's a simple zucchini broth chock full of nutrition and yumminess. 4-5 lbs. zucchini or yellow summer squash 1 large onion 2-3 carrots 2-3 cups chicken broth or consommé Dill Salt and...
Make Mine a Double: Menu Plan – Week of 9/12
This is a hard week to plan, prep, and cook for. Shortened weeks for the Jewish holidays compacts the available time. Throwing a fast day (Yom Kippur) into the middle of it makes it even more complicated. While this week is a crunch week due to the Jewish holidays, it...
Books for Talking about Forgiveness and Apologies
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...
Rosh HaShanah Menu Plan
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...
Menu Plan – Week of August 29
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...
Parents Plan and Kids Laugh: Adventures in Time Management
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....
Menu Plan – Week of August 22: Wait, No Leftovers?!
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...
Menu Plan – Week of August 8: What about Lunch?
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 strategies that help us...
Menu Plan – Week of August 1
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, it's not enemy...