What's For Dinner? Week 2

I am SO not excited about our menu this week. For the past week or two, I've been in a rut with meal planning and the only reason I can come up with for this is that I'm feeling uninspired. This week unfortunately reflects that.

I wanted to plan a meal for the Munoz family to be delivered this past Friday. Steve loves all Mexican food but I had a few stipulations to accomodate when planning their meal: 1) Kelly's breastfeeding and it's not ideal to serve something too spicy when nursing a newborn and 2) it had to be completely ready-to-go... no muss, no fuss. So that leaves out quite a lot of my typical Mexican dishes. Then I thought of chili mac. It's not exactly Mexican and it's not real exciting, but it's super easy and pretty universally liked. We actually just ate this in our house not too long ago, but it seemed silly not to just double the recipe and save myself some time in the kitchen by serving it again for this week.

So the Munoz family got chili mac, a salad, a loaf of garlic bread and those homemade Oreos. I did double the chili mac, but then I divided it in THREE portions: one for the Munoz's, one for us this week, and one for the freezer to replace some of the meals I took last week.

Also on the menu this week are mini meatloaves from Kraft Food & Family magazine: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/marvelous-mini-meatloaves-75574.aspx This link provides four different variations, all taking a hand from instant stove top stuffing mix. I made the Mexican version (ya, I know... it's a lot of the same flavors this week) and, though I've liked them in the past, they just didn't taste as good to me this week. Will ate them well though, so I'm glad of that. I guess they just seemed boring and it also bugs me a bit that I succumbed to pre-packaged, boxed stuff in our dinner. Not that that's always a bad thing, but I don't know... it's just my mood this week.

We're also going to have some leftover tomato soup from the freezer and/or quesadillas to fill in the rest of the week. And the one bright spot in my otherwise boring food week were my favorite oatmeal brownie bars (recipe compliments of my cousin Brittany). Hey, a girl's gotta' have a treat every so often.

So here's what's on mind (in regards to food) currently:

1) I only caught the last half of the very first episode of that Jamie Oliver 'Food Revolution' show and I am just kicking myself for not DVR'ing the whole 'season'. Oh my gosh, that just makes me sick to my stomach to see how poorly some parts of the country are eating. Most of that crap is not even real food and they somehow slide pass the USDA guidelines for school systems. A little over a year ago, I had an opportunity presented to me to oversee the menu planning for Genoa school system because the head cook was leaving and the superintendent (my uncle) needed to have a registered dietitian on staff. At the time, I was pregnant with Sophie and just a tad concerned for how I would manage a new job (on top of my current job) while caring for a new baby. But in the end, I never heard any more about it (I assume for budget reasons?) and, in hindsight, regret not pursuing it a little more. I am typically very passionate about menu planning and enjoy the challenge of meeting all sorts of needs, criteria, and budget guidelines. I'm pretty sure there was not an RD hired over me, so maybe the opportunity will present itself again. But no matter what, after watching that show, I am (now more than ever) determined to instill healthy eating habits in my children. They learn by example and broaden their palette by experience, so it is my job to get them off on the right foot.

2) Craig and I have recently been quarreling a bit over the weekly menu. I have mentioned before that he has gotten a lot more rigid about what he's willing to eat since we've been married and has a preference for junk food. Despite my efforts to accomodate his favorite foods on a regular basis (while still giving our family a wide variety and healthy balance), Craig continues to complain that he never gets to eat food he likes. So another stipulation on our weekly menu planning is a stronger effort to compromise on the foods we each like to eat. It's tough! And it's pretty much all on my shoulders. (You may argue that we should change that, but it's just not going to happen and I'm okay with that. That's a whole other subject.) I try to plan at least three meals each week (banking on leftovers, quick things, freezer meals, etc. on the in-between days). What we have come up with then is to plan something that HE wants, something that I want, and something sort of middle of the road that we can both agree on. Problem is, whenever I ask him, he "doesn't know" what he wants. So I've encouraged him to make a list of at least 10 of his favorite meals so that I have something to work from each week.

3) Not only do I have a husband to please, I have an almost pre-schooler and an almost toddler to accomodate. Sophia has been eating our meals quite frequently lately and that is very exciting for me. It means I am on the path to not needing different meals at each meal time. What a time saver! Also at this age, the older baby/young toddler set are pretty accepting of almost all foods and have an impressive appetite. That really makes cooking fun and inspires me to want to give her a wide variety and watch her rake it all in. It's also a new challenge to come up with meals that the whole family can eat together, prepared in as little amount of time as possible.

4) My cooking inspiration thrives on shared recipes with family and friends, cooking and parenting magazines, various websites and blogs, and occasionally-in-spurts Food Network TV. I shared that Smitten Kitchen blog last week and am excitedly scanning her posts. Now I have a new obsession. One that fits my family's needs to a tee. The writer is a former model who traveled the world in her modeling career and fell in love with trying new cousine. She then went to a culinary school and now has two children (almost exactly the same ages as Will and Sophie!!!) and a FABULOUS blog filled with tons of fresh, nutritious and kid-friendly recipes that I just can't wait to try! Already on my list are her mini veggie quiche and carrot pancakes. So if you have a moment, check out Weelicious.com. She's pretty nationally known now with television spots and magazine articles, etc. She seems awesome. I'm so excited!

So until next week (which will hopefully be more exciting)...