Melanie* is a single mom with a child in primary school, another in middle school, and a demanding, but mostly fulfilling job. “Life is chaos,” she said. “Mornings in my house are unimaginable. I have to get the kids up and fed, more or less, and out to where the school bus picks them up. At the same time I’m getting myself ready so that I can leave for work once I know they’re on the bus. I don’t leave before, because if the bus doesn’t come, which happens more frequently than it should, I have to take them to school.”

“I’m fortunate,” she continued. “Their dad lives down the street, and we have a good working arrangement for co-parenting, so that whether they’re with me or with him, they catch the same bus and have the same daily routine.”

But she and her ex have different ideas about the evening schedule. “He’s very laid-back about everything. Well, he does make sure they get homework done, but his idea of a good dinner is take-out in front of the TV. Sometimes they have vegetables, but usually it’s either pizza or something fried, with french fries.”

Melanie believes so strongly in the importance of healthy dinners, with fresh vegetables and non-fried main dishes, that she often prepares dinner and takes it to her ex’s home when it’s his turn to have the children.

“I thought........

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