Christina said… Do you have any secrets for instilling healthy eating habits in young ones?

Well, I guess like everything else, “healthy eating habits” is all relative… I know people who eat practically nothing but microwaved frozen food and drive-through take out! I know people who consider Lean Cuisine frozen dinners to be “health food.” I know people who have never eaten hummus (gads!!!!)! And I notice what other people have in their carts every time I’m at the grocery store (I am a sociologist; I can’t help but to be looking at stuff like that). But we also are part of a pretty hard-core Waldorf community– so… we also know people who are on macrobiotic diets; people raising children in strict vegan households; all-100%-organic families; and parents who will do just about anything to avoid letting their kids eat processed sugars/white flour/eggs that aren’t from free-range chickens. While we definitely don’t consider Happy Meals a perfectly decent well balanced dinner option for our kids, we definitely have no problem giving them store-bought cookies (and I’ve never made them a birthday cake from scratch, ever; store-bought b-day cakes all the way!)… Most of all, we definitely do not consider ourselves experts in this kid-food-healthy-eating area. At the same time, we are pretty comfortable with how our kids’ eating habits are developing. So, we discussed it together tonight, and for what it is worth, (whatever it is worth!!!), here is a brand new Top Ten List we just came up with for our readership’s reading pleasure!!!!

Top Ten: Things We Think We’re Doing That Might Possibly Be Contributing To Instilling Healthy Eating Habits In Our Young Ones~~~

1. We try to eat meals together, sitting down at the table, whenever humanly possible. We manage to pull this off miraculously often (given our work-home-imbalance-situation!) and eat together almost all of the time (with the exception of weekday lunches, of course, which we almost never have together since the boys are at school and we are at work). And when we do sit down to eat together, we eat the same things we’re serving our children at mealtime whenever possible, which is almost always.
2. We light candles and say grace (holding hands) at the start of every meal. This signals something special and reverent is going on. We act sincerely grateful for the food that we have…. every single meal. During meals we try to have real conversations. During dinner we do ‘Hi/Lo’ every night (i.e., we go around the table and we each say the ‘high’ and the ‘low’ of our day). We try to all sit at the table until everyone is done eating, and then the boys snuff out the candles… signaling the end of the meal.
3. We very rarely have dessert. We act as if this is normal. When we do have dessert we do not make a huge deal of it. We don’t treat sweets as a super-special-big-huge-deal-treat. What we do treat as a special-deal-treat is going out to eat. Even though we eat out at least once per week (usually Saturday or Sunday lunch), we always act like it is special to eat in a restaurant and that we’re very lucky to be able to do that whenever we do.
4. We force ourselves to eat a healthy breakfast with our kids every morning (I say ‘force ourselves’ because neither of us — H especially — are breakfast people and we’d much prefer to skip it altogether most mornings).
5. We’ve never ‘dumbed down’ our food for our kids. We assume they’ll have sophisticated palates and enjoy the kinds of things that we do. We assume that they’ll like spicy salsa (not mild); al dente pasta (not mushy); blackened fish (not plain fish); and all sorts of foods/textures/flavors. You get the idea.
6. We try to model healthy eating in front of our children. If we’re going to do something really naughty (such as have martinis, peanuts, and chocolate for dinner like we did the other night), we be sure that the kiddos are sleeping soundly upstairs in bed before we indulge in such guilty pleasures.
7. We always have fresh fruit sitting out on the counter. And we regularly put in front of them heaping platters of cut up fresh fruits and/or raw veggies and simply assume they’ll eat it. We don’t talk about it. We don’t go on and on about it. We just act like it is perfectly normal to eat like that.
8. We’ve always given our kids plain water to drink in between meals and often as the drink on the table for lunch and/or dinner. They like water and drink lots of it. Most of the time they don’t even think to ask for something else. And we (B & H) rarely have anything other than water in our glasses at mealtime.
9. We always assume that they like just about everything (even if the last time they tried it they didn’t like it). We keep putting foods in front of them over and over and over (even if they reject it often) and always act like maybe this time they’ll like it. And then… voila!… at some point, eventually, they usually do. It took putting broccoli in front of them about 2,000 times before finally… ah ha!… they liked it. And now they eat broccoli all the time.
10. We cook together whenever humanly possible.

~ ~ ~

So… What about all of you out there in the blogosphere reading this? What do you do to instill healthy eating habits in your kids? If you don’t have kids, what do you plan to do when/if you do have kids someday? or (if you never plan to have kids) what do you think people who have kids should do? Or what did the folks who raised you do to instill good eating habits (or lack thereof!)??? Leave your thoughts here in the comments section!

Jen Slavin said… I am in the process of organizing my recipes that aren’t in cookbooks. I have clippings from magazines, written out on post-its, print outs from the Internet etc…I remember your amazing binders of recipes/meals and I’m wondering if you’d mind sharing how you organized them. Thanks! xo j
For those of you who don’t know, Jen is my college roommate and one of my best friends in the whole wide world and one of those people who I hope hope hope to live near again someday. We both lived in Boston for a few years post-college, so we kinda got spoiled by living near each other IRL (not that college isn’t real life, but in real life is just different… and it was awesome to be near her). Now we’re on opposite sides of the country, although we oftentimes seem to be living parallel lives nonetheless. And we still have a blast whenever we get together. Gosh, I love love love her. Anyway…
Jen~~ my idea for the binders came from being inspired by something that my friend Stacey showed me. It was all of her grandmother’s recipes, all neat and tidy in a 3-ring-binder. I loved it and got to thinking about doing something similar to organize all of my own recipes. Like you, I had clippings from magazines, print-outs from the internet, post-its, scraps of paper, etc., etc., etc. It was a total, total mess. What I came up with is what I have and what you’ve seen. It was one of my “Waiting Projects” (adoptive parents reading will know what I mean…. LOL!!!)… it was one of the many things I did to occupy myself during the months of waiting for Kyle and Owen to come home. That was about 5 years ago now, and I really wouldn’t change anything about my ‘system’ because it is actually working really very well. Still, though, Jen, let me know what you come up with because I’m always trying to find ways to improve upon all of this. And anybody else who is reading~~ please let Jen and I know what you do to organize your recipes/menus/cookbooks (leave a comment here on this post).

So, I have two binders. One is for recipes. The other is for menu ideas. The recipe binder is organized by categories. I bought all the paper supplies at Staples. (click on any photo to enlarge)

Everything is in plastic sleeves (which is great for spills, drips, kitchen messes, etc.). I put all of the scraps of paper I had, and every recipe card, etc. into pages. Jen, note that the binder is open to your Dill Chicken recipe (on a “Colby” notepad piece of paper no less!)! We love that Dill Chicken — I still remember the first time I ate that in your apartment in Brookline, sitting on the floor of your family room, watching Party of Five (and I’ve learned that you can use half the stick of butter and still have it taste d-lish!!!!!!!)! I think that is a very kid-friendly recipe. Everytime we have it for dinner, K & O call it “chicken and grass” (instead of chicken and dill)! LOL!

The Menus binder is much thinner, but is also organized by category. In there I have also included photos of great dinners I’ve made or dinner parties I’ve thrown that I want to remember. I add those in from time to time because it is the perfect (and really only!!!) place to put those sorts of photos! I also sometimes put in magazine clippings that aren’t for recipes per se, but rather are for ideas (party ideas, serving ideas, etc.)

Within each category I have multiple sections. So, for example, in the “Soups & Salads” category I have soups, stews, crockpot dinners, salads, etc. Each has its own page. Again, everything is in plastic sleeves. Jen, note that the binder is open to the salad page (I know you love my salad dinners), and also note that the first salad on the list is your Fajita Salad recipe. I vividly remember the first time I had that salad too— again, in your apartment in Brookline– sitting at your kitchen table in your kitchen. It was so good! And I still love it so much! Anyway, so in the menus binder there are just lists of ideas. I don’t include recipes there. It is just a go-to place for ideas when I’m drawing a blank on what to make for meals that week, or when I need to come up with something to make for a pot-luck, or when we’re having company for dinner and I need to figure out what to serve. We also use it, sometimes, when we have visitors. I can give them the binder and ask them to pick something for dinner. Then we can go food shopping together, come back to the house, and make dinner together. This works really nicely and was, originally, actually the intent of this binder.
*

My big problem now is that I still have all these cookbooks in my kitchen. Somehow I need to get them organized so that I remember what is in there and so that I can easily find new recipes in there too. Any ideas????

Sarah and Tim said… I do have to ask however, the snack drawer… Do your boy’s still eat their lunch and dinner? I have 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 year old girls. I love this idea, but think they may not eat their meals if we did this… I really want to though! I guess we could alway’s try it out, and then stop, if it spoiled their meals…
Sarah, I should have mentioned this in my post… The Snack Drawer Rule (there is only one rule) is as follows: No more Snack Drawer after 4:00 p.m. I learned long ago to cut them off around 4:00. From that point on they can have only water (which they can also help themselves to anytime without asking). We eat dinner around 5:30-or-6:00ish. If they snack after 4:00 it does ruin their appetite for dinner. As far as the morning goes… basically it seems like no matter how many snacks they have in the morning their appetite for lunch is never ruined. There is only one exception to this and that is drinking too much juice — if they drink too much juice right before a meal, it ruins their appetite for that meal regardless of whether it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner. At school they eat HUGE (I mean, huge!!!) “snacks” each day. It is part of the school (Waldorf Early Education) routine — they make these snacks, together as a class, each day in their classrooms — i.e., heaping bowls of hot oatmeal with raisins and syrup and milk stirred in; heaping bowls of rice topped with tahini sauce or soy sauce; freshly made wheat bread slathered with fresh farm churned butter; vegetable noodle soup; etc, etc, etc… and their teachers tell me that my boys eat a TON and will oftentimes request seconds or thirds (and sometimes even fourths; note: i have had to reassure their teachers that they do, indeed, eat a full breakfast each day). Apparently K & O have been known to set school-snack-eating-records. Anyway, because of this, I think they’ve become accustomed to eating a lot in the morning– and their lunches almost always come home completely empty (see my School Lunch Post for reference as to how much food I’m packing for them). These boys, basically, just have huge appetites and high metabolisms, so we don’t need to worry too much about monitoring their snacks. We pretty much let them eat whatever/whenever they want to eat. Along the same lines– because of the 0% body fat thing they have going on, I really don’t need to keep them clear from high-fat or high-calorie foods. Owen, in particular, loves sweets and, although we don’t have much of that stuff around the house on a regular basis, when we do have it around I do not hold him back from eating it (see photo a couple photos down of Owen with a mongo-huge candy jawbreaker — that was his prize possession there for awhile… of course, after a couple days he quickly lost interest in it and it has been sitting on the counter in a zip loc bag ever since). When MorMor comes to visit, for example, Owen will often eat cookies 24×7 (and still eat a decent supper). 😉 I am a firm believer in not restricting too much (with the idea being that it will backlash if you do). Luckily, so far, it is working for us alright.

Ani said… is there anything they will NOT eat?
Ani, Oh yes, yes, yes, there is plenty they won’t eat!!! Kyle really doesn’t like much meat, actually. He could very easily be a vegetarian (but definitely not a vegan). Kyle also doesn’t care for sweets (cakes, cookies, chocolate, candy,etc.), although he loves ice cream. Owen likes most meat, but refuses to eat it if it has “black marks” on it (i.e., grill searing marks), and makes us cut the “black marks” off. Which we do oblige (although it drives me crazy; I am the GRILL MASTER and I grill 12 months of the year and I take great pride in my searing techniques!). And sadly (this really bothers me), neither K nor O likes eggs. They used to love eggs (for awhile there, from the age that they were about 10 months old until they were about 14 months old, in an effort to increase their iron [they had serious iron deficiencies from their time in Haiti] I was scrambling them 2 eggs each every single morning), but around age 18 months they suddenly stopped eating eggs altogether and have refused to eat them ever since (there is actually a good reason for this– in a nutshell… the daycare they went to served “scrambled eggs” once a week– I put that in quotes because they were not what I would consider edible… and K & O apparently agreed with me because after a few months both of them united in a Major Act of Resistance and they flat out refused to eat the daycare eggs. Fortunately for them, the daycare staff gave in and eventually started serving the two of them cereal instead of the “eggs” on egg days… but unfortunately K & O’s Daycare Induced Egg Fast has still yet to end (despite my valiant efforts every once in a while to tempt them with ridiculously delicious eggs of all varieties the only egg-related-food I can get them to eat is quiche [they love quiche]). Anyway, in terms of their pickiness or lack thereof… Actually, Braydon and I have a big disagreement over this. From my perspective, our boys are not adventurous enough (and too picky). From Braydon’s perspective, our boys are very adventurous (and not picky at all). I’m sure the truth lies somewhere in between. A lot of my own vantage point on this stems from my own upbringing. I think that they should eat absolutely EVERYTHING/ANYTHING that is put in front of them. This is in large part because that is how I was raised— I grew up living at a camp in the summer (my parents were Camp Directors), we ate our meals in the Dining Hall, and we ate whatever everybody else was eating, always, with absolutely no exceptions, ever. I grew up eating absolutely everything with very, very, very few exceptions and I also grew up being taught to be grateful for food. I became a very adventurous eater. I’ll try just about anything (and have eaten some pretty crazy things in my time — especially abroad — and have often been told that I have a “stomach of steel” [something I’ve taken great pride in!]). Braydon, on the other hand, had an extremely limited palate when I first met him. His food horizons have been hugely expanded in the past 15 years! (to the point where he now rivals me — and actually probably surpasses me] in his culinary adventuresomeness and openness). For us, this is a ‘spice of life’ thing and it is important to us that K & O appreciate food— all kinds of food. When we travel we try to get them to experiment with the authentic local cuisine, just like we do, and that is a big part of travel for us. Although they will try just about anything, they often won’t eat unfamiliar foods in large quantities (and they need large quantities in order to function). Owen is much more out-going with food than Kyle, but still, they are both really only big eaters with the foods they are used to. A good example is this~~~ at home we do not eat very ‘traditional’ middle-America ‘meat and potatoes’ meals very often. So, this is very unfamiliar to them. Thus, often, when we’re eating at other people’s houses (friends, family, etc.) K & O have trouble eating what is served. They are pretty much totally unaccustomed to eating that way. While they will usually try what is put in front of them, they won’t eat it with gusto (and will often refuse to clear their plates). For me, this is frustrating. For Braydon, it just is to be expected. In general, we don’t push the issue and we just try to be as polite as humanly possible to our hosts. On the other hand, bring them to Chinatown or an Indian Buffet or a beachside seafood grill or a Burrito Stand or an Italian Bistro and they’ll find plenty to chow down on! But this is all just to say— yes, there is plenty that they don’t eat… it just isn’t necessarily the typical stuff that you’d expect (stereotypically at least) from two upper-middle-class boys being raised by white folks in suburban Pennsylvania (i.e., they will not eat meatloaf; they will not eat cheeseburgers; they will not eat fish sticks). My hope is that by the time they are teenagers they’ll appreciate all sorts of food… even meatloaf and fish sticks!

Nadia said… have you ever tried pea butter..it’s supposed to be more similar to peanut butter but made with peas!

Nadia, Nope, I can’t say that I have tried pea butter! I’ll look for it! Thanks for the tip!

– – –

Jess said… Would you please pack my lunches? I can provide self-addressed stamped envelopes.

Jess, Sorry, but the answer is: no, I cannot pack your lunches… even if you do provide self-addressed stamped envelopes. I’ve got my hands MORE than full here! Although, now that I think of it, if I ever quit my job maybe I could try that instead: a lunch-packing business?!!! 😉

Malia’sMama said… Oh great, I see the drinks and now I want a MIMOSA! If I manage to get one of Mal’s tutus around my thigh, can you make me one- AND a fancy snack?
MM, Come to think of it, I’d like a mimosa right now too. So, you can count on it- if we ever meet in real life then I will definitely make you a mimosa and a fancy snack—and we can both wear our kids’ tutus around our thighs while we indulge in the fancy schmanciest of snacks and drinks!

Laurie said… Hey Heather…we have the Bento boxes also and love them! I must say you are a bit more creative than I am in what gets packed. Do you have the insulated cases for them? Instead of the plastic water bottles that came with the boxes I put a Horizon Organic milk box on the side. They fit perfectly!
Laurie, Yes, we have the insulated cases for them, and I love the whole system except for the water bottles that came with (ours broke almost immediately — K & O are very rough on stuff, but still… I thought those water bottles were particularly junky). Anyhoo– yes, I’ve too found things that fit perfectly in the little drink slots! I’ve used the Horizon milk boxes too! As well as Welch’s juice bottles and ‘Balance Water for Children’ water bottles — I bought a six-pack of each of those at the start of the school year and have been re-using the same 12 plastic bottles ever since. With very rare exceptions, however, K & O get only water with their lunches. Every once in a while they’ll get a milk or a juice– but that is a big treat. I pack them water because they eat their lunch better if they have only water to go with it. If I pack juice or milk they’ll just chug that first and then not eat much of their lunches.

– – –

Kristen said… Where did you find those great lunchboxes!?!

Kristen, They are Laptop Lunch Systems. You can find them at: www.laptoplunches.com/products.html

Lori said… Will one of the posts be about STARBUCKS CARAMEL MACCHIATO ICE CREAM?????? ha! xoxoxlori
Lori, No, since I haven’t had the opportunity to try it yet. To be honest, I’m sort of avoiding that opportunity altogether since I’m worried what will happen if I do try it. Given what happened when I tried the LORI’S STYLE UPSIDE DOWN STARBUCKS CARAMEL MACCHIATO…. well…. you know the story…. the rest is history. Like I’ve said, THANKS FOR NOTHING GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!!!!! You can serve me the ice cream the next time we’re at your house… in the meantime… I’m in a stand-off with the stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😉

Today was a day. Owen was sick again (his fever came back with a vengeance), Margie had to cancel, and it was just one of those days when the whole just-barely-holding-it-all-together life that we have going here felt like it was teetering on the edge of complete collapse. Suffice it to say, it was a tough day. But as the hours moved forward (and Owen’s appointment with the pediatrician assured us that he is going to be o.k.), the day got better and better. And by 5:00 it felt like all was o.k. again. Funny how that is. The ups and downs of it all. Anyway… The boys have no school tomorrow (Parent Teacher Conferences), so –treat! treat!– they got to watch Curious George tonight when I was making dinner. And oh what a special dinner it was!!!– to try to lift the spirits of two cranky boys just coming off of a week of Owen being sick (I don’t know about other twins, but when one of these twins is sick it absolutely wreaks havoc on both of them), and to try to tempt Owen to eat something substantial, I made them their favorite: Chicken & Pasta in a Creamy Pesto Sauce. While Braydon, Meera, and I waited in the kitchen for the Curious George fest to end in the family room, Little Miss got her very first taste of the Creamy Pesto that her brothers love so. And now, it is official; we’re batting 3 for 3; Little Miss loves it just as much as her big bro’s. Once dinner was served she proceeded to eat what Braydon referred to as “a healthy toddler sized portion” of Creamy Pesto pasta. These photos, which I think are some of my favorites ever of Meera, were taken while she had her first tastes in the kitchen. I know I’m seriously biased, but seriously, I think she is seriously cute!

NOTE: We couldn’t get Blogger to work last night, so we’re posting our last FOOD WEEK entries tonight. We’ll start answering questions tomorrow– so if you have a question related to food, be sure to leave it now or forever hold your peace! 😉

La Palapa, photo taken on New Year’s Eve 2004 (one of a few New Year’s Eve’s there)

1. Slates ~ Hallowell, Maine
2. Pinckney Street Cafe ~ Charleston, South Carolina (sadly the husband-wife chef team that owned this place divorced and dissolved the restaurant in the process… this is especially sad because this is/was our favorite restaurant of all time… such fond memories of sitting outside, on the porch, under the ceiling fans, pouring the house white wine out of a carafe, enjoying the view from this side-street-off-the-beaten-path in downtown Charleston… and they had the most unbelievable basil salad dressing [made with fresh basil from their own pots] and the most incredible fresh seafood stuffed ravioli and the most divine bourbon-glazed-bread-pudding… seriously it was PERFECTION– especially since I don’t think we ever had a bill there that was over $40 and that included the whole works from drinks to dessert)
3. Sticky Fingers ~ Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina (walking distance from our little apartment)
4. Sullivan’s Restaurant (not Sully’s– that’s where the tourists eat; Sullivan’s is where the locals eat) ~ Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina (gotta have the fried shrimp [B] and the fried oysters [H])
5. Pho Pasteur Vietnamese ~ Brighton, Massachusetts
6. Border Cafe ~ Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts (only the Harvard Square location; only with friends from grad school; only the queso dip and [lots of] the mixed margarita drinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
7. Shalimar of India ~ Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts
8. Vinny Testa’s ~ Brookline, Massachusetts (preferably the Brookline location; preferably with Beth and/or Maria)
9. JP Seafood Cafe ~ Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts (during my dissertation I became addicted to this place/the sushi… and I still crave it to this day)
10. Garduno’s of Mexico ~ Albuquerque, New Mexico
11. Eccoqui Italian Bistro ~ Bernardsville, New Jersey (we have been ‘regulars’ at a bunch of restaurants, but we were really Regulars here – they knew us by name, made us special dishes not on the menu, and always gave us after-dinner-drinks-on-the-house; we were Regulars with a capital ‘R’)
12. The Corner House Inn ~ Center Sandwich, New Hampshire (in the chronology this is not when we discovered The Corner House — my parents have been taking me/us there forever, and this is where Braydon got their ‘blessing’ to propose to me [while dining there alone with my parents for his birthday one year — I was away at a conference], but this is, in the chronology, when we had our Wedding Rehearsal Dinner there)
13. La Palapa Cocina Mexicana ~ East Village, New York, NY
14. Joe’s Shanghai ~ Chinatown, New York, NY (for the soup dumplings!)
15. L’Esperance ~ Vezelay, France (ate there; stayed there; best.night.ever. — for real; and we have never been the same since)
16. 3 West ~ Basking Ridge, NJ (preferably with Stacey & Matt; but just us will do just fine too)
17. Pasion Latino Americano ~ Philadelphia, PA
18. Ooka Sushi ~ Doylestown, PA
19. The Flying Iguana ~ Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
20. Blue ~ Bethlehem, PA (our current date night fav)

While Heather is most definitely the chef in our house, I have liked to bake from time to time. And recently it’s taken a whole new turn…I received a sourdough starter from a friend at the River Valley Waldorf school. In truth I begged for it, and here I am now with it.  

The boys, but Kyle in particular, say they like my bread better than the “Yummy Bread Store” (Texas Roadhouse for real).  Now, this is a real compliment, but I harbor suspicions that he is just trying to make me feel good, although  he does eat it all. But then again, this kid can eat.

Heather used to tell me that she liked to read cookbooks like they were fiction; I used to think that was crazy. Now I understand: I’ve been using two baking books that I love: The bread bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum and The bread bakers apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I have read them both at night and they sat on my bedside table for a while.  Good reads (if you can call them that).

In addition to the regular Sourdough (which is regularly being given away at this point), our favorites are the baguettes (and these are Heather’s top favorite) from the bread bible and the pain a l’Ancienne (this one is super easy to make and really good – although it does not seem to get as airy a crumb as I would like – any tips on that?) from the bread bakers apprentice.  The carrot bread (not a leavened bread) in the bread bible is really great too.  I find that where we live, in the winter, that I require quite a bit more liquid than the bread bible calls for (but I am also measuring and not weighing).

Who knew!?!?

 

Owen and Kyle need to have snacks everyday after school, of course. What 4-year-old doesn’t?! 19 days out of 20 they just grab something quick out of “The Snack Drawer” and run off with it to play. This, “The Snack Drawer,” is a drawer in the kitchen filled with snacks for them. It is a ‘free-for-all’ snack bin– they can take anything out of it anytime. They are very good at self-monitoring. I re-fill “The Snack Drawer” every so often when it is getting low. It is filled with things like: granola bars, individual packs of nuts, dried fruit, goldfish, trail mix, yogurt covered raisins, fruit snacks, snack-pack size packages of popcorn/pretzels/animal crackers/cheeze-and-cracker-packs/peanut-butter-crackers, etc. “The Snack Drawer” is great… but every once in a while we have “FANCY SNACK!” This is maybe 1 day out of 20 (rare!), but it is a beloved ritual nonetheless! “Fancy Snack” involves me preparing a very fancy shmancy snack (!) and the boys dressing up very fancy shmancy to eat it. While I get the snack ready and set it out on the table for them downstairs, upstairs K & O go crazy with the dress-up-clothes-bin getting ready for their grand entrance. When they come downstairs — in all their very fancy shmancy glory — they go nutso when they discover the very fancy shmancy snack that is waiting for them (and I go nutso to discover them in all their very fancy shmancy fanciness). The photos here are from two different days of “Fancy Snack” a while back. The only real consistent theme with “Fancy Snack” seems to be that it always somehow involves the tutus.

OWEN:

1. Fish
2. Sausage (his favorite is sweet Italian style chicken or turkey sausage, but he loves any and all kinds of sausage)
3. French Toast
4. Quesadillas
5. Cheese & Crackers
6. Warm Milk
7. Pomegranates
8. Strawberries
9. Queso Dip
10. Chocolate; Chocolate Milk; Chocolate Chip Cookies

KYLE:

1. Pasta, Pasta, Pasta (this little man loves it; any shape; any sauce; any time of day or night; he’s all pasta all the time)
2. “Mexican Food” (I think he is mostly referring to his beloved burrito bowls at Chipotle, although he specifically noted “burritos” and “rice” and “beans”)
3. Blueberries; Blueberry Muffins
4. Hot Dogs
5. Fig Newtons
6. Green Beans
7. Watermelon
8. Bananas
9. “French Fries with Ketchup”
10. Chicken

***

K & O’s COMBINED FAVORITES:

1. “Pesto and Creamy Pesto” (They consider these two separate distinct items; “Pesto” is plain pesto — with any kind of pasta [although their favorite is pesto with fresh tortellini or fresh ravioli]; and “Creamy Pesto” is a pasta dish I make: Chicken & Penne in a Pesto Cream Sauce)
2. “Macaroni” (i.e., macaroni & cheese — they love most any/all mac n’ cheese [what kid doesn’t?!], but their favorite is “Bunny Macaroni” [which is Annie’s Organic Shells and White Cheddar either on its own, or sometimes I mix a few handfuls of baby peas into it])
3. Yogurt (see this post) — Owen’s favorite is vanilla; Kyle’s favorite is blueberry
4. Cheese CHEESE cheese Cheese CHEESE cheese
5. Waffles — preferably from Waffle House, but homemade will do too
6. Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup (with multigrain baguette as their preferred side… and they always carefully tear the bread into bite sized bits, stir it all into the soup, and eat it like one big one-pot meal… they’ve been doing this whole Panera-soup-bread-ritual-thing — and each polishing off their own full-sized portions — since they were about 18 months old)
7. Smoothies
8. “Syrian Bars” (i.e., cereal bars)
9. Orange Juice
10. Pizza (either pepperoni or plain cheese)

***

MEERA:
She doesn’t have a top ten yet, but she’s working on it. Her current favorite meal is the one pictured above– a jar of Earth’s Best Spinach & Potatoes, diced cheese (mozzarella); diced fresh banana; and… drumroll please… water IN A SIPPY CUP (her new favorite mealtime activity: trying her darndest to drink out of a sippy cup)!

Kyle is such a worker. He’s such an industrious, helpful little guy. He loves doing stuff like taking out the compost… even in the dead of winter. And he’s always sure to do it neat and tidy (and always washes his hands when he’s done). He’s such a lovable little neat-nick. The polar opposite of his bro.