Menu planning and Some News
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Loading ...It has been a while since I have cooked properly. I did make a couple of dishes recently, but it was not a whole hearted effort. It’s not easy to cook when you hardly have an appetite and most smells of cooking make you puke. I am in my sixth month of pregnancy now, and seem to be still suffering from minor morning sickness . ( I am not sure what I would have done if my mom had not arrived to the rescue. Hmmm! Better not even think about that 
) Well its nothing like what I had in the first trimester and I am happy that it’s over.
I was up very early today and had difficulty falling asleep. So I have been working on creating a weekly menu plan instead. Variety is of the utmost importance to me, for we are a family that loves to eat something different almost every day. I find breakfast the most challenging meal to deal with. It needs to be nutritious, healthy and filling. Cereal everyday is not an option. Also I don’t want the breakfast to be something sweet every day. So no muffins, pancakes and waffles on a regular basis. I have been working on creating savory pancakes for breakfast and have a few ideas. Will put it to test soon hopefully. Again I don’t want a savory breakfast loaded with fat. Biscuit with sausage or bacon is a bit of an overkill for us. I also want there to be fruits or juice every day. For a few days though I want to hold back on keeping juice in the house. Aditya hardly drinks water and I want to make him get into the habit of drinking more water than juice.
For today I made a Chicken and Veggie hash, and served it with homemade biscuits. The biscuits were a recipe from better homes and garden cookbook, with a very minor variation. They turned out great and Shilpi loved them. He had a second helping, which speaks volumes about how much he liked them. So that recipe is a keeper indeed. ( OK, my Mom did not even try them. J She prefers Indian food, so I am not surprised that she decided to skip. ) The Hash got a moderate response and I need to monitor that a little. He did comment that it would go well with a burrito too. I liked it and want it to be a keeper, because it is also a balanced meal. It is very versatile and I will be able to use it in sandwiches and wraps too, or even make a pasta salad with it. I will share the recipe later.
Aditya’s reaction to the breakfast was not unexpected. He is a slightly pampered kid. And especially for the last few months I have been giving in to his wishes and pampering him a little too much. Its easier to just give in to him than have a battle of will, especially when I don’t have the energy to deal with it. Today I decided to be firm. I took out his sectional plate and loaded it with a biscuit, chicken hash, a few slices of apple and a couple of orange cream cookies. He also had a cup of milk on the side to wash down the food. My deal with him was simple. He could eat whatever he wanted and I was not going to force him to eat anything he did not like. Yet at the same time nothing would be removed from his plate. He resisted initially and wanted the biscuit and hash to be removed. He threw a tantrum and cried. I guess I have on occasions given in when he did that, especially in the recent months. This time around though all I did was give him a hug , a kiss and tell him I loved him. I also told him it was ok if he cried but I was not going to change my mind. After a few more tears and hugs he finally went and sat at his table to eat. He ate his cookies first and then a slice of apple. He then ventured to try the hash on his own with out any coaxing on my part. After eating a few spoons of hash and a bite of biscuit, he turned to me and said. Amma! You don’t make this for me everyday. I like it, but you don’t make it for me. I smiled and said he could have it every day if he liked it. I know for a fact though that if I gave it to him everyday, he’d just get tired of it soon. Well both his dad and mom have the same tendency too.
I guess we will be having a lot more battle of wills ahead though, and honestly I do look forward to them. It gives me a lot of insight into his personality and helps me learn to deal with him better. I have to admit he is a bit of a pampered kid. Not a lot, and we really never punish him. I always felt bad that he suffered a lot due to his eczema and I guess I tried to make up for it by pampering him a bit. Timeout’s are really not our style and being very sensitive he starts bawling when we talk sternly with him. We don’t even have to raise our voice at him.
On a final note I would like to share my most recent kitchen acquisition with you. I bought the Vidalia Chop Wizard
