You’re surprised, right? I know it’s not quite the end of the month, but with a holiday weekend coming up, I figured this was the best time to post our meal plan for June. Who knows what the next several days will bring for the RRG family (and for all of you)? Better to be prepared, I think, than to sheepishly post the menu after the first of the month.
First, though, I do have a quick favor to ask of all of you. If you haven’t yet read yesterday’s post, and the comments section, please do. I’m mulling over two very interesting comments, from readers Justin and James, both of whom came down on the side of me feeding L. some hot dogs, McDonald’s, etc. as a way of responding to his questions about those foods. I responded to both readers that I didn’t think I’d be going that route, but I would love to hear what the rest of you think. In my opinion, letting L. taste a hot dog or a McDonald’s burger at some point — when it might happen sort of organically (no irony meant, there), or as part of a social event — is different from me seeking out those items and providing them to him just to make sure he doesn’t feel deprived in some way. Thoughts?
Anyway, as you mull that over, do also mull over this meal plan. It was a joy to write it, since I know our fresh, local produce options will be rapidly expanding throughout the month. Summer, here we come!
Wednesday, 6/1: Chicken and vegetable stir-fry, brown rice, fruit
Thursday, 6/2: Spanakopita casserole and vegetable platter
Friday, 6/3: Fend night
Saturday, 6/4: I have a performance, so I’ll leave a cold Antipasto Pasta Salad and fruit plate for the guys.
Sunday, 6/5: Another performance. Slow cooker time! White bean and chicken chili, whole-wheat corn muffins
Monday, 6/6: Swedish potato pancakes, salad and vegetables
Tuesday, 6/7: Steak and mushrooms on toast, grilled veggies
Wednesday, 6/8: Eggplant veggie burgers and fruit
Thursday, 6/9: Fish supper
Friday, 6/10: Fend night
Saturday, 6/11: Falafel, pita, hummus, tabbouleh salad
Sunday, 6/12: Sunday Roast Chicken dinner with vegetables
Monday, 6/13: Spinach ravioli and salad
Tuesday, 6/14: Slow cooker — Beef fajitas, guacamole, fruit
Wednesday, 6/15: DIY Salad platter and crusty bread
Thursday, 6/16: Salmon cakes, sauteed spinach, cucumber and tomato salad
Friday, 6/17: Fend night
Saturday, 6/18: Chicken breasts with goat cheese and marinara sauce, gnocchi, salad
Sunday, 6/19: Father’s Day Dinner with J.’s family
Monday, 6/20: Bean and avocado nachos, cous cous and vegetable salad
Tuesday, 6/21: I’ve got an evening commitment, so I’ll let the guys fend tonight
Wednesday, 6/22: Homemade pizzas, salad, fruit
Thursday, 6/23: Lamb or chicken kebabs on the grill, wild rice
Friday, 6/24: Quiche and fruit
Saturday, 6/25: “Clambake” style supper
Sunday, 6/26: Roasted boneless turkey breast and market vegetables
Monday, 6/27: Parmesan chicken cutlets, grape tomato salad, greens
Tuesday, 6/28: Beet and corn panzanella, fruit platter
Wednesday, 6/29: “Frog slime” meatballs, pasta pesto, veggies
Thursday, 6/30: BLTs and side salads (depends on what looks great at the farmer’s market)
Happy Memorial Day, everybody!
Red, Round, or Green 
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Just found your blog and I really like it. 🙂
I am struggling somewhat with this same type of issue myself with my 2-year-old right now, though our big evil is high-fructose corn syrup, which is in much of what my in-laws stock their pantry with because it’s cheap. (However, after their son, my DH, has completely avoided HFCS for 2 weeks and lost 13 pounds, I think they might come around to my point of view, finally.)
Thankfully, we have not taken a road trip since I really jumped on this bandwagon…because over the 12 hour drive to my parents’ house, I’m not sure where we will be able to get a decent, quick meal. The last time we did have to stop for fast food with her, I got a grilled chicken salad and gave her some of the cheese, croutons and veggie chunks off of it and some of my chicken, simply as the least-evil thing on the menu.
Obviously, she can’t avoid it forever. There will be parties at school and friends’ houses where teachers or parents supply less-than-wholesome goodies likely full of HFCS, artificial sweetener, excessive sodium, and food dye, and I can’t do a doggone thing about it except ensure she eats well before and after such events. And once she is a little older, I can help her make good choices and find tasty substitutes that approximate the appeal of the stuff her friends are eating. Hopefully.
As for letting the introduction to fast food happen naturally or by specifically introducing your boys to it, I think I’d opt for the former, so long as you are in attendance as well and can talk with them about why you don’t eat that kind of food as a family, but when you are someone’s guest, it’s polite to eat what’s offered instead of making a fuss. If they have fast food or whatever at a special event, it would be more likely to stay that way in their mind…something rare. Whereas, if their introduction comes at your hands, actually buying and giving it to them, I think it might get more confusing and they may later not understand why you bought it for them before but won’t again. I like to do ‘homemade’ fast food, because having eaten it for so long, I still crave it now and then. And when it’s not got all that grease, fat, and such associated with it, I find I enjoy my homemade fast food better anyway. 🙂 Even if it does take longer to make. *L*
Thanks so much for finding me and reading! (Just out of curiosity…how did you find me? I always like to know.) Welcome to RRG!
It’s always a struggle, isn’t it, when you are trying to do things differently from those around you? High fructose corn syrup, in some ways, is the “easy” one because it’s been in so many headlines; when you get down to things like looking for food dyes, specific preservatives, etc. in packaged foods, it really gets tricky to balance what you do at home vs. what others may want to do. I agree with you one hundred percent that kids can’t avoid junk foods forever, which is why I always allow my boys to eat the snacks provided by their school; even though I don’t always like what is served, I know they have to live in the “real world” at some point. I try to just do what I think is right at home and let the rest take care of itself, but it’s becoming evident that there’s no easy solution.
I think I agree with you that if I purchase fast food for them, but then say I won’t do it again, it would be puzzling for them. (And for the record…we have eaten at one or two fast-food-esque places with them — we just try to make it very rare, and to find the ones that are a LITTLE better than McD.’s.) I love the idea of “homemade” fast food. That’s something I advocate, too — don’t completely take away things that are familiar for the family, but make them yourself, and make them BETTER.
I think it’s a tough situation. And a lot of how your kids react will depend on their personalities (which is why there is no manual for correct parenting!). If you don’t expose them at home to some of these things eventually, they may seek them out at friends houses. (I’ve had kids like that over for play-dates, where they’re extra focused on our pantry because it contains things that aren’t available in their pantry.)
I think that saying “We just don’t buy that stuff. If you eat it somewhere else, that’s fine.” is a little confusing. For me, I would want to say “this is not a sweet, but it’s still a treat, because it contains things that are not healthy. If you eat this, you don’t get any other treats today (or this week, if that’s what you guys are doing).”
My daughter is 10, and I think the best thing I’ve done is to make her realize that some food is simply not healthy, and therefore needs to be eaten less often. I know you’re educating your sons that way too, and I guess I see this as falling into that same type of education. Whether she’s eating at home or away from home, she remembers that she should balance out the unhealthy and healthy foods.
Thanks so much for weighing in, Renee. I completely agree that totally shielding them from sweets and treats can create the pantry monster syndrome; on the other hand, my husband and I simply DON’T eat fast food if we can help it, and neither did our families when we were growing up, so it hasn’t seemed much of an issue to me that you might be served something by someone else that your parents wouldn’t give to you ordinarily.
I think what I’d like to do — since the issue has not come up again, and I really think L. was just mildly curious — is wait until the boys are a bit older before really tackling it. I think there’ll be plenty of these learning opportunities as they grow, especially since some of the schools we’re considering for them bring in some not-so-great lunch catering choices, so I know we’ll have to chat about those things and probably make some compromises. I really appreciate your perspective. It sounds like you’re doing a great job!