During that time period, meat was not the main focus of meals- the common staples of their diets were biscuits, cornbread, beans and potatoes. None of which required all that much planning and certainly not refrigeration. That all depends on people’s economic status, of course. For the majority though, that’s what it was like.

For more lovely historical info:

http://www.foodtimeline.org/

But if I don’t know what’s for dinner, my family will just eat fast food and be unhealthy. In 1888, if a woman didn’t know what was for dinner, her family would have starved.
It’s also unlikely her family had refrigeration, so she not only had to know TODAY what was for dinner, but she had to make plans months ago to be sure her meats were ready in the icehouse or smoke house (unless she lived in the city where she may have had more access to refrigeration and “modern” stores.)
She would have had to grown, canned and set aside enough veggies for her family to eat, and would have had to known how to can, something I have done, but don’t know how to do alone. My daughters have never even seen it done.

By the time my girls run their own households in 2018, who knows what kitchens will look like. Maybe no one will cook at home, maybe everyone will be on a live off the land mindset, maybe everyone will take vitamin pills and not eat at all.
In the meantime, they know how to cool, clean, wash clothes, and maybe someday I can get their grandmother to teach them to can. I won’t be teaching them to pickle foods because I am allergic. But I will be teaching them to stay in school, get good jobs and be self supporting since no matter what society is like, you can always pay someone to do something you don’ t know how to do, or don’t want to do if you have the money.

I bought a large ready-made meatloaf and cut it into fourths. I ate one and froze three.

Your suggestion was to break one of segments up and use it in spaghetti sauce.

I did – and froze it in 2 containers – so this single guy has more quick meal options and more variety.

Thanks!

Angela-I’m not expert or anything, but start while they are little with them watching and doing something very easy (like stirring something that isn’t hot, or throwing the veggies you’ve already cut into the pot, or even just tipping in a measuring spoon of something you’ve measured out) that way they are participating and seeing what is happening. As their age increases, you can increase their involvement. JMO.