What’s on the menu this week?

celinecorre
Oct 19, 2015
4 min read

Food represents a big part of our kids’ lives, we can’t deny it.

But as a parent, to be imaginative, creative and to cook varied and balanced meals every day is not an easy thing.

Particularly when you have a toddler in front of you whose taste of the day is perfectly unpredictable.

It is said that it may take up to 20 times, maybe more, of offering a food before a child will start to eat, so better not give up.

A lot of parents do give up unfortunately though, and that’s quite understandable. It can be very frustrating to cook and prepare food that is going to stay untouched.

And 20 times minimum is a lot.

It requires a lot of patience.

And a lot of time too, that most parents don’t have.

Cooking for kids can be very tiring and a bit complicated when you want to do it well.

Of course, I’m one of those mums who want to do it well (Ha!).

And I’m lucky enough to have the time (well, kind of).

But still, I am frustrated very often and keep running out of ideas.

I have decided to not care so much anymore though and to let my child be the master, because after all, only her knows her needs when you think about it. She won’t let herself starve, so better trust her and be relaxed (zeeennnn).

It’s normal for children to be unpredictable after all.

One day they can eat like ogres, and the other they are capable of eating less than a baby bird.

One day they don’t seem to have enough of a certain kind of food and the next day they can completely reject it, as if they couldn’t stand it.

As a parent, this is our mission to feed our kids well with good food and a balanced diet. We are happy when our little ones eat everything and well and it leaves us with this satisfied feeling that we are doing a good job.

But when it’s not the case (and god knows how often!!!), it leaves us pretty frustrated and worried. Even guilty sometimes and we keep asking ourselves what we could have done wrong.

Except that this is just the way kids work, that’s all, there is nothing wrong with us.

And the day I understood that, I felt quite relieved and much more relaxed about the whole food business (thank you books!).

Apparently, a daily well-balanced diet is not what counts in the end. The important thing is that kids eat a good variety of food during a whole week or so.

They are supposedly very good at regulating their diet over a period of a few days, so why not after all. Let’s trust them.

And I have actually noticed that it is quite true. If Slo eats more sweet things at lunch for example, she will tend to prefer savoury food at dinner. If she barely eats anything at one meal, she will usually catch up at the next one. And it’s not because she refuses to eat her broccoli on Monday that she will refuse it again on Tuesday.

There is no rule.

That’s why I have decided to opt for a more Aussie way to feed my girl.

With a little French touch of course because no matter what you do or where you live, your own culture will always be a part of you.

Here is a typical example then of what could be one of Slo’s week’s menu (mother’s laziness or lack of time/ideas put aside).

I always (ok, nearly always) try to offer her 2 plates (except for breakfast), one with what could be seen as the main course and the other one as the dessert.

Each plate has a couple of choices on it (small portions of course) and I let her pick what she wants.

Please note that the following menu is more one that exists somewhere in my fantasy and saying that it represents a month’s menu would be more accurate.

Because there are always millions of left overs so I usually offer it again at the next meal or the day after. If it still stays untouched, we end up eating it ourselves. And we basically rarely waste any food really.

Also, I don’t cook especially for Slo, I obviously cook for the 3 of us and offer her a bit of our meals.

And yes, I try to buy quite a lot of different fruits and vegetables each week, in order to be able to offer many choices, but of course I don't buy the whole shop. I just choose a small quantity of each, that’s all.

Voila.

Here it is then:

(Click on the picture above)

* Recipes:

Ratatouille: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/ratatouille

Carottes Vichy: http://www.easy-french-food.com/glazed-carrots-recipe.html

Lamb: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/roast-lamb-flageolets-gigot-dagneau-aux-flageolets

Quiche Lorraine: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2868/ultimate-quiche-lorraine

French dressing: Stir together 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Whisk with 5 tablespoons of sunflower oil that you add very slowly. Whisk until thick.

Pumpkin soup: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/pumpkin-soup

Cupcake: http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/article/10-best-cupcake-recipes-a1169.html

Crepe: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/crepes-chocolate-sauce-crepes-sauce-chocolat

Vanilla flan: http://www.mslimalicious.com/2013/03/french-dessert-flan-aux-oeufs-low-fat.html

Broccoli soup: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/potato-and-broccoli-soup

Mexican wrap: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/beef-and-bean-burritos-recipe.html

Grilled pineapple: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/brazilian-grilled-pineapple/

Crème caramel: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/creme-caramel-0

Croque-Monsieur: http://www.meilleurduchef.com/cgi/mdc/l/en/recipe/croque-monsieur-bechamel-sauce.html

Mushroom tart: http://www.completelydelicious.com/2012/02/mini-mushroom-tarts.html

Roasted capsicum: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/crispy-potatoes-roasted-capsicum

Trout: http://cookingfortwo.about.com/od/fishseafood/r/Trout-Meuniere.htm