When it comes to meals my son doesn’t usually get much of a say. Sometimes we will ask for his suggestions of what we should eat. Most of the time, however, we give him the meals that we plan ahead of time and he chooses how much of it he wants to eat. Some days he is better at eating protein, other days he is good with his veggies, and sometimes he loves the carbs.
We don’t worry about it too much because I find that over the course of a week he is eating a pretty good variety of food. We also want to encourage him to listen to what his body needs. Just as it is not for me, this is not a perfect system for him either because sometimes what the body wants and what the brain wants are two totally different things! I think most of us have that struggle.
For me it works best if I plan our dinners the night before I go grocery shopping, or the hour before depending on how things are going. I usually go grocery shopping once a week because I find that is the best system in our house. There are definitely many benefits to buying food the day of eating it. For one it is much fresher, giving the food better flavor. Probably less waste too because I would think you wouldn’t forget about the foods you purchased as often letting things go bad.
Not wanting to spend a lot of time at the grocery store, and also loving food, I find it easier to go prepared with a list. I am ones of those people that will get totally distracted with all the foods I want to try and buy if I don’t have a list. Having a list keeps the surprise purchases down for me, usually to 1 or 2 unplanned items. J Just recently I have started to keep the grocery list on my phone which has been a pretty useful tool. It makes it easy to add items during the week, and delete them after.
We don’t worry about it too much because I find that over the course of a week he is eating a pretty good variety of food. We also want to encourage him to listen to what his body needs. Just as it is not for me, this is not a perfect system for him either because sometimes what the body wants and what the brain wants are two totally different things! I think most of us have that struggle.
For me it works best if I plan our dinners the night before I go grocery shopping, or the hour before depending on how things are going. I usually go grocery shopping once a week because I find that is the best system in our house. There are definitely many benefits to buying food the day of eating it. For one it is much fresher, giving the food better flavor. Probably less waste too because I would think you wouldn’t forget about the foods you purchased as often letting things go bad.
Not wanting to spend a lot of time at the grocery store, and also loving food, I find it easier to go prepared with a list. I am ones of those people that will get totally distracted with all the foods I want to try and buy if I don’t have a list. Having a list keeps the surprise purchases down for me, usually to 1 or 2 unplanned items. J Just recently I have started to keep the grocery list on my phone which has been a pretty useful tool. It makes it easy to add items during the week, and delete them after.
I always make sure to have a few dinners planned that are super easy and not a lot of work for the nights when I don’t feel up to it. I find pre-made soups good for those nights. There are a lot of great options out there. The only down side is that many of them are high in sodium compared to making them yourself.
Although my dinners for the week are planned out, I don’t plan which day we are having them. It gives us freedom to choose which meal we most feel like that particular night. Or how much cooking we are up for doing. If thawing something from the freezer we try our best to take it out a couple days before and leave it in the fridge. There are lots of times when we forget to do this though.
Because our kids do not get as much say as they would like in what they are eating I try my best to make little concessions for them to make them happy. For example: if I am giving my son toast he likes to tell me exactly which sides of the crust he wants cut off, and if and how he wants it cut. It could be triangles, rectangles, 2 sides of the crust off, sometimes all four. He is used to being able to make that decision so watch out if you forget and cut it without asking him!
Trying to add to the kid’s happiness by allowing them some say in how their food is prepared has proven to be a good balance in our home.
What little concessions do you make to add to your loved ones happiness?
Although my dinners for the week are planned out, I don’t plan which day we are having them. It gives us freedom to choose which meal we most feel like that particular night. Or how much cooking we are up for doing. If thawing something from the freezer we try our best to take it out a couple days before and leave it in the fridge. There are lots of times when we forget to do this though.
Because our kids do not get as much say as they would like in what they are eating I try my best to make little concessions for them to make them happy. For example: if I am giving my son toast he likes to tell me exactly which sides of the crust he wants cut off, and if and how he wants it cut. It could be triangles, rectangles, 2 sides of the crust off, sometimes all four. He is used to being able to make that decision so watch out if you forget and cut it without asking him!
Trying to add to the kid’s happiness by allowing them some say in how their food is prepared has proven to be a good balance in our home.
What little concessions do you make to add to your loved ones happiness?
