Surviving Dinner with Young Kids

I'm pretty blessed that mealtimes at our house seem to go without much argument. Since the early days of toddler-hood, I've believed in a "meal of 4 items". There are so many different tid-bits of information out there, that I find it hard to wade through the sea of knowledge without feeling like I'm sinking. I do believe in much of what Ellyn Satter has to say about it only being my responsibility to provide appropriate meals - it is my child's responsibility to eat. I've also had the pleasure of meeting members of the Popsicle Center.

So this meal of 4 items (and I apologize, since I don't know if I read about it somewhere, or how I started doing this!) is really a simple concept. Basically, it means that we aren't having just a dish of spaghetti, or just a bowl of cereal, or just a sandwich. Basically, with each meal I strive for 2 different fruits/veggies, 1 protein/carb and maybe something fun (basically, the 4th item is always something I know my kids will eat - even if I have to chop up a cheese stick.)

In this meal - we were celebrating our trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom. There is a salad, and Rainier cherries, and Mickey shaped chicken nuggets (Costco) and baked onion rings leftover from another meal. I know for sure my kids are going to devour the nuggets. So what's so important about being sure there's at least one thing you know the kids love? Well - that gives you creative licensing to mess around with the rest of the plate - add something new, or even re-try something that hasn't been successful a month or so back. It takes a few times to warm up to some foods.

Our "rule" on second helpings of food goes a little something like this: you don't have to eat everything on your plate, but if are hungry enough to want more chicken mickey heads, then you are hungry enough to work on the rest of your plate. With the exception of the new food. If the new food is a bust, then it's okay to overlook that slimy onion-ring for the sake of more broccoli in the salad. Who knew? My kids have never had onion rings before and really didn't like them! The whole point of having 4 items is that some will be hits and some will be misses, but you will likely get some nutrition in your kids without an argument, and without without bribing them to eat, and the big catch is that one day they will surprise you and ask for more broccoli for their salad.

Speaking of salads. I keep a variety of dressings on hand. Some store bought and some that I've made myself. My two favorite are here:
The hospital I work in has a great salad bar, but their variety in dressing is ho-hum. So as odd as it sounds, I pack along my salad dressing! This week, I've gotten up a little earlier and packed along some Super Greens to have with my salad. My big wish is for a Vita Mix for Christmas, so I can juice my greens.