Meals, Revolutioned

Speaking of lunch, I was just telling Dave how I feel that this melamine plate with 4 little compartments and pictures of dinosaurs has revolutionized my ability to conceptualize and execute Clio's meals.


(I got this little number on the sale rack at Target- with matching dinosaur cups with glitter floating in some kind of gel, no less.)

Dave thought this was pretty, um, funny, and said "sounds like a blog post to me."

Now, I know it is a simple little thing, but somehow having four compartments, each in a different, manageable size, keeps me focused on creating a balanced meal in normal, kid-size portions. And I swear, there has been tremendous improvement in Clio's eating habits in the few weeks that we've been using the miracle melamine. The meal here isn't the best example- I prefer to have at least 3 colors on the plate (although she did follow this up with mango, which she insisted in having in three of the four spots, so there you go)- but at least I can look at it and think, protein, veggie, veggie/fruit, carb. Plus having 4 compartments is just right, because if she rejects one thing (usually one of the veggies), she's still pretty well covered for the meal.


By the way, that bite she is devouring is a Dr. Praeger's Kids Fish bite- a new favorite that I discovered at a playdate at Zoe's (thanks Statia and Peter!) The best part? You can just pop them in the microwave and dinner can be ready in 60 seconds (especially if you don't bother to defrost your frozen veggies- an excellent tip from Melissa and Peter, so thanks to you guys, too), and even the most pregnant of us can handle a toddler chanting "eat" for just 60 seconds.

Hmmmm. I've obviously given this a lot of thought. Do I need to get out more? (Someplace other than Target?)