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Toddler Tapas

Why do kids eat the same food over and over for months, years even, and then all of a sudden deem it “icky?” My kids eat well, most of the time, but they still have this quirk. Do yours? My solution is Toddler Tapas:

The word tapas comes from Spanish cuisine, derived from the Spanish verb tapar, “to cover.” With meals like today’s lunch, I’m trying to cover all the food groups and get enough sustenance in the kids to get them through their school day. I still call it Toddler Tapas even though my kids aren’t toddlers anymore. I find that lots-of-little-bits of food are more attractive, and they get to taste a little bit of everything. If they suddenly don’t eat their sandwich, or apples, or cheese (!) one day, it’s not 1/3 of their lunch so they spend the afternoon hungry.

Since I make three lunches a day, I chop vegetables at the beginning of the week and just pull from those each day. I also give them little bits of leftovers from dinner the night before: cold green beans, leftover pasta, etc. This strategy saves me money because we’re not throwing away leftovers, let alone expensive lunch meat or other foods when the kids don’t like them (that day). Using Toddler Tapas works for me and my kids!

This post is linked up to Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family. For more tips, check out the Works for Me! eBook, where many of my tips are published! Also linked up to Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

Gina

Wednesday 2nd of May 2012

It's from Easy Lunchboxes, and we've been using them for two years with no problems of spilling or food mixing. They lay flat in the Cooler Bag, and the silicone cupcake holder keeps the ranch dressing from moving around. Here's a post about our "green" lunches: https://moneywisemoms.com/2010/08/5-ways-to-green-your-lunchbox/

donna jones

Wednesday 2nd of May 2012

love the idea. what kind of container is that you are using? how do you keep everything from getting mixed up once its packed?

Cathy @ Chief Family Officer

Wednesday 2nd of May 2012

Good to know my kids aren't the only ones who suddenly dislike a food they've eaten every day for a month (although when the attorney in me forces them to be more specific, more often than not, they admit they mean "I'm tired of it" rather than "I don't like it anymore).

For lunches, I make sure to include *some*thing I know they'll eat, like a yogurt or crackers. That way, I know they ate at least a little.