H is for Hungry

My little boy can EAT. He sometimes has as much as I do at dinner/lunch/whatever we're eating. When my friend came over last Friday, I saw how much he can eat. This was not because he ate more than normal, but because she compared what I gave the kids to what she normally gives hers. She just keeps it more simple for lunch, I guess.

For lunch on Friday I gave the boys this:

• peanut butter and honey sandwich pockets on wheat bread (I use honey so there's no mess with jelly. I cut off the crusts [he doesn't eat them anyway and the dog likes it] with my Pampered Chef Cut-N-Seal.)
• 3 baby carrots with ranch dip
• a small handful of yogurt-covered raisins
• a small graham cracker square
• peach yogurt
• milk

Zachariah ate all of that and more. Lucas ate maybe half of that or less, but he did ask for more carrots and raisins a few times.

That might be a little more than what I would typically give Zac, but he will eat it. Plus for lunch I let him pick out things he likes. He always has a sandwich (or chicken or pasta or something like that), a fruit (orange slices, peaches, plums, raisins, grapes, etc.), a veggie usually with dip (carrots, broccoli, celery), pretzels (or graham cracker or tortilla chips or something), and milk. He'll sometimes have yogurt, too.

For dinner Zachariah will eat whatever we're eating. I do some casseroles with meat/veggies/pasta/rice combinations, I make a lot of chicken, and Matt likes to make different creations with whatever is on hand. We always have a veggie with dinner too, and he'll eat that. Sometimes for dessert we'll have fruit. Most nights he eats a smaller portion of everything we're having. If he won't try something on his plate, he isn't allowed to have a snack later.

For breakfasts he will eat a small bowl of cereal and fruit. Or he'll have waffles or pancakes and fruit. If I make him frozen waffles he can eat about 1 1/2 easily sometimes 2 and the fruit and juice or milk.

For snacks in the afternoon after nap Zachariah will have a cereal bar or popcorn or fruit snacks or a banana or whatever I have laying around like that. And on most of my tutoring days he'll eat there with the kids (a cookie or crackers or something else small like that). For before bed snacks it's much lighter and usually a treat. We eat dinner late and usually within 1/2 hour after that's over it's already bath time. I let him pick something out of the snack box for that snack. Right now he has some little Easter chocolates that he's chosen. So he'll have one little Hershey's kiss or something similar. (Then of course we go brush all the chocolate out of his teeth.) I do not allow snacks in the morning. Breakfast and lunch seem close enough together. And if I allow morning snacks, he won't eat much for breakfast.

I don't feel like he's eating all the time or eats tons of food. But I know for his age, Zachariah is a pretty good eater. He likes to eat. And he's not too picky. Once in a while there are things he won't try, but we can usually convince him to take a few bites even if he doesn't finish it. It's important to us that he tries a wide variety of things. I will admitt, though, that I already worry about how I will feed this kid when he's a teenager. He already eats well, and I remember what Matt was like as a teen.