Menu planning for kids
I had a busy week last week as took all three littles to stay with very special friends in London who made us very welcome despite the inevitable noise and chaos we bring with us wherever we go.
My good friend Deborah has a very busy time as has a high powered job as a civil servant but also manages to dedicate lots of time to her three little daughters (two year old twins and a five year old), she and her husband rather miraculously manage to keep their lovely home looking nice and tidy too!
When quizzed about the secrets of juggling so many important ‘balls’ at once without dropping any of them she told me that as well as having lots of lovely regular help from the girls grandparents (both sets of grandparents make a weekly visit, sometimes more), a cleaner, and some bathtime help from the teenage girls living next door, they also have a strict routine of planning ahead each Sunday night which involves creating a menu plan for the children, placing the online grocery order makes a lot of stress, looking at the calendar to see what things are happening and how that might impact clothes/packed lunches etc.
I was super impressed with the menu plan which was pinned up on the wall for all to see. They started having a plan when their baby twins came along and the house was full of people helping. Each night whoever was helping would ask their elder daughter what would she like for dinner and she would always say ‘pasta’ as it is her favourite food. After a couple of weeks the parents realised that she had eaten nothing but pasta for as long as they could remember and so now a plan helps them to keep their children informed as to what they’ll be eating that lunchtime or evening and any other adult pitching in with getting food on the table before little tummies start growling can look to see what is on the menu.
Next to the weekly kids menu plan was the shopping list which made sense as they are able to add to the list in preparation for the week ahead and also as they run out of things.
Sample kids menu (*with grateful thanks to Deborah and John)
Mon lunch: Chicken goujons, peas and chips
Mon supper: Noodles and sweetcorn
Tues lunch: Soft boiled eggs, bread and butter and tomatoes or carrot sticks
Tues supper: Fish fingers, chips and brocolli
Wed lunch: Bagels and ham or smoked salmon and cream cheese
Wed supper: Pasta bolognaise with cheese
Thurs lunch: Lamb casserole
Thurs supper: Beefburgers, bun tomatoes and cucumber
Fri lunch: Chicken and sweet potato
Fri supper: Jacket potato, beans and cheese
Sat lunch: Roast chicken, brocolli and carrots and potatoes
Sat supper: Pasta with cheese
Sun lunch: Sausages and mash with sweetcorn
Sun supper: Sandwiches
I’m finding that just having a master list of things my two kids like to eat stuck to the fridge is a help but personally find a rigid menu plan too constraining for us as sometimes our plans change so I’ll just make a quick cheese on toast (or ‘pizza toast’ if its got a layer of ketchup, then bits of ham underneath the bubbling cheese) with some carrot sticks or even give them a nice bowl of comforting ready break or weetabix if they’re especially tired and hungry. But a master list enables me to think’ah yes we all love lasagne and I’ve got some minced beef AND I have the time/inclination to make one today while the kids are playing with their friends’. As many people, I try to make favourite sauces, casseroles etc in bulk and freeze a couple of extra portions. I also always double the amount of pasta or rice so that I can put some in the fridge for another extra easy meal the next day (heat up, add some grated cheese or tuna et voila).
The oher thing I remind myself fairly regularly is that kids don’t actually need or want a huge variety of meals. As long as they are getting plenty of the right amounts of the major food groups in milk, cheese, fruit or vegetables, bread, potatoes, rice or cereals and not too much sugar then they are likely to grow up enjoying food and healthy too.
My list of things my kids eat:
Beef lasagne
Tuna pasta bake
Shepherds pie
Eggy bread
Tomato soup
Cheese on toast
Homemade burgers (with secret veg)
Fishcakes
Spaghetti bolognaise
Sandwiches
Noodles
Sweetcorn
Sausages and mashed potato
Scrambled egg
Fish fingers
Lamb chops
PS: I found this lovely looking menu planner/shopping list pad for sale at Organised Mum last night - it sticks to the fridge and has a pencil too. Being of a thrifty nature I make do with a cheapo lined shopping list blu-tacked to the fridge with a pencil stuck on another blob of blu-tack but this might find itself on my Christmas wishlist…
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Nice write up. The idea of this ‘master list’ is a good one. We too plan our meals each month in advance, so the last days a month we are busy putting down ideas for meals (you don’t want to have the same thing every month, but you do want your favorites) and then the first day of the month one big big shop (fresh fruit and veg comes in a weekly box). This way we obviously plan for each day, when you are tired and don’t really want to be cooking, you don’t need to think, you just look at the plan and go into remote control! Also, you can plan around special days. Say for example you know that in 3 weeks time you are going to have an extra busy day (parents evening, special kids club things, visiters, Big Brother eviction night!), you can plan around this, maybe you might have roast chicken the day before so that on that busy day you can do a mild chicken curry for you and the children.
But.. sometime you want to eat things that your children might not like, and for moments like that you can plan for. But then, who knows if for that moment fish fingers will be the current favorite with the children or be as if you have suggested poison to them for just that one day?! So, a master list of good solid childrens favorites sounds like a fab idea, esp as most of them are quick and easy to knock up and of course use ingredients that you will mostly always have.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Thanks Jake.
Its very inspiring to hear of your monthly menu planning. I wish I was as organised as you.
I tried doing a monthly shop recently and felt that it was better value for money. I especially (perversly) enjoyed the discipline of saying ‘Ok we’re out of xyz now and will have to manage without until our next monthly shop up’. As its nearly month-end now perhaps I will take a leaf out of your extremely domesticated book and peek ahead into September’s calendar and start plotting meals against days.
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:51 pm
We’re somewhere in the middle and work on a weekly basis. I’m not sure we have the space to store a whole month’s worth of shopping either!
G has a set of “weekly” plans for meals which are rotated. Each week she orders the food (online) for that week’s meals. Then on any given night, she looks at the list and works out what she fancies cooking that evening. Obviously by the last day of the week, there’s not a lot of choice! Yes, I do have the world’s most wonderful wife and whilst I help out by sorting breakfasts and packed lunches, I’m very lucky that she does 95% of the cooking
We also do the double (or triple) portions of sauces/soups/lasagne/etc and stick them in the freezer. Very handy.
I also agree about kids not wanting a huge variety of meals. We have discovered that it takes many many many exposures to a new food before either of them will come round to liking it. For instance B took months upon months before he actually asked for some more lettuce! (we were just putting a single morsel of it on his plate each time we had a side salad). It was such a shock when he wanted more of it…
Rob…
August 25th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Useful post
Because my daughter’s such a fussy eater I have a master plan of everything she will and won’t eat plus stuff I intend to get her to try. It’s actually quite nice on the days when she’s out for dinner as I can have absolutely anything I like
I also keep a list of the things that regular dinner guests don’t eat. Trying to remember that in my head is impossible.