You know those kind of days when everyone in the house seems kind of scrappy? I think our family was having that kind of a day. This morning when my husband and I were packing the lunches and getting breakfast ready it felt like he was always in the way of where I needed to be. This afternoon, when we picked the boys up we were told that our boys had been at each other too.
By the time we arrived back at home I was feeling a bit down-trodden, and honestly if we hadn’t had our dinner ready to go in the fridge, it might have been a good night for a Skip the Dishes pick me up.
Tonight’s menu
However, thanks to Monday’s meal prep, our meal was basically ready to go. Tonight we had:
- Stuffed peppers (this recipe is amazing! first time making and highly recommend it)
- Pumpkin muffins (due to that previously mentioned open can of pumpkin)
- Pears – the last 4 from the bag (whew! I was worried we weren’t going to eat them all before they got too ripe)
- Glasses of milk
- Leftovers from lunch
What did they eat?
The photo journaling part of this meal kind of fell apart as we hurried home from piano lessons, to the dinner table and out to soccer. So I don’t have photographic proof, but I will give you the run down.
My oldest agreed to try the peppers but only the filling. So I emptied one of the peppers and he ate the entire thing. For the next one he was willing to try the pepper, but stated that it wasn’t too his taste, so he just ate the filling again. He also ate his pear and a muffin.
My youngest started off by taking a few bites from his sandwich leftover from lunch and a pumpkin muffin. Throughout the meal he decided to try the filling of the pepper and had a few bites. When asked about it he told us that he liked it less than the haloumi but more than the chicken soup. He makes this thumbs up/thumbs down to describe the OK-nature of it.
So what?
Tonight felt busy between piano and soccer and this scrappy feeling in the house – so having a dinner ready to go really saved us.
One thing I notice, after 10 days of journaling, is that while my kids initially grab the foods that are familiar, it is not uncommon for them to try the new foods later on. Have you noticed this in your family too?
The other thing I have noticed, is that having food on the table makes it easier for the kids to grab a small amount of the foods that they want to try initially and go back for seconds if they want to. This prevents an initial “loading up” phase so that on the days when they are less hungry they can finish their meal without having lot of food left on their plate. What have you noticed in your family? When your kids choose their own serving sizes do they start with large or small servings? Do you think there is less waste when you serve your kids or when they do it themselves?
