Yummy Toddler Food Wednesdays

Dear J and L:

There you were, lying there, in the middle of the kitchen floor, snuggling both together and with your teddy bears.

Quiet. Still. Nothing more.

I grew concerned as the lunch hour grew closer and closer and as I fixed your meal in a much less panicked manner than usual and you were just laying there. Quiet.
None of the usual shirt tugging, leg hanging, pick-me-up whines. None of the fights over toys that inevitably occurs when you are so hungry. None of the crying fits that result in Mama dropping what I'm doing -- which only delays your meal longer -- so I can tend to your broken heart.

Cowering above you, I kept saying: "Are you OK?" 'This is not normal." "What's wrong?"

Having just spent a rocking time outside for about an hour, I knew that you had seemed healthy and fine then.

You just needed to be still -- nothing more. Just for five minutes. It started as a game, but I think you realized how nice it felt to just relax, to just let go for a bit.

Toward the end of that spell, some kicking at each other began and then some soft wrestling/hugs began.

And then you were up in a flash and normalcy kicked in. But, this time, I was ready. Your lunch was on the plate, just waiting for your little hands to dig in.

Here's our Yummy Wednesday Food -- just for toddlers.

I hope you give me some time today to make it. Just five minutes.

Nothing more.



Edited to add that this recipe was not a hit with the girls, though Lbyrd, who loves most veggies, did try a bite or two. Jbyrd used to try everything once or twice, but now that is out of the question. I usually re-try foods about a month apart, but I have to say that even I wasn't that thrilled about these. They were easy to put together, but the flour dredging was time consuming and messy. Not exactly easy work with two tots under feet.

Menu Planning Monday

Dear J and L,

As household CEO, it is my job to plan, coordinate and implement all meals. This includes yours. Well, it revolves around yours. Before you came along, my heart was empty, but man I had a nice full belly all the time. That's because I cooked a lot of great food and The da-da and I went out to dinner (and to lunch and to breakfast) a lot.

Those days have been long gone. Sure, we still try to get out, but our choices of where to go so that you will be happy and gorgeous the entire time is limited.

Not to worry: I have a plan. I always have a plan. Instead of winging our meals each week, I'm going to have to plan each meal because now I'm telling the World Wide Web (all four of you who read) what our plans will be each week by participating in Organized Junkie's Meal Planning Monday. This is my first official week participating, even though I didn't mention that on the actual site.

For those of you who don't know about this, it's a blogging network that will consist of blog posts just on what people plan to eat this week. I have scanned this list in the past and like the idea of keeping it simple, and trying to always include links to the special recipes. If I can't put the recipe link on the plan, well, I am not sure what I will do. Luckily, most of my recipes can be found online.

Each week, I always make a toddler-friendly protein item and this week is very special. But, more on that on Yummy Toddler Food Wednesday.

So, here goes:

Sunday: Spaghetti and (must admit it -- frozen) meatballs (meatballs cooked in slow cooker) with green beans for you, broccoli for your parents and some banana bread.

Monday: Honey-Orange Turkey Cutlets with broccoli and/or carrots with honey and baked potatoes

Tuesday: Gnudi (more on this Wednesday)

Wednesday: Pot Roast and potatoes in slow cooker

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Homemade pizza

Saturday: Hopefully, we'll get take out or get out of the house

How about the rest of you? Any great recipes on the stovetop this week?

Yummy Toddler Food Wednesdays

LB and BG,

Other blogs tend to stick with certain topics on certain days so I thought I would try that for us. On Wednesdays, we'll share our too-good-to-spit-out recipes just for toddlers. Picky ones, at that.

This week, you have been enjoying -- and thank you for doing so -- Chicken and Apple bites. Basically, they are meatballs. Because we are so busy with doctors appointments trying to get Lady Bug better, there is no time for proper measurements.

The basic recipe is like this: Take a package of ground chicken, one apple peeled, cored and shredded, some fresh parsley, some chicken stock and combine. Roll into bite-sized balls and pan fry 5 to 6 minutes until cooked through. To avoid getting them too crispy, I finished them up in the microwave for a half minute or so.

The great thing about meatballs or meatloaves is that we can sneak just about anything into your diet in one tricky, and very tasty bite.

Perhaps in the future we will share photos, but for this week, it's enough to get this recipe posted.

Anyone else have a great picky toddler recipe to share with us?