But what do I get out of it?

I have friends whose babies went right from the boob or bottle to eating mashed up salmon, broccoli and roasted potatoes on their high chair tray. I have friends who make their kids eat steamed brussel sprouts and stay at the table until they are consumed. I have friends who give their kids a tiny scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt for dessert if they eat all their vegetables or if they try something new. You will hear more of these stories in depth as you read this blog, but for me, I learned early that my kids needed a lot of sleep (some kids don't) and that the key to their sleep was having them get enough to eat.

So, if they weren't going to try something new or eat any fruit or vegetables of any kind, I had to come up with the next best thing that they would eat before going down the junk food and Chef Boyardee route just to fill them up. Applesauce, raisins and black olives: that's all the "fruit and vegetables" they would eat. Occasionally they would eat corn or corn on the cob. And of course, popcorn. I tried sneaking vegetable puree into their food. No. I tried breading and frying everything. No. I added extra carrots to my bolognese sauce. Too orange mommy, too yucky. We're talking sauce with pork, veal AND beef, tons of garlic and basil and a little extra carrot. No.

So what do I get out of all this work? How can I have any outlet for my culinary leanings? I sneak vegetables to myself.

I eat an egg white omelet with last night's veg for breakfast and a big salad with a protein for lunch every day but that's not a creative end. Every night for dinner, I cook myself a "gourmet-style" vegetable to have for myself on the side of the plain food I have to make for my family. I feel like I'm cooking, it's good for me, and it may eventually be a good example for my kids. Roast asparagus on Monday, broccoli on Tuesday, spinach, peas or salad on Wed, and broccoli rabe on Thursdays. I generally make a big fruit salad to munch on Fri-Sun. For the vegetables I do mix it up based on the season or if I am craving something different.

I also make a lot of chips in the winter. Kale, Sweet Potato, and Turnip are good. So this is what I get out of the simple meal plan, I just make something on the side for myself.

Tomorrow will feature the 1950s same day of the week dinner plan.

Happy Sunday!