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Well, since our Chili last night was such a success, I am happy to tell you that it was on the menu again tonight.
Actually, if you read my last blog post, then you know that the Chili was NOT a success. But we had so much leftovers, and if I can avoid cooking a brand new meal when I got plenty of something in the fridge, my goal is always to eat what’s available.
But we had to do something different, because I didn’t want another meal like last night. Read on to find out more.
What we did differently tonight
The main change to tonight’s menu was the addition of some banana muffins. I had three bananas getting browner and spottier by the day – just asking to be made into muffins.
The muffin recipe I used tonight came from another one of my favourite cook books – America’s test kitchen. I like this cook book because it has a great collection of basic recipes. I like the banana muffin recipe because it has bananas (fruit), yogurt (dairy), eggs (protein) and flour (grains) >> FOUR FOOD GROUPS! Yes!
How I got my kids to help with rounding out the meal
As I was walking home from school with the boys today, I had time to check in about what they might like for dinner. I knew the plan was chili but I wanted to give them an opportunity to round out the meal. I mentioned that I had bananas on the counter and asked if they might like some banana muffins or banana bread? From here I asked them if thought they might like cinnamon (yes!) or some chocolate chips (yes, again!) and away we went.
It was also crazy hot outside today, so I asked them if we should make some smoothies with our frozen fruit. Again this was enthusiastically agreed to and we decided to make mixed berry lemonade.
Building Buy In
Including my kids in meal planning tonight made dinner time a lot easier.
My kids eagerly came to the table. I didn’t have to jump up and grab anything. Everyone ate something from what was offered and we could enjoy each other’s company.
It can be hard to build buy in for every meal, every night. But, if you are serving left overs that didn’t go over well the night before, building some menu buy in may help save you a repeat of the previous night.
Dinner tonight
Our dinner do-over menu tonight included:
- Chili served with shredded cheese, green onions and jalapenos on the side (same as last night)
- Banana Muffins
- Mixed berry lemonade
- Left-over chopped up fruits and vegetables from lunch
I will also tell you that I intentionally put the muffins in front of the one who didn’t want the chili last night to help him see that tonight’s dinner had more on offer.
What did they eat?
Both boys liked the looks of the muffins and grabbed one right away. My older son, who liked the chili from yesterday, also wanted a bowl of chili today – with all the fixings. Both boys also wanted glasses of lemonade.
My little guy had a few nibbles of his muffin and had some of his lemonade, but by and large didn’t eat much. My older one ate about half of his chili, 2 muffins and drank his lemonade.
Should I worry that my little one didn’t eat much?
A few nibbles off a muffin and sips of berry lemonade is hardly what comes to mind when I think of an adequate amount of dinner… for myself. But, it’s really important to remember that kids aren’t adults and that their appetites are much more variable than ours. This is because adults aren’t growing anymore so our metabolic demands are relatively constant. Children, on the other hand, will have days when they are more metabolically active (hungrier) and days when they are less metabolically active (less hungry).
But then, how can you tell if your kid is getting enough?
Here are a few things to look out for to decide if your kid is getting enough to eat?
- Are they growing in a consistent way (for example tracking their growth curve). If they are, even if they are tracking on the third percentile that this suggests they are growing in the way that’s right for them.
- Does your kid ask for a snack or something to eat immediately after the meal? If they do – then their lack of eating at the meal may be a “holding out” for something better kind of scenario and this is something I will talk about in my upcoming Q&A series. If they aren’t telling you they are hungry and asking for something after the meal then they may just be less hungry today.
- What is your kids typical pattern? Some kids eat lots at breakfast and less at dinner (or vice versa). Keeping in mind you child’s own natural rhythm can give you a clue of if they are getting enough. If they have never been big on dinner then that is probably just normal for them.
If you are worried about your kids growth – talk to your doctor or ask for a referral to a dietitian. Everyone is different. But most kids, in a supported food environment, will eat the right amount for them at each meal and won’t starve themselves.
So what?
Tonight’s dinner redo resulted in a much more enjoyable meal experience for our family – though admittedly didn’t really result in more foods being eaten.
Its possible that my little guy is not feeling very hungry these past two days and that’s totally OK. Kids metabolic rates are more variable than adults because kids are growing. During periods of growth they can become very metabolically active and at other times they are less metabolically active.
Do you worry that your kid isn’t eating enough at meals? What do you do if your child only has a few bites and says they are full? How can we, as parents, learn to trust our kids when they tell us they are full? If you have any ideas – feel free to leave a comment or send me an email at contact@kellypicard.com. Thanks so much for reading!
