Every time I put a time frame in the post title, I'm amazed at how quickly time flies! Before we know it, it's gonna be April already. March really flies by. We've been taking turns getting sick for so long right now that I barely realized that it's already the 18th of the month. Two more days, and it's officially the beginning of spring (and my Dad's Birthday!)
Last week was the worst ever since I started menu planning simply because I didn't plan. We ate whatever we could find in the fridge and the freezer, and got Subway once. On the other hand, we didn't have any food waste either! Gotta love those weeks when the fridge is empty :)
And I really like my new meal planner:) So much nicer when you write the menu down :
Just makes me so much happier to look at. Almost want to go and cook. Almost...
What are you eating this week? Also, do you have any good ideas on how to sneak in some veggies into a very picky 3-year old's diet? All he wants to eat lately is carbs - pasta, bread, cereal. And raisins. Can't even make him eat a banana :( I'm getting desperate here!!! Help, please!
Hi Lena
ReplyDeleteI have the same broblem with our 13 yr old daughter. When I make a pasta/pizza sauce I load it it with veg and wizz it in the blender. Never notices. I will make a bone stock with loads ov veg in it and wizz that up and use it in gravy or something like your shepherds pie. Can't help you with the fruit as L loves most fruits especially with chocolate mouse as a fondue.
Carolx
These are all great ideas! We had shepherds pie yesterday. He nibbled a little bit on it but wasn't too excited...I sure hope both of our kiddos will learn to make better choices eventually :)
DeleteI have parrots and they can really frustrate me with their picky eating...and their "likes" and "dislikes" seem to change on a steady basis. One week they will eat things only when they're cooked, the next they want them raw. Some like a certain texture or color, others don't.
ReplyDeleteI hide lots of veggies in cooked foods, like very finely chopped broccoli in the scrambled eggs. I chop veggies very finely in the food processor to add to things. Just add them to foods he will eat. You could make a loaf of bread similar to banana bread, but add pureed vegetables--squash, pumpkin, carrots. Add pureed or finely minced veggies to spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, cookies, etc.
Thank you :) I really love your idea about chopping broccoli and adding them to scrambled eggs. He likes eggs. I need to try it!
DeleteHi Lena
ReplyDeleteI found the best way to sneak veggies into my little ones diet - she is 2.5 years old is to blend them up and hide them in pasta sauces, she loves pasta and then I just mix a load of blended up vegetables with a can of tomatoes and whatever else and then put it with the pasta and top with cheese and she loves it. Another good one is in soup if they will eat it. I blend hers up so its a smoother texture so they cant really distinguish what is what but I like to leave mine chunky.
My 2.5 year old is the one who will avoid veggies but will eat almost anything else put in front of her, yet my 8 year old son is completely the opposite - he loves fruit and vegetables but is such an animal lover that the only meat he will eat is sausages or fish...
x
My 6-year old is the same way- he rarely eats meat but loves fruit and vegetables. I have to tell him that we can't have green beans until he eats some chicken. Who does that ?:) My little one is completely another story. We had issues with him before but now it got worse than ever :( He picks out pasta from sauce, rice from bakes. UGH!!!
DeletePasta is a good way to put in some vegetables, assuming he wont pick them out. You could throw a few blender-friendly vegetables and make a sauce out of them to put in the pasta. And with bread, have you tried their vegetable variety? Zucchini bread is really good. How about pizza pockets with extra vegetables and pepperoni or spinach lasagna? You barely notice some veggies that way. Good luck! (Also, I LOVE how that new menu board looks.)
ReplyDeleteHe picks out pasta from sauce or lasagna :( Such a little stinker! But I'm not giving up :)
DeleteAs for your three year old--Most kids go through phases with food and the experts say not to worry about it. If they are really picky, give them a vitamin until they add more things to their diet again. Also, I don't know if you have seen the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious, Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food" She gives all kinds of ways to slip vegetables into dishes. I know our library has them and yours probably does too. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI actually have this book but a couple of recipes I tried so far didn't work with him :( He's too smart, unfortunately. He knows the difference right away! I give him vitamins but he still gets pretty constipated with lack of fiber in his diet.I went to buy some extra fiber in pills yesterday. Hope this will help, and I sure hope it's just a phase :(
DeleteI LOVE that chaulk board ! and I hope you are feeling well enough to cook.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too...Thank you Cindy :)
DeleteOur little ones love celery! Seems odd to me but its a fave of them all. They also like other cut up fresh veggies but they need dip (ranch dressing) to really get down to eating it all. When all else fails a shake or two of sprinkles works
ReplyDeleteBoth of my kids can't stand celery!! I can barely squeeze some in soups and stews into my 6-year old but the little one will not touch it, no matter what I put on it :(
DeleteI'd try making a smoothie with pureed baby food veggies or adding baby food to pasta sauce, or bread/muffin recipes too! My 2 year old loves canned green beans cold! She eats them almost every night, same thing with cold/frozen peas! Not sure why the temperature makes a difference, but she always asks for them cold.
ReplyDeleteMy little one hates green beans (warm or cold :) but he occasionally eats green pees (when he's in the mood:). Thank you for advice on baby food, I didn't even think about it!
DeleteOh, I almost forgot...as far as getting him to eat a banana, slice it up and offer just a little chocolate syrup for dipping!
ReplyDeleteThat's a brilliant idea, thank you :)
DeleteLena, I make a smoothie with fresh carrots, tomatoes, red peppers, all mixed with olive oil and some time some celery o garic and add this to my son's pasta o rice, looks just like tomato sauce, we like it too.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good! I would like this sauce myself! Yummy!! I need to try it.
DeleteYou did great. I did have some waste this week. I never know what to do with fresh celery after using what I need in recipes. Sometimes I freeze the stalks for soup, but I just don't make that much soup.
ReplyDeleteSomeone, and sorry I'm too lazy to look up who, wrote a cookbook on sneaking vegetables into food for kids.
When my kids were young, I often made muffin batter from any old recipe, cut out half the sugar. Put a tablespoon or so (enough to cover the bottom of the muffin cup) and then put any number of things on that like broccoli, shredded carrots, pizza toppings, and then some kind of sauce like spaghetti sauce, Ranch dressing, cheese, and then another tablespoon or two of the muffin batter. Bake until brown according to the muffin recipe temp. For some reason, my kids wouldn't eat veggies like broccoli or zucchini, but put it in a muffin and it was a huge treat.
I understand your problem with celery! I usually wrap it in paper towel and then in aluminum foil to make it last longer. But when kids refuse to eat it period, it doesn't matter how long it lasts :)
DeleteThank you for the idea. I'm going to give it a try!
Lena, how about chocolate or beet/zucchini cake? Or even carrot cake? Good luck
ReplyDeleteBeet and zucchini cake sounds interesting! Never tried one before. But I bet he'd like it - he likes everything sweet :)
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