Children’s Meal | My Kids Really Eat This

Sometimes dinners are a struggle. Keeping the kids in their seats until they’re finished; getting them to eat all their food, or at least a satisfactory amount; getting them to try the food they refuse, but you know is good for them and that they might actually like; making sure they use their manners; etc. Well it seems like when a grandparent visits it’s extra stressful because they’re much stricter about the kids staying seated during the whole dinner and eating all that they’ve been given.

Most nights I am alone with my kids while my husband’s at work. Yes, I cook the dinner but also eat with them, clean up, bath them, make sure teeth are brushed, get them into pajamas, have homework completed and read them stories in bed. So, sometimes, my table rules might be relaxed and now that can carry over into when others are here as well.

The other night we were going out and had their grandparent babysitting. We prepared the left over chicken that I’d marinated for the satay. It was sautéed with Napa cabbage, orange bell peppers, scallions, garlic scapes, cilantro and served over rice. The marinade made a nice sauce (just have to make sure it’s brought to temperature since it had raw chicken in it). I also sautéed a side dish of Crimini mushrooms for my youngest. The older two just had sushi before dinner, so I served small portions.

Well, my eldest, who’s normally the best eater of all three of them, flat out refused to eat the dinner; no amount of pleading would change his mind. We believed he’d like it, but he dug in his heels. It became such an ordeal, I couldn’t leave to go. I didn’t want the grandparent to have to deal with any unruly children. I offered him some of my three-year old’s mushrooms; no. Then my husband gave him a dish of beets and my son was so excited he dug into them with gusto and then actually started eating a little of the dinner I prepared. That just sent the grandparent into a tizzy. “You shouldn’t give them treats!” (the mushrooms and beets) For us it wasn’t a treat, but an appetite stimulant and something to calm the situation (to relieve the stress, get him to comply, and allow us to leave). They were getting dinner and — and it was healthful and homemade, but to the grandparent we were giving in to obstinate behavior.

Sometimes you have to choose your battles… sometimes you have to compromise on what/how much they eat. I didn’t think of it as acquiescing. My son still had to eat all the cabbage, most of the rice, two pieces of chicken, few pieces of peppers and all the beets. I wasn’t making different meals or letting him go to the fridge and eat snack food instead. He wouldn’t have been allowed to eat dessert or any other food once he was up from the table. Yes, my children need to modify their behavior and make sure their grandparents will enjoy eating with them.

But, sometimes, we need to relax some rules for peace’s sake. My eldest has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and forcing him to eat the dinner that he’s got into his head that he won’t like is just not going to have positive consequences— for anyone. Parents don’t need to dig in their heels as well. No matter the personality of your children, I think having some flexibility will get beneficial long-term results. Yes, stick to your goals but understand that sometimes you’re not going to win the battle and realize it doesn’t have to be an all-out war.

Tonight I came down to the kitchen, having fallen asleep reading to my sons hours before, to the dishes and pans piled up from tonight’s dinner. Ugh. Last thing I felt like doing was dishes. The dishwasher was full of clean things I put on this afternoon and the pots and pans still needed to be washed. The funny thing about my love of cooking is that I am anything but a domestic goddess; I hate cleaning the house and doing laundry. I am constantly battling piles of papers that I need to weed through. But that never stops me from cooking, especially for others. I remember at university I’d rather cook a spectacular Indian/Japanese meal for my 7 flat mates (it was really 5 but we had one live-in girlfriend and an exchange student staying with us for several months), than go to my lectures. Messed up priorities.

I mean, I love in the summer that we often grill, just so that clean up is easier. Or in the winter a crock pot meal is perfect for the ease of cleaning and also that the prep time is not during the kids’ witching hour. Marinating a food for grilling later can also cut your stress when you’ve planned that day’s dinner beforehand. Even if we are pressed for time, I usually make sure my kids have healthy meals. I will take short cuts but won’t skimp on vegetables.

Today, I was reading a Parent & Child magazine my son brought home from school and saw a recipe for chicken satay. I love satay, and though I haven’t made it before, thought my kids would love it too. I had time this morning so I made the recipe. But I thought about the satay that was made in a restaurant I worked at during senior year of high school and thought they made it without the peanut butter in the marinade, so I adapted it in another marinade as well.

Annabel Karmel’s Satay Marinade:

1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce (I use tamari)
1 Tbsp honey (try to buy local)
1Tspn peanut butter (I use Trader Joe’s Organic salted- just peanuts and salt)

My version had above without the peanut butter and I added a Tbsp of OJ. I pretty sure the restaurant I worked at used pineapple juice but I didn’t have any.

Annabel Karmel’s Peanut sauce

1/3 cup chunky peanut butter (I only had smooth, but it was ok)
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp lime juice

I cut the chicken breasts into strips and marinated them in two different containers in the

fridge for 8-9 hours.

So, this evening, after I started the grill, I made my vegetables and grains. I used the Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains. It’s a mixture of Israeli Couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans and red quinoa. It takes 10 minutes to cook, very easy. My eldest loves it so much, we always make enough for leftovers so he can take it to school for a snack.

We had baby spinach from our CSA and broccoli. Those are probably our go-to vegetables. All three of my kids love them and I can store it more than a couple of days if need be. If you’ve read my other posts, I did my usual preparation— steam, shock, reheat with little butter, sea salt and pepper. Tonight I added a little garlic powder to the spinach.

My kids loved the satay but didn’t care too much for the peanut sauce because they supposedly don’t like coconut at the moment. News to me. But they cleaned their plates of all their vegetables and most of the grains.

Now, I have dishes to do. I washed up the pots and pans, rinsed the food off the plates and cutlery, and will unload/reload in the morning. Now it’s time for bed. Priorities.

My Kids Really Eat This

getting kids to eat well in the real world

Tag Archives: children’s meal

Compromise Without Acquiescence

Priorities