My friend Erica of Real Food Fixes wrote an all too relate-able letter to us momma's on my blog the other day. You can find it here.
She talks about the woes of keeping our kids fed with good wholesome foods. It's much much easier said that done, right? Right.
I not only have trouble thinking of what to feed Kess, but have even more trouble when she isn't interested in what I feed her. Kids are tricky, they are ever-growing & ever-changing their minds.
Lately, Kess is loving "appies" (apples) so I try to incorporate them into most of her snacks & meals. I usually ride this wave until it dies - no lie. Run with it while you can! ;) Kess won't eat a whole PB&J - only if it's cute into cute shapes or small bites. So that's what I do. I think sometimes we get wrapped up in trying to not cater to our kids in fear of creating a monster, but sometimes a mom has to do what a mom has to do!! If your kid loves stars, then cut their food into stars. It sounds super Pinterest-y, I know... but it works. Kess gets so excited when her cheese is cute into shapes & she tells me all about it!
I read a toddler behavior book recently & it talked about "win-win" situations. Sometimes as parents we have to act like we are losing in order to get a win. Let me explain. Kess is obsessed with Popsicles. I used to make healthier, homemade versions & lately I've been a lazy mom. Truth be told - I have a cheap pack of sugar-filled Popsicles in my freezer. She constantly asks for a "Pupo" or "Wuwo" one. I'd rather not have her eating a Popsicle at 9:00am, so I offer her a yogurt Popsicle instead. She knows it's different, but as far as she is concerned she still gets a Popsicle. I have a package of frozen Chobani Greek "go-gurt" in my freezer. They're easy to break in half & hand over. She loves them & I love that she's getting a healthy dose of good dairy. See- "win-win."
It's ok to seemingly compromise on our kids' foods. Run with the things they love. And give in from time to time. It's ok. They're kids. Make sure you find a good balance of food for you kids. Erica's template helps with that. It's hard to think of meals for our kids - this solves that problem. She provides plenty of healthy options & they're in handy categories to boot! Like, it can't get easier! Giving you kids options is great way to find out their likes & dislikes as well.
You can download the free template here!
Let me know how much you love it. Mine is hanging on my fridge as I type & I already used it for lunch today. Shhh don't tell, but I might even use it for a few snacks & quick meals of my own! ;)
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