Food wars solved!

I've been lucky to have children that will eat anything and not make a fuss at meal times, but when my step-son visits I am faced with mealtime struggles. Do I force him to eat what the rest of the family is eating and watch him cry? Do I make it hard on myself and become a short order cook for the next 12 summers? Or be a totally evil step-mom and let him starve....mwah..ha..ha..ha..ha!

I'm not the pushover mom and I'm not evil! I am fair, educated and organized! I use the skills I've learned from managing people to come up with a solution. One day I sat the kids down in the kitchen with a piece of paper and asked them to list 5 breakfast, lunch, dinner and vegetables that are their favorites.

With the information they have given me, I made up a menu to use as a guide for when Nic visits (when he's not here the other children eat what Jimmy & I eat without fussing). I feed them what is scheduled and all the whining disappears! If a protest does occur, I show them their list and then they say, "Oh yeah, I forgot. Ok."

I try to stick to the portion sizes suggested on the food pyramid for kids. Here is the list of ideas and charts:

The Children's Meal Ideas

Beverages per Day:

□ 1- 6 oz 100% juice

□ 2- 8 oz milk (1 chocolate, 1 plain (plain can be split 4oz for cereal, 4 oz for snack or meal)

□ 2- 8oz water

Breakfast:

□ Cereal

□ Oatmeal

□ Scrambled eggs w/toast

□ Waffles with fresh fruit/yogurt/bacon/ or eggs

□ Pancakes with fresh fruit/yogurt/bacon/ or eggs

Snacks (2 a day):

□ Cheese stick w/5 crackers (saltines, ritz type)

□ 2 sheets of Graham crackers with PB or yogurt

□ 1 whole fruit (banana, cut up and peeled apple for Bella and Kai, ½ cup berries or other cut up fruit)

□ ¾ cup dry cereal

□ 1 granola bar

□ Ants on a log (pb on celery stalk with raisins)

□ 2 Tb Hummus with crackers, pita or bread (sometimes they like hard boiled egg with it too)

□ deviled eggs 3-4 pieces

□ yogurt

□ tube or yogurt parfait (use granola or fresh fruit for parfait)

□ apple sauce

□ smoothie with graham crackers

Lunch and Dinner:

□ AB&J sandwich

□ Grilled cheese sandwich

□ Scrambled egg and cheese sandwich

□ Turkey, cheese, mayo, & lettuce sandwich or wrap

□ Mac N’ Cheese

□ Chicken nuggets

□ Cheese pizza

□ Cheese quesadilla

□ Roasted chicken

□ Cheeseburgers

□ Hot dogs

□ Meatloaf

□ Plain pasta with grated cheese

□ Pasta with tomato sauce

□ Grilled/ pan fried salmon

□ Fish sticks with mayo dip

□ Tofu w/veggie stir-fry

□ Chicken satay with peanut sauce

Vegetables and sides:

□ French fries

□ ABC tator tots

□ Baked potato w/cheese

□ Mashed potato

□ Steamed broccoli

□ Corn on the cob

□ Steamed/grilled/roasted asparagus

□ Celery sticks

□ Carrots (raw and cooked)

□ Edamame

□ Peas

□ Cherry tomatoes

□ Garbanzo beans

□ Cauliflower

□ Spinach

□ Rice

□ Orzo

MENU

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
Breakfast	French toast	Oatmeal	Scrambled Eggs	Cereal	Oatmeal	Scrambled Eggs	Pancakes
Snack	Fruit	Yogurt & Granola bar	Crackers w/hummus	Fruit	Crackers w/cheese	Fruit	Yogurt & granola Bar
Lunch	Hot Dogs or Almond butter & jelly Sandwich	Quesadilla Baby carrots	Grilled Cheese Sandwich	Macaroni & Cheese broccoli	Fish Sticks or Chicken Nuggets ABC potatoes	Cheese Pizza	Cheese Burgers fries
Snack	Crackers w/cheese	Fruit	Fruit	Yogurt & Granola bar	Apple sauce	Graham Crackers	Fruit
Dinner	Chicken and rice	Roasted chicken w/ vegetables	Meatloaf w/roasted potatoes & veggies	Tofu & veggie stir-fry w/brown rice	Pasta w/cheese	Take out Night	Tacos

Daily Meals

	Cassia	Kai	Nic
Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Dinner

The above chart is for the kids to use to check a box once that meal/snack is over. It prevents over snacking and lets them know what meal is coming up next. I've learned that children like structure, a little notice of what's to come, and a chance to make a choice. Getting them involved makes them feel important and there's less struggle when parent and child can communicate with each other. I hope you all have a wonderful new year!