Here is the plan for the week. This week is just beautiful here in California so I decided to make simple stuff so I can spend more time outdoors with my girls.
MONDAY: Chicken and mushrooms with leftover mashed potatoes
TUESDAY: Meatball Heros with Caprese Salad
WEDNESDAY: Greek Orzo salad
THURSDAY: Cheddar Rice Casserole with Broccoli and Salad
FRIDAY: Chicken and Tomato Clafoutis with Salad
SATURDAY: Chicken Enchiladas with Santa Fe Cooking Creme
SUNDAY: Butternut Squash Risotto
Id love to see where the reciepe comes from. The risotto looks delicious! I haven’t made it in awhile but it be good to add to any kind of meal.
No offense but how in the world do you get your kids to eat that stuff?
Ha! Someone asks that every week! They eat some stuff and some weeks I modify it a little. My youngest will eat any and all meat and she even tries to lick her plate on burger nights and we have to prod her along to eat veg. My 3 yo hates everything so it doesn’t matter what I make. She had a fit over mashed potatoes and chicken breast last night so really unless I put peanut butter sandwiches and yogurt out for dinner every night she will have a fit so I just keep trying to adapt her to us rather than accepting her limited diet. I think this week the only battles I will have are the Greek pasta- which I wouldn’t give them feta and olives anyway- too salty. They will probably have chicken nuggets and cucumbers and by the way she will have a cow over nuggets and probably will eat a bowl of cucumber. I don’t know how the risotto will go. Adriana loves fruit and I got the squash that was prechopped so she has been excited to eat it. She thinks it is mango. If they hate that, then I always have leftovers to eat up anyway. They both love salad so that is no issue.
Hi Charlene, every week I notice your menu and think finally someone is feeding their kids a diverse menu… I only have 2 kids so I may be green still, but I think the more diverse the adult palate, the more diverse the child’s. My 3yo starting eating Thai curried veggies at 1 and he has yet to find a food that is not his friend. We just gave the 8mo old Middle Eastern curried carrot the other day and he loved it!
I definitely notice how sensitive my 3yo is to the perception of his food. We feed him stuff that ADULTS have said YUCK about and it makes him not want to eat it.
By the way- if my kid asks for candy- he gets a prune and he is extremely excited to have it. Not that he’s a weird kid who’s never had candy- he has, but I’d he’s going to be happy with a prune, why bother with the other stuff.
Just wanted to say you are not alone! 🙂
Thanks Dee! We really aren’t terribly fancy I mean I have burgers and meatballs this week 😛 You sound very fancy though! I believe in the Dr Oz thing- you just keep giving it to them and eventually they will either eat it or they have had it enough times to where I will understand they just don’t like that food. Dinnertime is not a picnic here by any stretch and it just doesn’t matter what I make. Even chicken nuggets my 3yo will have a fit over and probably won’t touch- so we hunker down for battle at every mealtime 😉 But I figure she will be surly no matter what and at least everyone else has a nice meal!
I have 5 kids and I have found that the lder theyget the pickier. I have a diverse meal plan and I always have 1 or 2 who object about what I am serving. I agree with Charlene just keep giving it to them and eventually they will eat it or just not like that item. My 10 year old is the pickiest of my gang. We have him take the “no thank you” bite and then eat other things on the table. I always serve fruit and veggies so he will eat something. With that being said I usually plan 1 or 2 meals a week for the whole family that I know he will eat. Eveery week we have breakfast for dinner and homemade pizza. He never turns those down.
I have 3 kids and all of them picky to some point- the littlest loves meat-she seriously drools when she sees bacon- and my middle one hates most meat. But I have to disagree a tad with Stacey- my kids are getting better as they get older- the middle one will eat food with onions now and wait until your kids go to college! My eldest went to SC for college (we live in OH) and this girl is eating sushi, artichoke hearts, asparagus, black bean veggie burgers, hummus-she Loves it!, sprouts and now wants ORGANIC- she lived on Doritos in high school!
Oh I love this discussion! I’m not sure if I commented on it but I remember thinking “blue cheese burgers?!” last week… Lol. Sounds great to me but I know my DH for sure wouldn’t eat it and idk about my LO. But I’m totally with you guys on offering the stuff. I’m finally getting my DH more into eating healthfully. YAY!!! He just turned 30 a few weeks ago and he’s been working out and eating great. So last night I made turkey and vegetable chili with beans that I cooked at home (not out of a can! I’m so proud of that lol). In the past DH has turned his nose up at chili but I made it anyway with lots of veggies, beans and lean ground turkey. I know chili isn’t exactly health food but it is an accomplishment for my DH. It had zuchinni and carrots. Lol.
I love your meal plans they are very inspiring!
I grew up eating junk. Everyone in my family is a diabetic and/or has hypertension and most are overweight if not obese. It is very easy for me to want to serve them all the foods that I find comforting. However I wound up marrying a man who grew up on a farm so literally everything he had was always fresh. I am coming up on 30(+ (also known as 21st)) bday in a week or so and I struggle daily with my food choices. I can only hope I’m giving my kids enough diversity that eating healthy is second nature to them.
PS- the 3yo loves sushi too!
Yup Dee- my house was always meatloaf and cobblers and junk too. Same for my husband- meat and taters. (The box kind of course!) So I try to expand the palettes around here if I have to drag this whole stinking family kicking and screaming with me 😀 I think it hit home for me when I saw Jaime Oliver’s TV show last year and there was a whole class of kids that could not name one single vegetable. Not even a potato or carrot- they had no clue. The real trick is balancing with using coupons. My savings at the store is not as impressive as some people but then it is really tough to get fresh, healthy products for free or cheap. So I could save 90% or whatever and pat myself on the back each week but we would be eating frozen meals and chex mix and tortilla chips for every meal. 😉
I had to laugh at your comment about making “simple stuff” because this menu doesn’t look simple to me, but sounds delicious! I agree with your comment on balancing coupons with healthier options. I am new to couponing, but I am saving a ton on some items and paying full price for other items that I can’t find coupons for. We go through 2 gallons of organic milk a week and that costs $10! But, that is my choice and I’m happy to save in other areas and be able to afford some organics. 🙂
Oh my gosh! I am loving this as everyone is right!
@Charlene I laughed so hard about the 90% savings = junk food because that was my #1 struggle when I first started couponing (especially b/c we started during my son’s elimination diet which meant he could practically only eat salt for like 3 months.)
But I have to say it took 8 months but I got our $150/wk grocery bill down to $50/wk thanks to you.
And yes you just keep feeding the kids Adult meals, some are super fun like @Stacey said – homemade pizza! yum! It’s always on our weekly menu. I have one super picky 6 year old and the 16 month old is a vacuum! Even more so if it’s on your plate and not her’s. haha!
@ Charlene – did you get the calfoutis from RR pg 80 or is this a totally random coincidence. Recipe totally caught my eye too and one pot meals help so much. Are you going to try the batter with other meals like she suggests? I was going to make the Gnocchi tonight.
That is it Shira! You know me well! I love Gnocchi but everytime I have tried to make it, it turns into a hot mess. Let me know how it works out for you. I don’t know about batter- I haven’t actually read through the recipe yet 😀
You must really be enjoying that Cali sun! I miss it.