Though I loathe to admit it, I’m finally ready to confess that I must be the laziest mom out there when it comes to preparing meals. I’m red-faced, but there you have it. If I had my druthers, I’d be spending my time reading or playing with my daughter. Not cooking for us! I married a foodie – shouldn’t he be the one busy in the kitchen? But there I am, about 4 or 5 nights a week, in the kitchen cooking up a meal. I don’t like touching meat, my knife skills are pretty weak, and my palette is pretty mainstream (curry – how exciting!).
Luckily, my tastes line up pretty well with my daughter’s interests at this age. We both like things quick and simple. The main difference is that most of my meals are vegan, but she is an omnivore cook’s delight. So we compromise…. I’ll usually make a meal and then add in a little meat on her plate. Meat for her includes prosciutto (her fave!), sausage, chicken – things I can cook up in batches and chop up easily. Here’s our list of surefire winners that do not usually require a recipe:
Everything is always served with fresh raw veggies on the side, usually tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and occasionally celery. Fruit for dessert. I do not buy any pre-made sauces or dips, I just usually find a night of the week and then make up double or triple batches of everything and then freeze them. For instance, we’ve got basil pesto as well as tomato sauce in the freezer. I just take out a small amount, thaw it in the microwave and then stir it in with the freshly cooked pasta.
Those of you feeling sad for Monkey right now, never fear. Her dad feeds her extremely well on the nights he cooks – very exotic and gourmet meals that include duck confit, truffle oil and all kinds of pork rubs.
The more research I do on this subject, the more I am learning that Monk is *not* a particularly picky eater. She is just between 2 and 3 years old. I love hearing the stories of picky eaters, though, both from current picky eaters and parents of picky eaters.
It can almost be a contest. ”He’ll only eat chicken nuggets and hot dogs three times a day, seven days a week!” ”She won’t touch vegetables – ever!” ”He’s eaten the same thing every day for the last 5 months!” Its exasperating for a parent. My mom is a saint because I, myself, did not eat salads until I was 18 and forced myself to eat them (completely bowed to social pressure, and I’m grateful. Same thing for sushi.) I still can’t stand a raw tomato.
At last, we’re getting some answers from science. If you haven’t already, check out this wonderful interactive site called The Science of Picky Eaters, from the producers of NOVA (on most PBS stations). And there is a great Q&A session on one of the pages. Turns out, some kids may not be smelling what you are smelling and with younger kids, it made sense for them to avoid new, potentially dangerous foods.
While vacationing recently, I sat with my mom’s neighbor, Carol. She is a wonderful woman: I admire her for her wit, non-stop brilliance and kindness. Carol has been married for 50 years and is also the mother of 8. She now has several great grandchildren. I love to hear stories about what all of the members of that family are up to: piano recitals, foreign travel, graduations. In short, Carol’s large family reminds me of what families are about.
I mentioned this blog to Carol and she told me what she had learned in her days as a mom. If a portion size for an adult is the size of your fist, than a kid’s portion is about one-quarter of that portion. And a toddler? Well, that, of course depends on the toddler. My daughter keeps up with me sometimes. Carols says that in her day it would have been about 5 peas, a couple of pieces of chicken, and a little bit of applesauce.
When I get frustrated because I think my toddler’s not eating enough solid food (as opposed to the vast quantities of cow’s milk she takes in), I remember Carol’s portion size guidelines and I feel better.
My daughter woke up all sweaty from her nap the other day. I was alarmed at first, but turns out that she is just like my husband: she is one of those kids that is always warm, always full of energy. She drank 16 oz. of water after that nap from this cool bag of water that my mom had around. (Check out this site to see the very cool container: http://www.parkcityicewatercompany.com/)
Then, I gave her dinner – mainly watermelon and tomatoes and gouda – and I thought that’s that. We’ll run over to my Aunt’s house, and come back in time for bed. My cousin’s husband had put out a fabulous spread and my little one just gobbled it all up: smoked pork ribs, smoked chicken, more watermelon, deviled eggs minus the filling – you name it. The result was one beautiful belly, which incidentally, was all gone after a couple of very wet diapers.
