Meal Makeover Moms Test Kitchen

This weekend the kids and I tested a recipe for a new cookbook from Meal Makover Moms.  I like their website -- it's attractive and easy to navigate, for one.  The two moms are registered dietitians so they're aiming for more healthful recipes -- but they seem to be pretty realistic, too.  Liz and Janice provide tools to help busy moms, including a shopping list and the 7-Day Meal Planner.

I love that their recipes are "mom tested, kid approved" -- and this weekend, the kids and I had the opportunity to test a recipe for their next cookbook!

Fruity Chicken Kebabs - A Lunchbox Recipe

Ingredients
8 ounces roasted deli chicken or turkey, sliced 3/4-inch thick
Eight 8-inch wooden skewers
16 green grapes
12 strawberries, cut in half lengthwise

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into 3/4-inch cubes. To make the kebabs, thread 3 pieces of cubed chicken, 2 grapes, and 3 strawberry halves on to each skewer in any order that you and your children choose. Be sure to leave enough space at the bottom so the kids can hold the skewers comfortably.
2. To wrap, lay 2 skewers on a sheet of aluminum foil and fold the foil loosely over the kebabs.

Tip: Pack with an all-natural fruit smoothie and a mini whole wheat bagel with light cream cheese to round out the lunch.

I purchased deli turkey, although I would prefer to cube chicken and saute in a light, sweet sauce to use instead -- deli meat is loaded with sodium and preservatives.  When I make this again, I might also use cubed cheese in the mix.  I've purchased some thin cocktail straws that will be more lunchbox friendly and will call my creations Lunch on a Lightsaber.  Eat it, you will.

Both kids loved making these -- I would have to agree, threading food onto sharp sticks is pretty fun!  Birdy ate more grapes than she skewered.  Here are some photos of our test:

Birdy ate the turkey and grapes, but chose not to eat strawberries for some reason.  Toad, of course, was hesitant about the whole process.  Eventually he ate a few pieces of meat and both grapes and strawberries and proclaimed that he liked it!  His favorite part was the whole-wheat mini-bagel on the side.  He agreed to taking two kebabs to school for lunch on Monday, and promised he would eat them.  Success?  I saved my celebration, knowing that Monday would be the true test.

Monday morning Toad protested.  He did not want to take the kebabs for lunch, but I stood my ground, snipped off the sharp tips of the skewers, and packed them in his lunchbox.  I told him that he needed to bring home what he didn't eat.

I was not surprised to learn that he had only eaten two pieces of turkey and one grape.  And the entire bagel, of course.

I wonder if the dude from Green Eggs and Ham lied to Sam-I-Am to get him off his back and, in the future, refused to eat them with a mouse, in a house, here or there, everywhere, et cetera.

Shamrock Shenanigans

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

One of my biggest struggles as a parent is a common one -- making sure my children are eating well.  My firstborn, Toad, is very picky, and while Birdy eats the veggies on her plate first, she can also get in a rut.  Last night, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I would add a tiny bit of Irish flare to Taco Tuesday -- green peppers shaped liked shamrocks.

A little history here: for the first three years of his life, Toad had a mild allergy to milk protein (casein), which is in just about everything in one form or another.  He ate a lot of vegan items and we developed the unfortunate habit of the parents and child eating different meals.  He has outgrown this allergy for the most part, although he still drinks soy milk (only chocolate). 

We did things a bit differently with Birdy.  For one, I was able to breastfeed her for a longer period of time, and I put off feeding her solid foods.  I made 75% of her baby food.  She was in a child care setting with home-cooked meals and got used to trying new things every week.  She's definitely the better eater, although now that she is (almost) three she is giving us a lot of attitude about anything new.

They have their "kid-food" favorites -- convenience foods that busy parents often fall back on: chicken nuggets, "tiny" pizzas (Red Baron singles), pbj's, hot dogs (every now and then) and of course, McDonald's Happy Meals. 

And they like tacos, although I should clarify with a definition.  Tacos, to Toad and Birdy, are shells (or chips), ground turkey taco meat, and ketchup.  No cheese.  No beans.  No salsa, veggies, sour cream, guacamole.  Just ketchup, and for Birdy, a side of black olives.

I used a little cookie cutter to cut Shamrocks from the green pepper and placed one on each plate.  Drama ensued.

Toad: "Do I have to eat the whole thing?"
Birdy: "I don't like it!" (without even trying it.)
Toad: "Can I take just a nibble?"
Hammer Guy: "How did this end up on my plate?" (my husband, who was sitting next to Birdy.)
Toad: "The meat always falls out of the shell!" (with much whining.)

Finally, I bargained.  I know you're not supposed to bargain at the dinner table.  I've read all the books.  I know that I am partly to blame for our dinnertime battles.

Sometimes, though, it works.  I told them that if they didn't eat their green pepper shamrocks, they couldn't have a treat.

Toad put his shamrock on a tortilla chip and took two minuscule bites, sobbing and nearly gagging on the thing.  Birdy insisted that she would not eat it until she saw Toad with his half of the ice cream sandwich.  She then crawled on my lap and said, "Feed me."  She took a bite, said, "Oh, I like it!" and proceeded to devour it.

Toad later told me that he tasted that green pepper all night long.  "I tasted it at 6 o'clock.  I tasted it at 7 o'clock.  I tasted it at 8 o'clock."

I'm hoping for a little less drama tonight.

Stay Tuned for Further Exciting Adventures of.... Butt Boy?!?

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am fortunate to be able to work remotely, which means I wear old jeans, flip-flops (even in winter), and sweatshirts (today's choice: Hall & Oates).  I am also able to pick Toad up after school.

Last Thursday, I waited for him in the vestibule as usual.  His teacher, Mrs. Bee, waved to me as he pushed the door open and asked if I could wait for a few minutes while she walked the other kids down to the bus.  Toad's face paled and fell, and I knew something was up. I asked him if he had gotten into trouble and he nodded.   And then started to cry.

He was crying and speaking so quietly and with gasping breaths and trying to tell me what had happened, it took several attempts for me to understand:  he was playing Scrabble, Jr. with a classmate and another classmate (one of his BFFs, incidentally) had reported him for spelling buttboy.

I couldn't help myself.  I started to laugh, but quickly recovered in order to comfort and mildly scold him at the same time. 

The opportunity had presented itself.  The letters were all there, waiting for him to put them together in such a way.  And he ran with it. 

I asked him my standard question:  "Do you feel bad for what you did or do you feel bad because you got in trouble?"

He's six.  His usual answer is that he's sorry that he got in trouble, but this time, something had changed.  He told me that he was sorry for what he'd done. 

It was one of those moments where, as a parent, you're exasperated and proud all at once, brought about by a silly word in Scrabble, Jr.

The B word.  Buttboy.  Could have been a lot worse.