Issue 86: Meal planning suggestions for unconvinced kids
Putting all of our marketing skills to the test with our toughest audience yet
Maddie is our resident mom-chef (Genevieve and Ashley are woefully uninspired home cooks). This week, she is saving all of our lives with creative, toddler-convincing recommendations for dinnertime. Please know that we still support butter pasta every night of the week.
A former therapist once told me that the worst part of parenting is potty training. Respectfully, this is wrong. The worst part of parenting is that you have to feed children multiple times a day. This is true when they’re newborns cluster feeding from 5-7pm, I assume this is also true when they’re clearing out the fridge as teenagers.
Inspired by our pal Hannah Black’s family food diary and a particularly despondent discussion in the mom group text, I thought I’d share how I’m feeding a 4yo and 2yo these days. Trust that we still end up eating a lot of pasta.
Everything is Sprinkles
Once upon a time, I used to plan catering menus for tech startups. If there was one lesson my colleagues and I learned, it’s that any meal with DIY toppings would get better reviews than a meal with dishes that were already garnished. The toddler version of this is sprinkles. Everything can be a sprinkle – nutritional yeast is “yellow sprinkle”, furikake “rice sprinkle”, hemp and sesame seeds “seedy sprinkle”, and of course, the classic rainbow sprinkle. Adding a sprinkle at the table at least doubles the chance of that food getting consumed – that’s just statistics.
The Medium is the Meatball
A learning from a different industry – the medium is the message. The media that work best with my crew are meatballs and pancakes. These turkey-ricotta meatballs are our usual, but we also love these beef-zucchini meatballs. Falafel are meatball-adjacent in my book, and before we had an egg allergy in the house, these were a vegetarian-friendly hit.
Pancakes for Dinner
Pancakes for dinner? Yep, especially if they’re a cottage cheese version. But also if they’re fishcakes with peas (an all-star frozen veg) or socca or a veggie fritter.
My kids are often unconvinced by leftovers, but if slivers of roasted veg or meat are folded into a quesadilla, they can be swayed. These parcooked tortillas (these are also good) make the quesadillas more exciting for the adults, as does grating our own cheese. I’ll break out the food processor for a big 1lb block and use the remainder throughout the week on recipes like this one.
Marketing to Your Children
I’ve learned these lessons from Jenny Rosenstrach and my clever sister-in-law, but you’re in the marketing business now, baby. Roasted salmon? That’s pink princess fish. Beet pasta? Pink princess pasta. Kale pesto makes whatever it covers “Hulk-style”. Your kid may covet the Moana yogurt or Paw Patrol gummy snacks at the grocery store, and you can bring that approach home. Add stickers with your kids’ favorite characters onto food packaging. There’s no reason why we can’t have Elsa broccoli or Peppa brussels sprouts.
Snack for Dinner
When my kids are particularly recalcitrant to sitting down for a meal, I turn to two strategies – 1. I break out the picnic blanket for an outdoor or indoor location change and 2. I rebrand the meal as a “snack”. Same meal, same time, new name.
Beans are where the Instant Pot shines. When I worked from home, I had time to simmer brothy chickpeas for hours. These days, I impress the Instant Pot into duty to make the best hummus, the 60-40 beans from this book, or pizza beans (again, marketing!).
Freezer Forever
We live in a rural area with more limited grocery options, and the tradeoff is that we have truly transcendent farm stands and farmers’ markets. But when I can’t make it to Letterbox, Mx Morningstar or Montgomery Place Orchards for fresh food, here’s how I stock my freezer:
Fish from the Letterbox farm stand (easy fish tacos with the tortillas from above!)
Puff pastry and pie dough (great for a tomato tart or a last-minute apple dessert)
Simek’s turkey meatballs (we love the turkey, but the beef are too salty and spicy)
Berries (so, so many of these)
Mango (let thaw for 30min, blend with milk or coconut cream, and you’ve made ice cream)
Peas and edamame (both kids will enjoy these as a snack, but they’re just as successful thrown into rice or pasta in the last couple minutes of cooking)
Corn (to make this as a quick side, 86 the jalapeño for a kid audience)
Spinach (for smoothies, Italian wedding soup, chickpea stew)
Frozen dumplings (from Trader Joe’s if I can make it there, and the options from Wee! are also solid)
Pesto (I like the classic and vegan options from Gotham Greens)
English muffins from local fave Dam Good
You Don’t Have to Take My Word For It
When I’m feeling stuck, I turn to these queens of the genre:
Our fellow HV parent Trinity Wofford Mouzon
Newly minted romance writer but veteran cookbook author Julia Turshen
Nepo-babies for good Fanny Singer and Greta Caruso
You know her from NYT Cooking Ali Slagle
Cabbage virtuoso Hetty McKinnon
Family dinner trailblazer Jenny Rosenstrach
What are your people eating (or not eating)? We’d love any other ideas or tips in the comments. Godspeed to us all.
-Maddie
One For Us
We’re sharing what we’re enjoying for ourselves these days.
[Ashley] - We are so lucky to have the Tanglewood Music Center with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in summer residency nearby. I can never seem to carve out the time for some adult-only summer evenings there but a friend recently alerted me to their Open Rehearsals that are incredibly family friendly. Skip coordinating the babysitter and get a 10:30am lawn seat that won’t break the bank.
[Genevieve] - If you’re in need of a new travel mug, may I recommend the The Stanley 1913 Transit Flip Top Mug. We have two in my house and I deeply appreciate how spill-proof they are. My dear friend Meghan helped bring to life their collab with Nest, a non-profit that champions makers and artisans in 125 countries. I love mine designed by Élan Byrd.
[Maddie] - Peeling garlic is one of my least favorite household tasks (right after putting on the duvet cover.) This recommendation from Fanny Singer has changed the game, and now the vampires can avoid my house again.
One For Them
We’re sharing what’s making parenting small children more enjoyable these days.
[Ashley] - We’re getting serious about swim lessons in our house. An essential life skill, in my opinion. As with most littles, putting her face in the water is a huge deal. My mom got us these from a local store in Florida (the supplier seems to be Bling2o) and they have been game changing - convincing her to peek underwater. Make it a fun activity and bedazzle your own! As Maddie said, we’re in the marketing game, baby.
[Genevieve] - I’ve plugged Gitti nail polish before, but now it’s serious: over the weekend my daughter quickly escalated from painting her nails to painting nail polish all over her eyebrows (why??). This Gitti nail polish remover balm was the only thing that safely removed the dried nail polish from her skin and hair. Crisis mostly averted.
[Maddie] - Why not potty train your children with the same oddball video your parents showed you? Watching It’s Potty Time with my toddler is my commitment to a “nineties summer”. Be warned — some of the songs are unnecessarily catchy. “She’s a Super Duper Pooper”, anyone?
Working Together
Community showing up is one of the most vital pieces to surviving tragedy. Help our neighbor and community member pick up the pieces from their tragic house fire that has left them without a home and claimed the lives of their beloved pets.
In the Neighborhood
We live in the Mid-Hudson Valley and we’re keeping tabs on these (mostly family-friendly) events near us. If there’s another event you’d like us to share, please send it our way!
Summer Events
Thursday, July 23 - Sunday, July 26 - Greene County Youth Fair, Cairo
Thursday, July 23 - Back to the Future at Wm Farmer & Sons, Hudson
Friday, July 24 - 80s Party at Skate Time, Accord
Saturday, July 25 - BalletCollective at Bennet Park, Millbrook
Saturday, July 25 - Puddle Art Workshop at Art Omi, Ghent
Sunday, July 26 - Parenting in a Changing Climate, North Chatham
Sunday, July 26 - Columbia County Jewish Festival, Hudson
Sunday, July 26 - Floral Prints Community Dye Bath, Craryville
Wednesday, July 29 - Waterfront Wednesdays, Hudson
Wednesday, July 29 - Reptile Show at Hudson Area Library, Hudson
Thursday, July 30 - Hey DJ! Kids dance party at Hudson Area Library, Hudson
Saturday, August 1 - Art Omi: Dance at Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA
Monday, August 3 - Pony Tales and Trails at High & Mighty, Ghent
Tuesday, August 4 - Sunday, August 9th - Ulster County Fair, New Paltz
Starting August 5 - Parent-Child Garden Summer Session, Ghent & Great Barrington
Thursday, August 6 - Sunday, August 9 - Hudson Film Festival, Hudson
Saturday, August 8 - Art Omi: Dance, Ghent
Tuesday, August 11 - UHPP Pink Drinks, Troy ^
Starting August 15 - New York Renaissance Faire, Tuxedo Park
Saturday, August 15 - 2026 Esopus Creek Puppet Suite, Saugerties
Saturday, August 22 - Hudson Valley Caribbean Festival, Kingston
Friday, August 28 - Rough Notes Book Festival, Kinderhook
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Ongoing Events
Mondays - Songs & Stories at Ulster Public Library, Ulster
Mondays - Family Resource Center Playgroup, Valatie
Mondays - Bilingual Storytime, Hudson
Mondays - Tunes and Tales at the Red Hook Library, Red Hook
Mondays - Move + Nourish prenatal movement workshop at At Play, Rhinebeck
4th Mondays - La Leche League meetings, Chatham
Mondays and Tuesdays - Toddler Jams, Germantown
Tuesdays - Storytime with Robbie at Starr Library, Rhinebeck
Tuesdays - Family Resource Center Playgroup, Hudson
Tuesdays - Preschool Story Hour at Claverack Free Library, Claverack
Tuesdays - Creative Explorers at At Play, Rhinebeck
Tuesdays - Tiny Tots at Palenville Library, Palenville
Wednesdays - Runs with Return Run Club, Hudson
Wednesdays - Kids Yoga at Woodstock Library, Woodstock
Wednesdays - Family Resource Center Playgroup, Valatie
Wednesdays - Music & Movement at Starr Library, Rhinebeck
2nd Wednesdays - La Leche League meetings, Hudson
Thursdays - Music & Movement Storytime at the Hudson Area Library, Hudson
Thursdays - Family Storytime at Kinderhook Memorial Library, Kinderhook
Thursdays - Family Resource Center Playgroup, Hudson
Thursdays - Wiggles & Words at the Red Hook Library, Red Hook
Thursdays - Creative Explorers at At Play, Rhinebeck
Thursdays - Adult Art Club at Super Stories, Kinderhook
Thursdays - Baby & Me at Claverack Free Library, Claverack
Thursdays - Baby and Toddler Playgroup at D.R. Evarts Library, Athens
Fridays - Tunes and Tales at the Red Hook Library, Red Hook
Fridays - Family Play and Hang at Starr Library, Rhinebeck
Fridays - Art Focus Fridays at Kinderhook Memorial Library, Kinderhook
Fridays - Music & Movement at Claverack Free Library, Claverack
Fridays - Story Time at Catskill Public Library, Catskill
Saturdays - Hudson Farmers’ Market, Hudson
Saturdays - Kinderhook Farmers Market, Kinderhook
Saturdays - Art Workshop at Art Omi, Ghent
Saturdays - Art Nest at Wassaic Project, Wassaic
Saturdays - Bodie’s Lighthouse Lab at D.R. Evarts Library, Athens
Saturdays - Catskill Mountain Railroad train rides, Kingston
Saturdays - Free Maker Sessions at Super Stories, Kinderhook
Sundays - Community Group Run at Neighbor Running, Hudson
Sundays - Art Projects: Youth Painting & Drawing Classes (ages 4+) at Cone Zero, Catskill
3rd Sundays - Family Free Night at Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum, Poughkeepsie
^ = for adults
* = will likely sell out, so book soon
I will have to try some of these recipes (and marketing strategies) on Will!
Yes to all of these 👏 Chia seed sprinkles are a continual hit and the zucchini to "cucumber cousin" rebrand was a success.