Thursday, September 13, 2012

adventures in motherhood: healthy eating

Big news: we drove to Trader Joe's this week! That might not seem like a big deal, but I haven't been inside one since before Lorelei was born -- the closest one to us is a 45 minute drive one way, and when you have a baby toddler who screams bloody murder most of the time she's in the car and also refuses to nap on the go, long car trips don't happen very often. But we went, she screamed, and we got some really yummy food (and cheap beer -- you're welcome, Daddy).

(what Lorelei wishes I served for lunch every day!)

I've never been a big fan of lunch. Breakfast food is something I could eat three meals a day, and I love experimenting with recipes at dinner and planning out just the right side dishes to balance out a main course. But lunch? Meh. I don't like sandwiches and I generally just feel uninspired by the typical lunchtime fare. I feel like meat eaters have it easier at lunch, too, to be honest. Mostly, I make bean + cheese nachos or heat up an Amy's spinach/feta wrap and call it a day.

And when it comes to creating interesting lunches for Lorelei, I admit total defeat. She gets hummus sandwiches, avocado sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, or some combination of the above most days of the week. I usually round it out with some chopped up fruit or a smoothie or maybe an Ella's Kitchen pouch (p.s. is "swede" another name for rutabaga?). String cheese, black beans, and peas often show up on her tray, too. So it's not surprising that she turns up her nose at what I offer on a fairly regular basis and that she gets really excited on days when I make something like Annie's macaroni and cheese.

So besides my struggle with being an uninspired lunch chef, I have food on the brain at the moment because several bloggers I know have been posting about toddler snacks and meals lately. Michelle has been writing all about her successes with finding healthy meals for her son, Jennifer posts regularly about what Chloe is eating, and now Margaux and Leah have started a link-up for snack ideas. Check them out -- and I hope you share some of your healthy meal and snack ideas for your tots, too!

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for mentioning me! I love Trader Joe's and feel a bit spoiled that there is one only a few minutes from me! Glad you guys got a chance to go! I am always looking for new ideas for healthy meals for Chloe so I'm loving all these post's you shared!

    Chloe loves Annie's mac and cheese too!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for mentioning the link party, Courtney. I've actually never been to a Trader Joe's but I always hear good things. We have a Wegman's so that's where I get any specialty type things around here. I'm always on the look out for lunches as well. Darwin isn't very patient for me to prepare something that takes long. So it's leftovers or whatever I throw together out of the fridge.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I feel you. I am so uninspired by lunch most days. Especially when faced with packing one. Maybe when I'm home on maternity leave I'll get more creative?! HAH!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lunch is definitely a tough one around here. Annie's Mac n'cheese happens probably too frequently (though Noah only eats it when it's freshly made...with yogurt instead of milk and butter...anyway). We still do the fruit and veg pouches, accompanied by some combination of yogurt/cheese/crackers/leftovers, though it's always a toss up what he'll eat.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The nearest Trader Joe's is about that distance from us, and I've been wanting to go since we moved here three and a half months ago. That must have been an exciting trip!

    As for lunch, I think what it comes down to for me is that three home cooked meals per day is just way too stinkin' much for one person. Unless that person is a chef, maybe. I'm lazy when it comes to the afternoon meal, too. I deliberately cook too much at dinner so we can have leftovers for lunch the next day, or make sandwiches. Fortunately I do love sandwiches.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the links! Yea- I always work hard on lunch for the Daddy to take to work, but I forget to plan anything for baby and me! So, if there are no left overs, we are in a pickle!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Avery loves smoothies for lunch. I serve a little something with it, like crackers and cheese or a sandwich, but mostly she just wants a smoothie (fruit, yogurt, and OJ). She also loves little pizzas...I just use a small tortilla, tomato sauce, cheese, and sometimes turkey pepperoni. Just pop it in the oven at 350 for maybe 2 minutes, and it's ready to go! I eat them too...A LOT!

    ReplyDelete
  8. We luckily have a TJ's within walking distance (although we never walk there, hmm) but lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the night before or some combination of strangeness. If I'm completely uninspired or our cupboards are bare I mix up a Happy Tot superfood pouch with whole milk yogurt to stretch my dime! Thanks for sharing about the linkups, I'll be visiting them often since my girls are actually starting to eat 3 squares a day!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm with you on lunch. I could eat breakfast foods every meal, but for lunch, it's a weird quesadilla or an "egg mcmuffin" with an ezekiel english muffin. The Cub loves his pb & j, and so he gets that more than he should, but at least he's happy and we buy the "good" bread and the home ground peanut butter so it's okay right? ;)

    ReplyDelete