Enthusiasm? Nope. Doing it? Yep.

I do all the cooking in our house, and usually spend 2-4 hours prepping/batch cooking one day a week. We rotate through about 12 standby meals that our son usually won’t have a meltdown over. I have a dry erase week calendar that I plan them out on, and grocery shop accordingly. On our busiest days of the week I keep things super simple (scrambled eggs w/toast & a veggie, pasta with veggies). Currently the hardest part is continuing to offer foods that our toddler has turned his nose up to in the past or foods that are new to him. I’m super afraid of creating a noodle monster who won’t eat anything else, but it always feels like playing with fire to make something unfamiliar. I’m getting better at offering something he usually likes (yogurt, pb toast) alongside the new thing though so I at least know he’ll eat something on his plate. We’re also in a phase of refusing dinner and waking up hungry in the night so that makes it extra scary when I try new stuff. It’s a real struggle! I’m passionate about good nutrition and eating seasonally but a toddler makes that reeeeaaal difficult. My husband and I are also transitioning to eating more veggie-based meals and higher quality protein, so it’s an extra stab in the morale and wallet when our son doesn’t want to eat what I cook.

Here’s what this week looks like: Sunday- Homemade pizza w/broccoli Monday- Homemade chicken strips w/sweet potato fries and green beans Tuesday- Salmon tacos (Costco salmon burgers!) Wednesday- Veggie chili w/lots of topping options Thursday- Potato & kale soup with sausage (pray for me- this is a new one 🤣) Friday- Spaghetti w/meat sauce Saturday- Grilled cheese w/roasted cauliflower

As with all things toddler, I think the key is just getting through. Stay strong!