"Kid friendly" dinners

In my new issue of Cooking Light there was a very good letter to the editor about labeling certain recipes as "kid friendly". The writer of the letter, a mom, said that the labeling should be eliminated because then some foods are deemed for grown-ups only. Like her, I've always served my kids exactly what Fred and I eat for dinner. And like her, my kids eat a wide variety of foods. Foods that some people are surprised a child will eat willingly. Not that they like everything, but at least they try it. I've made it a point to serve healthy food and as a result my kids have pretty good eating habits. I think it's good that my kids don't expect chicken nuggets or mac and cheese every night for dinner. My hope in serving healthy meals is that they continue eating healthy into adulthood. While we do eat healthy most nights, we also have our fair share of greasy, fatty food. And dessert is a must every night. (I think that's the real incentive in eating well every night). Still, I'm proud of our family's eating habits. And our meals aren't all "kid friendly". It's just good food.

We all scream for ice cream

Loyal blog readers, you will be happy to know that my kids have finally experienced the ice cream truck! My parents had the kids on Monday and as they dropped them off they noticed the ice cream truck coming up the street, but then turning up the block in the exact opposite direction of our house. So my parents got in the car, tracked her down and sent her to our house. Talk about excited kids! (And an excited mommy too). The wait was awful as we heard the ice cream truck music weaving through the neighborhood, waiting for it to get closer and then finally in our view. Of course the timing wasn't good as it was right before dinner, but who cares? It's the ice cream truck! The kids picked out their treats and we enjoyed the beautiful autumn evening, eating our ice cream on the front porch.