Stuck in a ‘food rut’? Dinner Mumspiration serves up unique meal ideas

Montreal Facebook group Dinner Mumspiration is serving up unique meal ideas every day to young families.

It all started when a young mother felt she was stuck in a food rut and in desperate need of new ideas.

Her community quickly came to the rescue and what started as a small group has multiplied to more than 2,000 members.

“The thing I love the most about the group is how many connections are being made and how many conversations are being had around each post,” the group’s founder Myriam Cummings told Global News.

The mother-of-two was on her second maternity leave when she got sick of serving her children the same meals and decided to turn to Facebook for help.

“Honestly, I felt like I was always making the same thing over and over again,” Cummings said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Honestly, I felt like I was always making the same thing over and over again," Cummings said.

“I was looking for more creativity in the kitchen.”

The Vaudreuil-Dorion mother decided the best way to break her boring meal cycle was to turn to others on social media.

She created the Dinner Mumspiration Facebook page from scratch – and it took off like a steaming stir fry.

“It’s not only for moms, I’m kicking myself for calling it Dinner Mumspiration because it’s not just for dinner and it’s not just for moms,” Cummings said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's not only for moms, I'm kicking myself for calling it Dinner Mumspiration because it's not just for dinner and it's not just for moms," Cummings said.

“It’s for anybody who’s making meals on a daily basis.”

She points out mealtime can be chaotic for young families, especially when they’re plagued with picky eaters.

“My kids vary in their pickiness. My older kids are pretty good, but my younger one is extremely picky so I’m still at the stage of sometimes making separate meals,” Jaylene Louw said.

“I had never tried spaghetti squash and I saw someone post about it and was like ‘hey, that sounds good, let me try that’ and now I eat it weekly.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I had never tried spaghetti squash and I saw someone post about it and was like 'hey, that sounds good, let me try that' and now I eat it weekly."

What many mothers find appealing about the page is that it’s not impossible Top Chef-style creations.

“There’s no advertising and it’s real parents taking pictures and it’s not always a beautiful picture,” Sarah Bernard told Global News.

Families dealing with food allergies can also find comfort in sharing safe substitutes.

“Sometimes they’ll be like, ‘I love this recipe but we’re gluten-free or nut-free or dairy-free’ and so people are very helpful with offering alternatives,” Bernard said.

For members, Dinner Mumspiration has proven to be much more than just a food group.

“If we’re enjoying these sort of relationships that we’re forming and the help that we’re giving each other, let’s just keep this going,” said Cummings.