Sunday's Plate

So many parents have asked me over the years about feeding children in the evening. "I just don't know what to feed him. Last night I gave him a Lean Cuisine and he vomited it up an hour later." This is not a child friendly food. It's a weight loss food, and not for kids.

But what do kids need after a long day? Well, like farmers, kids should have their biggest meals early because they will use a lot of calories playing. By noon, a child should have eaten most of what he is going to eat during the day. That's why we insist on a big breakfast and a big lunch. Dinner is a social time, but many very young children simply can't keep up with another big meal. So for the lighter eater, and that's many many children, a dinner of fruit and veggies, good whole grain crackers of bread and a protein like a hard boiled egg or peanut butter or good cheese is all a child needs. Most children will eat more calories in a dinner like this than a big heavy adult dinner.

The one thing NOT to do is to give a child a mono meal. A mono meal is an egg on a dish; a hot dog on a dish; a slice of pizza on a dish; a sandwich on a dish in front of TV. This is a snack and not a meal. Snacking for dinner will encourage children to eat all evening. This kind of grazing will put on the pounds. A meal consists of at least three food components. Even if you serve a child in a six cup cupcake tin with every cup half filled with different things, the child is getting a little dinner - a variety of food.

Children are often tired at the end of a long napless day. They need to rest, and that includes their bodies digestion.

By serving children a cracker and cheese and fruit dinner, the bank won't break. They don't need a lot. Half a banana, half an apple, a half dozen crackers and two ounces of cheese is a meal. The alternates can be carrots, celery, raisins, melon, grapes and any canned fruit or vegetables a child likes. Toast a good piece of whole grain bread and make four little open face sandwiches with the cheese or peanut butter or cream cheese. Boston Brown Bread in a can is a wonder to some children. Slather it with cream cheese and add some fresh pineapple and grapes, and you have a nutritious little meal children can handle and will eat. The cost is nominal.

Enjoy dinner with something lighter. You'll be glad you did.