You guys might remember that we have always struggled with Quinn being a picky eater. But I finally feel like he’s turning over a new leaf this summer! He tried a handful of new foods on our trip to Florida (shrimp, salmon, red bell pepper, salami, and rice), and he’s continued the pattern since we’ve been back home – woohoo!
Recently, I’ve had fun sharing “timestamps” on Instagram, so I figured I’d share a “day in the life” type post on the blog with a some snapshots of what Quinn’s been eating lately. These posts are always fun to write (and you all seem to like them), even if it’s just a typical day in the CNC household. Hope you enjoy!
5:33am: back to the work grind after vacation — iced coffee with with a scoop of marine collagen, Nuzest Clean Lean Vanilla Protein Powder, and splash of Nutpods (and a big water bottle, always!)
7:46am: I ate this breakfast everyday on vacation and am still hooked: oatmeal with berries and nuts and seeds (or granola)
8:24am: Quinn’s breakfast: a frozen waffle with maple syrup, apple with peanut butter, and organic whole milk yogurt pouch
9:39am: we had to take Mal’s car in to get serviced #boring
1:36pm: necessary grocery run to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. I strongly dislike shopping at two different grocery stories, but we desperately needed to stock up on all the essentials after vacation!
1:40pm: time to cook up some “special” shrimp for Quinn (one of the new foods he’s being eating lately)! The guy at Whole Foods packaged two extra large shrimp especially for Quinn! 🙂
1:58pm: Quinn’s lunch: shrimp, plain pasta with butter, Siete lime chips, applesauce, and milk
4:05pm: family walk time (it was actually pleasant outside, not too hot thankfully)! If you look closely Quinn is running to give Mal a flower! 🙂
4:37pm: a new kiwi crate arrived in the mail! It was space-themed and definitely a good one! FYI: You can get 50% off you first crate with this (affiliate) link! These crates are the highlight of Quinn’s entire LIFE right now!!
4:59pm: early family dinner (including Murph): pita and hummus, dates and peanut butter, and milk for Quinn
6:06pm: more science experiments!
7:46pm: post-dinner snack – the new chocolate cherry RXBAR is so good!
Are you a fan of eating dinner early?
Are your kids picky eaters? Any tips?
P.S. The next group for Master Your Macros is starting on Monday, August 5th. REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
16 Comments
How do you make your iced coffee?
https://carrotsncake.com/make-morning-iced-coffee/
My boys are 5 and 2.5. They are served whatever we’re eating. We will give them whatever sauces they want for dipping and sometimes make substitutions based on their preferences (like giving the toddler bread instead of tortilla when we make tacos), but they eat what we eat and always have. They don’t eat everything and sometimes will leave certain things untouched. Start by giving him small pieces of whatever you eat on his plate with no expectation that he has to eat it. Just expose him to it and introduce the idea that you aren’t his personal chef!
Haha–this approach doesn’t work with all kids!! I followed this approach (along with Ellyn Satter’s philosophy of “Parents decide what and when, kids decide whether and how much”) and my child still doesn’t eat the same meal as adults at age 12. She eats sushi, Indian and Thai–but don’t try to feed her a hamburger, anything with melted cheese or bread with seeds in it. Some kids have issues with texture that just don’t go away with exposure.
I was going to chime in and say the same thing. It’s not always that easy.
I try the eat what we eat plan but have resorted to having a few “go to” back up options so that I can offer what we are eating or one other option I know that my 4 year old likes, I would rather her eat then not eat because it results in either unhealthy snacking later or not sleeping well! My 2 year old is hit or miss on what she will eat or if she will eat and usually is good for one good meal a day, which seems fine to me. I think it’s good to expose kids to all different foods but it’s hard to force them to eat it if they try and don’t like it
Comments like these are so frustrating. This does not work with all kids and comes off as judging the parents. He is fed, he’s eating good food, what works for their family may not be what works for yours. The “guilt” put on parents for being a personal chef is unreal. My son is healthy and thriving but has an extremely limited diet. He has sensory issues and some issues from a baby-toddler hood that have led us down this road. My son would go to bed hungry every.single.time. if I did that. And you’re mistaken if you think we haven’t tried every approach to get him to eat. I can choose to feed him the healthy foods he will eat or dig my heels in. He’ll get there when he’s ready. I felt guilt until I had my daughter and that girl eat everything. She’s more adventurous than me. Each child is different and I’m not spending dinner each night fighting over food. Meals should be a time of bonding and reconnecting after a long day. I can quickly make things we will all eat. This works for us.
Thank you for your comment. I couldn’t have said it better!
Looks like some tasty eats! Typically, I do like eating dinner on the earlier side due to digestive issues, etc, but occasionally, it’s not possible. Ideally, I’d eat earlier in the evening – growing up we’d eat quite late.
What is that shrimp dish? Do you have a recipe?
It’s just Shrimp sautéd in butter and garlic. Super simple!
With the spinach? it looks more like a sauce..
Oh, sorry! There’s peanut sauce on top! 🙂
We’ve gone through so many phases of eating with my now 13 year old! From eating pretty much everything to mostly chicken nuggets and mac n cheese to borderline vegetarian and everything in between! I just rolled with it and hoped for the best. Now she has a more adventurous palate than I do! (Thank God for her sitting with her Indian friends at lunch that one year and them sharing homemade food. Her heat tolerance and interest in other foods increased exponentially.)
We generally eat pretty late. When she was little we had family dinner earlier a couple nights a week and “grownup dinner” a couple nights a week. I fed her early those nights. Now we all eat once we’re all home and showered etc, about 8:30.
I like to eat about 5 pm. I think it’s because I eat a light breakfast and lunch. I try to start my fast by 6 pm.
I have 3 kiddos and no time for separate meals for everyone. Quinn is lucky you do that for him.
We did do kid friendly meals when my oldest was a toddler and it did prove to be difficult getting him to sway from his “foods” and try new foods. So we switched our approach and since then, everyone eats the same meal. Still have one picky kid. It’s really just how each kid is and their personality. ♀️