This is not a restaurant.

You’re not at a buffet.

I group up hearing those retorts when I’d ask for something to eat that wasn’t what is/was for a meal or served at that meal time. And I’m the same way with Alyssa and Ryan. I make meals that I know they’ll enjoy, and the times I do experiment I make sure to have a back-up on hand just in case. Or, I’ll make an experimenty type of meal that can be broken apart/served individually in a manner that would make it appealing to the kids. So when Alyssa and Ryan give me hell and don’t want to eat, I tell them they can go without. And no, they don’t get soup or cereal or a sandwich as a substitute.

How do you handle picky eaters at mealtime in your house?

• hot dogs
• macaroni & cheese
• meatballs

The meatballs, mind you, can be with or without spaghetti. Furthermore, the kids — Ryan especially — expect me to serve up meatballs with any kind of pasta dish. I hope you like meatballs, because if you eat at my house, you’re getting them with spaghetti, ziti, ravioli, tortellini, and yes, even with lasagna! It’s kind of like how you always have to take your organic prenatal vitamin when you’re pregnant, only in this case it’s about a certain food, and not important nutritional supplements.

Anyway, both kids were in heaven tonight, because our friend Jason came over and made a delicious spaghetti & meatballs meal. The meatballs were the size of tennis balls, and they were just oozing with delicious Italian flavors and general meaty goodness. We’re talking ground beef and ground pork, people. How awesome is that?!

What’s funny is that while Ryan was perfectly accepting of a larger-than-average meatball, so help you if you dared to serve him a meatball in a different shape. I’ll never forget the morning I made pancake puffs — same pancake recipe, just little muffin-shaped pancakes instead of the standard pancake. He wouldn’t touch ‘em, not even after I put butter and syrup on them and assured him six ways from Sunday that they were Mommy’s normal pancakes, just in a different shape.
Same thing goes for the meatballs. Larger than average meatballs? Sure. Smaller than average meatballs? Probably. But heart-shaped meatballs, or meatballs made into a loaf? Forget it!

Tonight’s meal consisted of jalapeno & cheese hot dogs (my mother’s request), leftover meat loaf (Ryan’s request), seasoned baked potatoes (Alyssa’s request), and steamed green beans (my requirement for any dinner — veggies!). I know, it’s a funny combination, but hey, it’s a semi well-balanced meals, so it’s all good, right? And with the tiny portions I eat, and Alyssa’s love for vegetables, it’s not as if any of us will need quick weight loss diets.

So, the frustrating part of tonight: Ryan’s insistence on having a hot dog, and Alyssa’s insistence on having a hot dog that she knew was spicy, and then both of them refusing to eat it. Although I have to give Ryan credit, he did eat two bites. But Alyssa? She took a hot dog, broke it in half, sniffed it, licked the end of one, and then discarded it on the edge of her plate.

Worst of all, however, is the days when kids won’t eat stuff that they’ve eaten 25 times before. Argh!

Now Ryan is a whole different story. I can get him to eat corn… sometimes. Occasionally he’ll take a nibble of a raw carrot, or a tiny hamster-sized bite out of a strawberry or grape. He will happily eat fruit containing waffles, granola bars, fruit snacks and yogurt. He also drinks loads of those V8 juices that have full servings of vegetables in them. He loves all varieties, so he gets a nice variety of fruits and vegetables that way. Otherwise, forget it. I serve him vegetables at lunch and dinner and encourage him to eat them, but he won’t touch them. Ugh. The only way I can get fruits and vegetables into Ryan is by sneaking them in.

And sneaking them in is exactly what I do. When I make spaghetti, tortellini or ravioli, I add chopped spinach to the tomato sauce, and I always get the chunky, vegetable-laden sauces.
I make soups and stews with vegetable broth, and I chop up small pieces of carrots, green beans and celery so that they melt down and mix right in with the soup.
I also serve beef vegetable soup, since Ryan will eat the vegetable and pasta along with the meats.

But I need some new ideas for hiding vegetables. Ryan’s therapist had mentioned a zucchini and chocolate cake… but I don’t know. Mixing vegetables with chocolate? I just can’t see that being compatible!

As you can see, vacuum sealing them was not difficult. I’m also happy to report that they were quite enjoyable after being thawed out. I used the defrost setting at half power on my microwave for 2.5 minutes, and then nuked the pancakes at full power for an additional minute. The result? Incredibly delicious pancakes that weren’t hard to enjoy!

Fruit: I always have at least two flavors of sugar-free applesauce in the fridge. Alyssa and Ryan prefer the original flavor, as well as country berry. But kiwi strawberry is quite delicious too! I also buy apples, bananas, strawberries, peaches and grapes, especially during the summer when there is a huge abundance of them. Alyssa buzzes through bananas likes there’s no tomorrow, while often skipping over the peaches (so I only buy one or two of them a a time). Ryan is more difficult with eating fruit, so he sticks to applesauce and sometimes a bite or two of a banana.
I also buy fruit snacks, though I try to buy ones that make use of real fruit and fruit juices, as opposed to fruit and fruit juice flavoring.

Vegetables: Alyssa loves carrots, so I routinely stock up on bags of baby carrots. I have dips, too, though she usually doesn’t bother with them. She’ll also eat cold broccoli!

Cookies: I do buy cookies, but only a box or bag of them every few weeks. More often than not I’ll simply make my own, and when I do I use a low fat recipe.

Crackers: Goldfish seem to be the cracker of choice, though both kids enjoy Saltines, Ritz and those uber delicious Wheat Thins and Triscuits.

Misc: Yogurt! Both kids go bananas over yogurt. I also buy granola bars, which Dan and Ryan enjoy.

I know I’m overweight, and I’m working on that. But I’m also working on making decent food choices for my family, so Alyssa and Ryan don’t ever find themselves in a situation where they might need to look up a diet pill comparison.

What do you feed your family? Do you find it hard to purchase healthier snacks and such because they’re hard to find, because they’re more expensive, because your kids won’t eat them, or is it because of some combination of the above?

And speaking of food, have I mentioned how much I hate making dinner when Dan isn’t here to eat with us (he works a lot of second shift)? It’s a pain to make a small meal for the three of us! Do you have any good casserole or crockpot recipes to feed an adult and two small children? If so, please share!

Spaghetti is cheap, spaghetti is delicious, spaghetti is a food that everyone likes. Especially toddlers. Super especially Ryan. He likes it so much that he adorns himself in it whenever he eats it.

I’d say it’s a toddler thing, but I’m pretty convinced it’s a RYAN thing, and here’s why:

Alyssa and Ryan both had the same meal, same amount of spaghetti sauce on their spaghetti. I gave them both bibs (Ryan always rips his off), toddler-sized forks and spoons, and put them in the booster seats close to the kitchen table.

As cute as this face is…

… the fact that a bath is required to clean the face and the body that goes with it after every spaghetti meal is enough to keep me from making spaghetti more than once a month!

Get yourself several potatoes. Peel them, and slice them into chunks. Place into a large bowl.
Get together however many chicken breasts you think you’ll need to feed your family (for us, a family of four with a husband and son with very hearty appetites, four chicken breasts, or roughly 2.5 lbs. worth of meat, is plenty to feed everyone AND provide leftovers for the next day), and place them in a bowl or other container with sides higher than that of the chicken breasts.

Now, whip up a marinade. I recommend a half/half blend of white and/or apple cider vinegar and Italian or Hearty Italian salad dressing. Use enough so that your chicken and potatoes will be completely immersed. Throw in one or two marinade packets – I recommend grill seasonings or chicken or beef herb, but go with whatever you enjoy.

Now! Go after some spices and seasonings with gusto. We use garlic salt, Montreal Chicken seasoning, and salt and pepper.

Finally, make sure that when your marinade concoction is complete, your chicken and potatoes are completely submerged into the mix.

Place both chicken and potatoes in fridge for at least six hours. But the longer, the better. In the past we have left our meat and potatoes soaking for up to 48 hours (obviously you’ll need to buy fresh chicken breast so there’s no risk of expired meat!).

When you’re ready to make your meal, gather up several chunks of potatoes and place them on a piece of aluminum foil that is large enough for the sides to come up and wrap around and cover the potato chunks. Add melted butter to the potatoes for an extra delicious touch.

When it’s time to cook, cook in a broiler or on a grill.