Ah, the food thing. Again. I think I could spend my entire life just trying to figure out what to feed my kids.

The Wee Girl has been taking exception to certain foods I regularly eat, triggering yet another diet overhaul. For those who are keeping score, we are now egg, gluten, dairy, soy, mushroom, and bean free, low mold and low sugar (an attempt to combat the post-Easter yeast flare) . The kids can actually have beans, but I can’t, so I try not to plan too many meals around them. The cooking different meals for different family members thing is just a little too much for me at present.

To be perfectly honest, I’m feeling rather burned out on the whole thing. Shopping list making has become a dreaded chore and some of our meals are starting to border on the ridiculous! What’s that you say? Rice tortillas with nut butter and apple sauce does not a hearty dinner make?? Ground beef cooked with greens and tomato sauce served over some sort of grain, oh, 4 or 5 times a week is starting to loose it’s charm? Really? hmmm…

My good friend Heather (of the pink yarn and the longies and the baby toys and countless other things) shared a delightfully simple meal planning strategy with me; each member of the family gets to pick a dinner. Probably not a huge help for smaller families, but for those of us with a tidy collection of offspring, it takes a good bit of the pressure off. I’ve expanded upon this by asking that each person plan an entire day of meals; breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack. This is our first week using the new system, so we’ll see how it goes. Our week looks a little potato heavy, but otherwise I feel ok with it. It may not be perfect, but it’s generally nutrient dense and fairly well balanced. And as a HUGE bonus, I feel like my kids are learning valuable life skills.

~~Meal Plan for the Week of April 19th~~

The Mama’s choice:
B-salmon salad on toast
S- fruit sweetened banana bread
L-salad with avocado, arugula, shredded beet
and whatever else strikes my fancy
D-Chicken fajitas

The Papa’s choice:
B- Gluten-free waffles (with violet syrup and berries for those who like them)
S-popcorn
L- hot dogs roasted over the fire
D- Roasted chicken, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding,
cranberry sauce and collard greens

Iain’s Choice:
B- gluten-free oatmeal with blueberries
S- almonds and raisins
L- mixed cooked greens with crumbled bacon on rice tortillas
D-Garlic mashed potatoes with peas, arugula,
and sweet Italian sausage (chicken/turkey)

Elijah’s choice:
B-peanut butter toast
S-apple sauce
L-mashed potatoes and carrots
D- London broil and a salad with beets, carrots and peppers

Galen’s choice:
B-fruit sweetened oatmeal raisin muffins
S-olives
L-fruit salad
(the Mama is planning on padding this one out with something protein rich)
D-breaded chicken dippers with mustard dipping sauce of course,
and roasted root veggies

Remaining Day 1:
B-home-made turkey sausages, steamed spinach and sauteed onions
S-butternut squash
L-leftovers
D-Mama’s night off-veggie sushi*

Remaining Day 2:
B-to be decided, probably a repeat of a different day or leftovers
S-carrots dipped in avocado
L-quinoa pilaf w/lots of veggies and leftover chicken
D-burgers, possibly on the grill, salad and leftover root veggies

My kids always help themselves to a piece of fruit first thing in the morning and I’ll probably brew up a nice pot of herbal tea to go with our mid-morning snack. We have a birthday party to attend this week, so I’ll also be making fruit sweetened banana cupcakes topped with whipped coconut cream for my family to have in lieu of cake.
And that should do for us until next week!

*Iain is currently learning to cook. As such he is responsible for making one dinner a week, with Elijah’s assistance. We plan the dish together at the beginning of the week and I walk them through the making of it when the time comes.