Oh, hey! It’s Stacie and Meghan, coming at you live from Austin, Texas! While together IRL enjoying girl time, a chance to work face-to-face, and a few sleepovers (no kids!), we decided to get real about what hosting sleepovers for our kids means for the family cook. We mostly share favorite playdate snacks and sleepover dinner ideas, but also touch on “Mommy Juice” culture. Because let’s be honest: Who doesn’t joke about escaping to a big ol’ glass of wine when you not only have to deal with your own kids, but other people’s kids too. All. Night. Long.
Well, actually, lots of people, including sober parents and others who opt not to make drinking alcohol a regular part of their life. So maybe the whole “Mommy Juice” trope is problematic after all? Or maybe we’re taking things too seriously? This time, we have a strong opinion. #SorryNotSorry
Mommy Juice is…
Mommy Juice has become such a popular phrase that you can get your very own Mommy Juice mug or wine tumbler. Or 10 of them, if you want. Because there are seriously that many designs — or more! — to choose from.
But is drinking wine out of a mug and calling it juice really what we want to model for our kids?
We explore this question and others having to do with inclusivity, mommy shaming and (drum roll!) patriarchy, how overtaxed parents cope, and more in this week’s episode.
Like, how do sober parents feel when we flippantly refer to “mommy juice” or center alcohol at play dates and mom get-togethers? And how come there are no comparable Daddy Juice mugs for all those beer swigging daddies?
Want to dig deeper? If you listened to this episode and want to learn more about the things we reference, here’s your chance. Other than recipes, which you can find to your right, this week’s links include:
Becoming Sober Made Me Realize How Problematic ‘Wine Mom’ Culture Really Is
What Wine Mom Culture Misses About Being a Sober Parent in a Society that Worships Alcohol
The Best Waffle Makers For When That Sunday Morning Craving Hits by Sarah Karnasiewicz
The episode where Meghan tells the story of when her daughter’s playdate thought Meghan might be trying to poison her.
We Want to Hear From You!
Are you a “Wine Mom” who thinks we’re taking this too seriously? A sober mom who has issues with the idea of “Mommy Juice”? Or maybe you just don’t care, regardless of your sobriety status. Whatever the case, we want to know what you think of “Mommy Juice” culture.
Chime in on this week’s conversation on Facebook, where you can find us as @didntijustfeedyou. And if you’re a listener who knows the answer to the secret question, hop into our Listeners’ Group to tell us if you think our secret password is due for a change in light of this week’s convo!
Update: Nachos Revisited
YOU GUYS! Over Spring Break, Meghan ran into DIJFY friend Cindy Rahe from Simply Recipes who offered a genius tip after listening to our Nachos episode:
We talked about how we prefer to avoid refried beans on nachos since they can be hard to distribute evenly. But not so with Cindy’s tip:
Add water to refried beans to thin them out, then pour the beans over your chips to create an even spread.
Perfect. Thanks for the tip, Cindy!
Sleepover Recipe Ideas
At its heart, sleepover food is the most fun food you can possibly offer. Whether you order in or cook it up, we think you should just keep it simple and fun.
We also think that you should focus on build-your-own dinners. Not only do they keep things fun, but they also turn dinner into another activity. Because KEEP ‘EM BUSY!
Here are some ideas we came up with, but hit us up on social (Facebook or Instagram) with your favorite sleepover meals too:
Sheet Pan Pizza (or order a pie from your local pizzeria)
Classic hard shell Ground Beef Tacos (PRO TIP: use a muffin tin to heat multiple tacos at once)
Shredded Chicken, 3-Ingredient Salsa Chicken, or Instant Pot Carnitas for soft tacos
How to build a snack dinner and so many other snack platter ideas for after school snacking or dinner, or even a breakfast bar, too, for the next morning!
Pigs in a Blanket made easy
Top-your-own burgers, like these easy Baked Burgers for a crowd, with Oven Steak Fries or Tater Tots (store-bought gets our seal of approval!)
Pancakes, a French Toast Bar, Stacie’s Everyday Waffles, or cereal all also work for either breakfast the next morning OR breakfast-for-dinner the night of your sleepover
The Barefoot Contessa’s Overnight Belgian Waffles for morning, because prep time
Follow Us On Instagram
You can be sure that the conversation about “Mommy Juice” will live beyond these pages, because it’s (ahem) a juicy topic. Plus, we’ll be sharing more recipe ideas for sleepovers, and maybe some ways other than alcohol that we can de-stress and take care of ourselves when mom life feels like too much. So be sure to find us on Instagram:
You can find Meghan at @meghan_splawn and Stacie at @staciebillis And of course, together, we are @didntijustfeedyou.