(last week - oops!)
On our menu last week:
1) Weelicious sloppy joes - I love this version. Made with ground turkey and look at all the vegetables that go into them! Delish!
Haha! These pictures crack me up because Will does the same thing and started doing it right about her age. This is the Riedeman kids' way of eating raspberries! :) (Or maybe ALL kids and I'm just trying to put the claim to fame on my kids. LOL)
3) Slow cooker BBQ Beef Stew. This is that same recipe that Casey made for us that Craig loved, except we used a mixture of corn and green beans (per Craig's request) instead of peas. Oh, and we left out the tablespoon of Maxwell House instant coffee because I'd be willing to bet money that that ingredient is the equivalent to the random 1/4 cup of Kraft dressing in all their other recipes: specifically put there without any real purpose just to get you to spend $3 on an extra brand name item for them to make money. Ha! My super sleuth skills outsmarted you Kraft people!! And now I'm $3 richer! (Or at least I have $3 extra to put into my insanely expensive (and rising) gas tank. Boo.)
Mmm. One pot meal - perfect with a little bread and butter and a glass of milk.
4) These two meals provided leftovers for several nights and then Craig and I ordered pizza (after feeding the kids scrambled eggs and getting them to bed) for my Last Supper on Thursday night. (More on that later...)
3) Slow cooker BBQ Beef Stew. This is that same recipe that Casey made for us that Craig loved, except we used a mixture of corn and green beans (per Craig's request) instead of peas. Oh, and we left out the tablespoon of Maxwell House instant coffee because I'd be willing to bet money that that ingredient is the equivalent to the random 1/4 cup of Kraft dressing in all their other recipes: specifically put there without any real purpose just to get you to spend $3 on an extra brand name item for them to make money. Ha! My super sleuth skills outsmarted you Kraft people!! And now I'm $3 richer! (Or at least I have $3 extra to put into my insanely expensive (and rising) gas tank. Boo.)
Mmm. One pot meal - perfect with a little bread and butter and a glass of milk.
4) These two meals provided leftovers for several nights and then Craig and I ordered pizza (after feeding the kids scrambled eggs and getting them to bed) for my Last Supper on Thursday night. (More on that later...)5) Oh, and remember Will and I made cookies too? Yum.
6) My favorite Chicken Noodle Soup recipe from Tyler Florence of Food Network. I doubled this and we ate it all weekend. It's been all about soft comfort foods this weekend. :)
Question for you this week: How often do your kids get dessert/treats after meals?
In our house, "treats" are often a homemade popsicle following dinner. Sometimes, if we have cookies, we might have one of those. And following certain holidays such as Halloween, Christmas (candy canes), and Valentines Day, we often have a container filled with candy that gets rationed out for a little while before we pitch the rest or give it away. We don't do dessert after every dinner, and unfortunately, the decision is heavily influenced by how well they eat. I know according to the books, that's not the way to handle treats. You're not supposed to make them feel like a reward. But that's one rule I have a really hard time following. Also, on school days, I know Will has usually had some sort of sugary "snack" because almost all parents bring in a dessert type snack and juice. (GRRRRRR!) So, I factor these things in to the "to treat or not to treat" decision.
Recently, however, Will has started asking for a treat with his dinner. As in: along side the meal on his plate. The reason this started is because I gave him a heart-shaped marshmallow with his lunch around Valentines Day and that was just the coolest thing ever. According to my favorite dietitian/author Ellyn Satter, it is a good idea to do this! Kids are going to eat the same amount regardless if they are used to following their own appetite instead of being told how much of something to eat (adult-regulated portion sizes). So putting dessert out with the meal (assuming it's reasonably sized and, if possible, kinda' healthy) is a great way to teach kids that ALL foods are okay to eat and that dessert is a pleasurable part of the meal, just like everything else on their plate. It makes sense in theory... but it sure ain't easy to get your mind used to after being raised completely the opposite. Know what I mean?
Anyway, I've done this a few times for Will (with a heart marshmallow, a cookie, or a popsicle) and it actually is very nonchalant and casual. He does usually eat his dessert first, but it's not like he's filled up from that and he goes on to eat the rest of his meal (usually) very well, without having the "I wish I was eating dessert right now" feeling in the back of his mind. So... it can work. I still don't do that on a regular basis, but it's never been a problem when I have.
So I'm curious: what is the norm in your household?
Happy eating!
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