Mmmmmonday

Well, in order to keep myself accountable for actually preparing meals all week for my family I am going to post our week's menu plan here. Now before you go judging me, I DO feed my family but I am a BIG fan of eating out. I find that by time suppertime rolls around I am just too exhausted from the rest of the day (or just too lazy if we're being honest here) to prepare a decent meal that isn't Kraft Dinner or peanut butter sandwiches. So, here goes:

MONDAY:
Breakfast: Eggs
Lunch: Toasted Bagels
Supper: Split Pea Soup (Pictured)

Mmmm...delicious

TUESDAY:
B: Cereal or Homemade Oatmeal (Pictured)
L: Leftover Soup/Bagels
S: Beefy Mac & Cheese

New homemade oatmeal recipe - can't wait to try it tomorrow!

WEDNESDAY:
B: Cereal or Oatmeal
L: Sandwiches
S: Chickpea Lentil Stew

THURSDAY:
B: Cereal or Oatmeal
L: Leftovers/Sandwiches

Going out of town for a couple of days!!

SATURDAY:
Supper: Chicken Fingers, Fries, & Veggies

SUNDAY:
B: Cereal or Oatmeal
L: Salad, Cheese & Crackers
S: Barley Primavera

SNACKS FOR THE WEEK:
Apple Bran Muffins, Pumpkin Muffins, Fruit, Veggies w/ Hummus (Recipes to follow)

Pumpkin Muffins and Apple Bran Muffins

Even enough leftover to freeze for a later meal - woo hoo! (Oh and a lunch tomorrow!)

Even got the table all set and ready for breakfast. I was on a roll today!

Looks pretty delicious to me! Now just hoping that my picky eaters will enjoy just as much as I do. My oldest (#1) is pretty good - she really likes to put on a show about just how good a meal is especially when her younger brothers are complaining about it. Makes me kind of chuckle but I do need to tell her to tone it down sometimes!

For #2 (our middle boy) we are going to start telling him he has to eat at least 3 bites (one for every year of age) and then he can be done. HOWEVER...if he chooses that route, there is no dessert and no snacks later on. That boy can hardly go an hour without saying he's hungry so I think that might just be motivation enough (fingers crossed!).

I'm not sure what to do with #3 (our youngest boy). He is 19 months. So old enough to understand what I am saying (and to choose not to listen), but too young to use the same method as #2. I have read a few different methods to try but I think for now I am just going to wait it out and see. I think sometimes it's just because he wants to feed himself (which is a little tricky with soup still). Stay tuned...

 Come back tomorrow for Terrific Tuesday, a new weekly post devoted to encouragement.

Scripture to Ponder:
"The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts."                                          -Proverbs 26:22