Monday, January 26, 2009

The Snack Tray

There are some days and evenings when the idea of cooking a meal just isn't in the cards. Today, our routine was slightly out of whack so instead of making dinner, I made a snack tray for the kids to munch on while playing and watching a movie. I took my snack tray- an egg carton that I'd rinsed and wiped out- and filled it with their favorite small snacks. Pepperoni, blueberries, cheddar cheese, and grapes.
They wolfed down the cheese and grapes before settling into individual favorites.
For Zach, the pepperoni was a hit.
For Teagan, nothing is better than blueberries.
I'd first heard this idea in a Dr. Sears book (I forget which one, honestly). My mom has mentioned it, too. Both recommended using a muffin tin... but a muffin tin is a lot harder to clean out than my little egg carton! Plus, if there are leftovers in the egg carton, I just close it up and pop it in the fridge until later!
From what I understand, there are plenty of picky eaters and too-busy-toddlers who eat well with this method. It avoids table time fights and battles and still gets healthy stuff into their little bodies. It's a grazing type of feeding- and it works perfectly for days like today!

15 comments:

Joanie said...

What a great idea! Where were you when my kids were little?? That could have saved me a lot of grief back then!

mimbles said...

Yay for battle free meals! Using the egg carton is a really cute idea too.

No rinsing of egg cartons for me though, all our eggs come in cardboard.

Garret said...

Cute. My cats and dog looked at me strangely when I tried this. The dog started eating the carton, 1 cat ran into the other room in fear, and the other cat started to dig at the carpet underneath as if it was a litter box.

Garret

Eternal Lizdom said...

Garret, maybe you should try catnip in it and then tape it shut and sit back and enjoy the entertainment? For Dasher... fill it with peanut butter and cut little holes in it so he can lick the gooey goodness out...

Garret said...

Then he'd really eat the egg tray!

Alison said...

It may be the delirium talking, but I think you're brilliant!

Mary Ellen said...

It's amazing my kids aren't more warped - I don't think I ever had one single clever idea the whole time they were little. This one would have been a big hit with the boys. What do you have that a 16 and 21 year old would enjoy?

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Candy said...

I tried that once but I just gave my kids raw eggs. They didn't like it so much. Now I see where I went wrong.

Anonymous said...

that is so funny that you do this too! i used to do this with the little guys that i watched on a regular basis-- it helped them eat stuff they were supposed, with stuff that they could only have in moderation.

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ohAmanda said...

What a great idea!! I do the muffin tin sometimes for lunch (we call it surprise lunch! LOL!) but the egg carton is a great idea!!

a

Unknown said...

Great idea, although Gabrielle, my 2-year-old, would dump the food and chew on the egg carton.

Still, great idea.

The Courteous Chihuahua said...

This is a great idea! I wish I had some little kids around...oh, well. I'll save it for grandkids if I'm not senile by then.

KPCL Girl said...

This is a genius idea. You should send it in to Family Fun magazine. I think they pay $25 or something for ideas..

Amy W said...

Oh, I love this!! I am doing it tomorrow with the kids after school; I'm sure they'll love it!