Menu "Plan" Monday

Well, I still can't hardly eat anything due to my Wisdom Teeth Extraction. So, when it's time for dinner, I am feeling overly uninspired because I'm likely not going to be able to eat what I have cooked anyway. That has caused me to "scrap" dinner the past few night and just have us eat eggs or soups. I even picked up a pizza for the kids one night.

So, since my meals will consist of mainly pasta, soup, yogurt, and mashed potatoes for a while longer, I asked Rick and the kids what their faves are (although I already know, really), and I planned about twelve meals for the next couple of weeks. Instead of pre-assigning them a day, I just have a list and I'll choose what we are having sometime that morning. Here's the list:

Tacos
Burritos
Spaghetti
Meatball subs
Chicken sandwiches and fries
Chicken and bows pasta
Bacon, egg and cheese biscuits
Salmon and fish sticks
Homemade chicken and noodles
Reversed chicken pot pie
Chicken quesadillas

I'll throw in some veggies and fruits and grains with these, trying to make them as healthy as I can.

To help with that, this weekend I purchased these plates from Walmart for Eli and Brynne.

These plates are in the baby and toddler section, but I think they are a fabulous idea for building a plate of food for your kids that includes all the recommended food groups. Plus, it will have the kids being aware of what they might be missing in their meal, and will give them the ability to choose food items to fill the missing sections. Brilliant, really.

We used them for the first time last night. They LOVED them, especially Brynne! We were having chicken sandwiches and french fries, but they just wanted the chicken without a bun. The chicken was their protein. The french fries were their grain. (Work with me here. This wasn't the healthiest meal in the world, but it did give them their necessary visual.) They each chose milk to drink for their dairy. Brynne chose sliced peaches for her fruit and Eli chose applesauce. Then we noticed that the vegetable section was empty. We cheated a bit with Brynne and she chose ketchup for her veggie (it IS a veggie), and Eli chose raw broccoli crowns. And their plates were complete.