Okay…I’m a little late on the meal planning. My sister’s wedding was on Saturday and even though I did my meal planning early, I couldn’t bring myself to shop or write or do much of anything Sunday (except watch the Academy Awards, of course).
I think I have found my bean burrito for freezing which I made again last night. I will post my modified recipe soon. I’m also making baked chicken nuggets using a different recipe using buttermilk. I know, I live on the edge.
For more meal plans check out Org Junkie.
What’s Cooking This Week
Monday: Bean burritos with pinto beans topped with guacamole
Tuesday: Baked chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries, and fruit kabobs
Wednesday: Turkey Chili (recipe coming) with bread and green salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Grilled salmon with avocado dip, roasted cauliflower and mac and cheese
Salad of the week: Pasta broccoli salad
cold veggie/snack: sugar snap peas and carrots with yogurt-based ranch dip
Oh, where, oh where did my good eater go?
A few months ago I talked about how everyone thinks Little D, now almost 23 months old, is such a good eater. But now he’s going through the typical course of development and is becoming more erratic with his food intake, which usually happens at about this age (18 months to 2 years). And, with this, comes food rejection.
We used to be able to take him to restaurants and as long as he had food in front of him, he was a happy boy. Now he takes a few bites and wants to get up and check out the action at the restaurant. He also must eat — or at least try — what his big sister is eating.
The truth is I feel so much more prepared this time around. In fact, I am less affected by his behavior because I now see it as a normal part of growth instead of a problem that needs to be fixed. I have also been more persistent than I was with Big A in exposing him to foods he rejects.
Unlike my daughter, my son is not a big fruit eater. But I’ve kept offering it and now he now will eat grapes, cantaloupe, raisins, and blueberries in addition to the apples and bananas he has loved from day one.
He’s also rejecting veggies but will surprise me at times by stuffing them in his mouth. It all comes as part of feeding a toddler — and I’m trying my best not to sweat the small stuff. This boy can still eat a lot of food. It’s just less predictable than before.
Is anyone else going through changes with their toddler?
News – transition time for healthier school lunches
There was an interesting article in the Chicago Tribune about Chicago Public Schools’ healthier lunch menus. Some kids are less than happy with the new options and sales have decreased by 5% (20,000 less per day).
Many of the kids complain that the new healthy fare has no flavor. And this puts school nutrition professionals in a tough position. They have to follow strict guidelines while trying to please children and keep sales up (like not being able to add salt to vegetables!). Not an easy thing to do.
One key problem is that nutritional guidelines apply to single foods and meals. And I’m not sure how I feel about this. I mean, not every meal I eat or serve to my kids has the perfect nutritional breakdown — some may be higher in saturated fat and sodium and others lower. Over a week it all balances out.
In the article, Brian Wansink makes a good point: “Some people think that if you serve it, they will eat it,” said Wansink, whose research is available online at smarterlunchrooms.org. “But if you take away something people like and just hope they will take the new healthy thing without you goosing it, you often find that kids just won’t eat school lunches — they’ll eat a lot worse.”What do you think about all this?
For more on what your child is eating at school, visit SchoolMenu.com.
For more easy recipes and tips on how to serve meals to kids, check out Maryann’s book The Family Dinner Solution: How to Create a Rotation of Dinner Meals Your Family Will Love
Great meal plan! Thanks for including my Broccoli Pasta Salad 🙂
Have a great week Maryann 🙂
Thanks for the recipe Estela. I made it yesterday and used black beans instead of nuts. Really yummy!
My son is 20 months old and while I don’t think he’s quite at the “I’m going to start deciding exactly what I will and won’t eat” stage, there are definitely unpredictable moments. He used to love grilled cheese, now he could care less. One week he loved the Chinese broccoli in the stir-fry, the next he picks it out. One night he can’t eat enough meat, the next it’s the worst thing I’ve ever served him.
I’ve learned a lot from your blog. We continue to try new foods, continue to offer the same foods that might not be favorites, and always have something we know he will like to eat. Some days my cooking is healthier than others.
But he’s a good eater and I feel like the things he really loves are really great for him – and I couldn’t be happier. If and when the “picky” stage comes, I feel like he will be picky with some healthy foods/meals. And I couldn’t be happier with that!
Sounds good AKeo! I do think age three is when they reallly start testing limits with food. I would love to skip over that with Little D but it’s probably not in the cards ; )
Oh my yes! I have a 19 mo old who has been refusing regular meals for about 3 days! First, I blamed illness and now teething. Now I just wonder if she just is too busy exporing to eat. This too shall pass.
The same thing happened with my younger son. He ate EVERYTHING in sight until he hit 2. And now I’m lucky if he takes two bites of his dinner. Many nights, he won’t eat a single bite. So I feel your pain.
On the last part of your article… My fear with the healthy school diets is like that of the typical American being put on a healthy diet. If the food they are served is not prepared well, then they may be turned off from healthy fare altogether. The challenge is for the school cooks/food services to figure out how to cook within the guidelines AND make it taste good. It CAN be done! Hello Jamie Oliver? But to use a drop in food sales (and a mere 5%?) as a reason to say that this isn’t working? Kids and people are capable of far more than we ever give them credit for… including learning to eat new foods. The kids that might eat a lot worse are going to eat bad foods no matter what – there’s nothing that the school or the nanny state can do about that. But what about the 95% of kids who are still eating the healthy versions? Things will start clicking, palates being changed and they will be so lucky not to grow up remembering grease puddles on top of their salsburry steaks…
Thanks for your thoughtful comment Green. THis doesn’t means the new lunches are failing just some potential watch outs. Lots of challenges but I believe they can be overcome!
My 15 month old daughter has started to reject food. I am happy to hear this is normal she has always been an excellent eater but now all the sudden green foods get picked up and put on the edge of her tray. I keep offering them but rarely will she even try them…