The Struggle is Over?

Thanks to this post, six little words have changed our lives at home.  

I was pretty skeptical when I read it.  Putting food in front of a kid, and telling them they don't have to eat it sounds crazy.  But the struggling over getting the boys to eat was just getting to be too much to handle for both Brian and I.  Especially Sean.....the kid that would only eat chicken nuggets and pasta.  (NO SAUCE Mom, only butter and cheese.)  We were game to try.  So one Wednesday night while I was out, Brian sat them down at dinner and told them that we had new rules:  We would put food on the plate, whatever we were having for the night.  And they didn't have to eat it.  Sean literally went up to Brian and hugged him and said "thanks, Dad."  Just like that--taking the pressure off already made a difference.

We still write a menu every week.  We pair new things with familiar things, like a casserole with a side of fruit, or a slice of bread and butter with meat that they're unfamilar with.  At first they didn't eat much, but they're starting to try the new-ish foods.  Will's discovered that he actually likes buttered corn, and Sean has found cheese that he will eat besides American cheese.  Both kids eat roast chicken instead of dino nuggets.  One of Sean's new favorite things to say is "I tried it and I didn't like it, but it wasn't bad." One night Will was playing with some makeshift chopsticks and actually tried a sweet potato fry.   Neither kid asks every night what's for dinner as soon as I pick them up and then cries over the menu.  Plus we let them help decide what's on the menu one night a week.

The biggest hurdle was to step back and just let things BE.  For Brian and I to make our plates, sit back and say "You don't have to eat it" and remember that they won't starve.  Once we got there, it got a lot less stressful than constantly saying "You have to try it." or "You like steak/rice/insert your own choice here, now eat it!"  

I don't know if it's a permanent solution, but dinnertime is a lot happier in our house!

Brewin' the Tea

In the "I never knew I wanted that!" department:  the kids got me an iced tea brewstation for Mother's Day, so I can make my own unsweetened iced tea.  It gets expensive to buy it bottled from the store!  I find it surprisingly easy to use, and convenient too.  And I also received an infusing pitcher.....basically a plastic pitcher with a lid and a column with holes down the middle.  You fill it with fruit to infuse your drinks with flavor.  So far I've only made strawberry tea but it's delicious.  (It had to sit overnight in the fridge to get there, though.)

I've got big plans for the mango and raspberries in my fridge later this week.  And maybe later, lemon and blueberry.  :)

In the Name of Healthy Eating

The last few months have been about establishing healthier eating habits.  I haven't shared a lot because healthier sometimes is a bit dull.  I will say that we've been more adventurous in our eating, such as willingness to try things like tempeh. Yesterday it was roast chicken enchiladas from ATK ' S Healthy Eating cookbook, last week it was mixing spaghetti squash with pasta.

Tonight was something new that I'd never think that Brian would suggest:  portobello mushroom burgers.  Yep....a big grilled mushroom cap on a whole wheat bun.  I thought that it was so-so, but he really liked them. 

I'm willing to try anything once, and this healthier game is no exception.

Fish Week

Two opportunities for fish this week.....first, my favorite fried seafood place is open for the season!  Brian suggested that we go there for lunch on Wednesday, and it didn't disappoint.  It never does.  :)  I had the fried haddock dinner and he got a fish sandwich.  We usually go like twice a year so next time I'll have their awesome fried clams.  I don't even eat fried clams other places anymore, they're sad replacements for this real deal.

Now, to balance all that fried deliciousness, we had something healthier the night before.  Swordfish with a grapefruit and avocado salsa.  It was pretty good!  Grapefruit salsa wasn't something I ever pictured myself eating but it was quite refreshing.  I'd definitely make it again.

Weird Cooking Methods

Last week we made a shrimp and pasta recipe that was.....not good shall we say.  It was out of a healthy eating cookbook and featured lemon, red pepper, cream cheese and whole wheat pasta.  First of all, it took forever to make.  That is likely because you are supposed to put the shrimp and cream cheese into the sauce OFF the heat, stir a bit, then cover for seven minutes and let the shrimp "cook."  I took the lid off the pan and found mostly-raw shrimp and cream cheese melted into this unattractive "hunks."  Brian put the whole thing back on the stove and got it made, but the lemon juice (from two large lemons, way too much!) with the red pepper was just overpowering.  We put the leftovers in the fridge, and threw them out a week later.

I guess that not every meal can be a star.  This one certainly wasn't!

Weekend Eats

This past weekend brought to you by the letter "S."  "S" is for salad, salmon and stew.

Lunch on Saturday was a game of "What can we use up?"  A quick scan of ingredients put together a salad of spinach and arugula, sliced avocado and the leftover frozen scallops wrapped in bacon from Valentine's Day last month.  (Of course we cooked them first.  Frozen sounds barbaric.)  A spicy mayonnaise dressing tied it together nicely and it was a lot more filling than I would've surmised.  I wasn't really hungry til dinner!

And DINNER!     Another trip to the Disney cookbook from our trip last year, to salmon wrapped in phyllo dough. It also had a lovely spinach, cream cheese and sundried tomato filling with the salmon.  It was in a oft-used word, awesome.  I can't wait to have the last one for lunch today.

And finally, stew.  There's a new collection of cookbooks at the library from Good Housekeeping, each volume is "400 calories or less."  I brought home the Comfort Foods one and we made the chicken pot pie and "light" beef and broccoli a few weeks ago.  This time I brought home "Italian" and "Chicken Dishes."  Going through the Italian book on Friday night I decided to try the lentil stew with butternut squash.  Lentils aren't something we typically eat, but once I saw the protein and fiber counts I decided to give it a try.  (20 grams each, by the way.)  Fiber is a tough thing for hubby and I to get, but we're working on it.  It was a crockpot recipe, and it took about eight hours.  I didn't have the 2 lbs butternut squash that the recipe called for so I subbed in some carrots.  The result had good flavor and we'll eat it all this week at lunchtime.

So really, it was a good weekend in the kitchen, and all brought to you by the letter "S."  "S" is certainly a good letter for the kitchen.  :)

Eat Your Veggies!!

We're always looking for new, innovative ways to get more fruits and veggies.  OK.....we're always looking for ways to make them palatable and not eat as many carbs.  Brian and I are total carb lovers.
The first one was my idea:  baked zucchini parmesan.  And by "my" idea, I mean that I found it on Pinterest and decided to make it one night.  It was quite easy, and fresh too.  Served with some marinated chicken and a little penne.

I love to test-drive cookbooks before buying them, because it stinks to buy a book, like one or two recipes and despise the rest.  This is where the library really comes in handy.  I brought home a Good Housekeeping Book of comfort foods that are 400 calories or less.  These crockpot pulled pork sandwiches came out of it, as well as the recipe for "Honeyed radishes and turnips."  Normally I don't like turnip.  But this was surprisingly sweet and delicious!  I think it would also go well with kielbasa and a scoop of mashed potato.