Dinner 'A La Carte'

Getting your child to eat dinner can be very challenging and frustrating especially if you have a picky eater. Mealtimes should be fun and relaxing. It should not become a battle-field and usually when it does become one you're most likely to lose. I know i have lost many of these battles untill i decided to re-think my stratergies. I was a short order cook preparing two or more meals to satisfy my little dinner guest. I had to stop the madness and so i wrote down all the things that my dinner guest likes (foods, toys, favourite kid shows, story books, favourite things to do and play etc....) and decided to incoporate them into food preparation and presentation. One dinner guest i know likes eggs, cheese and muffins but does not like veggies so i decided to make him an egg and cheese muffin with zucchini and carrots finely chopped. He thought it was so funny to see eggs served as a muffin. I had one myself and we both ate it all up. Yum! He loves Popeye The Sailer so we had on another day a Popeye Omlette with spinach and cheese. However he did complain about that green stuff in his eggs and so we talked about how Popeye loves to eat spinach and that's why he's got big stong muscles and yes he wants to be strong like Popeye. I cut the omlette into cute shapes using cookie cutters for a fun presentation.
Another 3 yr old dinner guest likes motorcyles and monster trucks and loves it when i make wagon wheels(Ruote) pasta in plain maninera sauce topped with parmesan. Kids love the fun shaped pasta and they come in the original color or multi-colored. I add pureed beets or any other veggie puree to the sauce. I let him pour the parmesan over the pasta. Voila! Motorcycles wheels a la carte! The same can be done with the bow tie pasta(Farfalle) if your child loves butterflies. Farfalle means 'butterflies' and Route means 'wheels' both in italian. The bottom line is you just have to be creative when it comes to getting your child to eat. I strongly recommend sitting down at the table and eating with your child during mealtimes and even more so when introducing new foods. Let them see you eat too. Getting children involved in the planning and preparation of their own meals when possible is a good start. Older children can help by e.g washing the veggies, mixing, stirring and pouring. Giving children choices can help in establishing happy mealtimes. e.g "do you want broccoli and carrots or peas and corn for dinner?" Work together as a team. Make dinner fun! Here are the recipes for Egg & Cheese Muffin and Popeye Omlette. Who says you can't have eggs for dinner? "Bon Appetit"!


Egg And Cheese Muffins(Fritatta)
******************************* Serves 4

2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded or grated cheddar cheese
2 tbls water
1/4 cup finely chopped or pureed zucchini
1/4 cup finely chopped or pureed carrots
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil for coating pan


1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a 6 cup muffin pan with olive oil (only 4 cups)

2 In a medium bowl beat the eggs and water together. Add the rest of the remaining ingredients beat slightly.

3. Pour mixture into coated muffin cups just a little over half way. You can top with a little extra cheddar cheese if you wish. Add a little water to the 2 extra remaining muffin cups to prevent scorching since this recipe seves 4.

4. Bake for 15- 20 mins or untill the eggs are cooked.

Serve with buttered whole wheat toast, fruit, orange juie or milk.


Popeye Omlette
*************** Serves 2

2 eggs
1/4 cup pureed spinach
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese for each omlette
2 tbls parmesan cheese
2 tbls diced onions
shredded turkey(your desired amount)
1 tbls olive oil
salt & pepper to taste


1. In a medium non-stick skillet over medium high saute the onions in olive oil for about 3- 4 mins. Don't let onions get brown. Set onions aside.

2. In a medium bowl beat the eggs, spinach, parmesan cheese,salt and pepper together.

3. Using the same skillet add a tsp olive oil over medim-high heat and pour in half of the mixture equivalent to one egg. Using a spatula move it around the edge of the egg mixture to shape it into a round loosen edge. Cook for about 12 seconds or untill the egg begins to set then fill the center with the half of the cheddar cheese, onions and turkey.

4. Fold the omlette in half with the fillings. Pour in the rest of the egg mixture to make other omlette. Serve warm.

Note: After omlette is cooled off you can cut into cute shapes using cookie cutters.


Pasta With Veggies
***************** Serves 3-4

1 cup Bow-tie pasta (Butterflies)
olive oil
2 tbls low fat canola butter or olive oil
3 tbls parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cooked peas
1/4 cup cooked corn
1/4 cup cooked shredded carrots
1/2 cup cooked diced boneless chicken
salt & pepper to taste


1. Cook pasta untill al dente. Drain and pour into a bowl.

2. Combine the butter orolive oil, veggies parmesan, and chicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm