Wednesday, July 11, 2012

setting them up for success [at mealtime]


About once a week I have a conference call for one of my classes... and inevitably it falls right at my children's dinnertime. I could hire a sitter, but that seems like kind of a waste (because who are we kidding... I know they would rather play than eat with a sitter.) Plus, they have each other. And while I'm a huge proponent of family meals, I also think it's good for them to fend for themselves once in a while. So, I set them up for success by putting out two rainbow plates, telling them the time I'll be tied up, and explaining that they are each in charge of each other. So far, so good. 


This particular night: Amy's cheese pizza + cucumber cups with sun-dried tomato/walnut/pepita pesto + watermelon + snap peas from farm camp's farm stand + Cheerios + peppers and carrots (and as you can see: success!)


Another night: watermelon + blueberries + edamame + grapes + cucumber "swords" + Back to Nature Crazy Bugs Mac & Cheese (which was wildly exciting)


And just to be honest... not every night is "perfect" and homemade. In fact, Monday night we came home from our afternoon swimming and tennis lessons + running a major load of donations to Person-to-Person in just enough time to decompress and get plates together before I had to hop on my conference call. So.... leftover grilled cheese + leftover cheeseburger (from random meals we ate out when I was too wiped to cook... and they picked at their food) + watermelon + cucumbers + yellow peppers

2 comments:

  1. Such cute ones! And so colourful too.

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  2. Such great ideas! When you see what kids eat at the high school level (I'm a teacher), it can blow you away. Although, you can tell which kids come from families where healthy eating is a priority/commonplace, which is encouraging!

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