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I have 2 daughters, and one of them is a picky eater. She will only eat certain things at home and at the kindergarten, and she rarely eats well if I cook something new or we visit people/restaurants.

So when I cook my choices are limited to the dishes that my picky eater will definitely eat, and we often have a “battle” at the table to make sure our daughter eats all of her food. However, I am proud to say that food that I cook is nutritious and healthy enough for my family to maintain normal meals.

My husband grew up in Africa, and his mom, being an expat, collected various recipes from friends and neighbours and then adapted them to her family’s needs. In 70s and early 80s in Tanzania very few things were available so she had to exercise her cooking creativity daily for making some simple but nutritious fusion meals. I am grateful to her because I learned quite a few dishes from her, and it is a much healthier variety than the heavy Russian food I was used to.

I will introduce to you our typical meal plan for the week. However, I often cook bigger amounts of food to last us 2-3 days – with 2 children, one of whom is an active toddler, there is little time left to spend on cooking. Or I cook a day or two in advance and keep the food in the fridge. Some of this food freezes very well. Also, my husband and older daughter are out of the house for 10-12 hours a day, so they only eat breakfast and dinner. Some days I just eat a sandwich or leftovers from the day before for lunch.

We also eat our meals early (breakfast – between 7 and 7.15, snack around 9.30-10, lunch between 12-12.30, another snack around 3.30-4pm, dinner – between 6.30-7) and we do sometimes eat some dessert-y things after dinner if we have the time and desire.

If you notice, I do give my children snacks in a form of cookies and crackers. I believe everything comes in moderation. I am not obsessed with healthy eating – from time to time we junk it up at fast food places.

Monday:

Breakfast – Peanut Butter Toast for daddy and older daughter, bits of toast for our toddler, and butter & jam toast for me. Since I don’t drink coffee for health issues, adults drink black tea or milk tea, and children drink water or whole milk.
Snack – crackers and fruit
Lunch – our variation of dhal (lentil gravy), rice, garden salad with simple olive oil dressing
Afternoon tea and snack – cookies
Dinner – left-overs from lunch plus an omelet

Tuesday:

Breakfast – cereal and milk for our older daughter and toddler, toast with butter & cheese for mommy and daddy, tea for adults and water for kids.
Snack – crackers
Lunch – Broccoli, tomato and ham mix, macaroni and garden salad
Snack – yogurt
Dinner – Left-overs from lunch plus garden salad with tuna chunks (from a can)

Wednesday:

Breakfast  – Peanut Butter Toast for daddy and older daughter, bits of toast for our toddler and butter & jam toast for me. Since I don’t drink coffee for health issues, adults drink black tea or milk tea and children drink water or whole milk.
Snack – yogurt or flavoured milk
Lunch – turmeric chicken, Persian rice and garden salad
Snack – fruit
Dinner – leftovers from lunch plus steamed corn on the cobs

Thursday:

Breakfast – cereal and milk for our older daughter and toddler, toast with butter & cheese for mommy and daddy, tea for adults and water for kids.
Snack – yogurt and crackers
Lunch – beans, rice and green salad
Snack – no-egg muffins
Dinner – leftovers from lunch plus hummus and chapati

Friday:

Breakfast – pancakes with strawberry, blueberry jam and orange marmalade
Snack – fruit
Lunch – homemade noodle soup
Snack – yogurt or flavoured milk
Dinner – leftovers from lunch plus stir-fried cauliflower

Varya blogs at Creative World of Varya (formerly known as LittleArtists.Blog.Com) . She is a mom to 2 girls, an early development specialist, a baby massage and perinatal fitness instructor, and a breastfeeding consultant. Varya has been living in China for the past 12 years working and raising her multicultural family.

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Varya

Founder at Creative World of Varya

Varya blogs at CreativeWorldOfVarya.Com (formerly known as LittleArtists.Blog.Com). She is a mom to 3 children, an early development specialist, a baby massage and perinatal fitness instructor, and a breastfeeding consultant. Varya has been living in China for the past 14 years working and raising her multicultural family.

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