My dear friend and her kids drove 3 hours to stay with me over the weekend. I love feeding people yummy healthy food when they visit...but I also like to serve familiar foods that everyone will like. That can be tricky with picky eaters, allergies and finicky kid appetites.
Solution!: "Build-your-own" or "BYO" style meals. Put out a bunch of ingredients and let everyone build their own plate based on what is available. Vegetarians, meat eaters and picky petunias can all sit down and enjoy a meal together.
A few of my "BYO" favorites are: Hawaiian haystacks, pizza, tacos, burrito bowls, pastas and crepes. I decided on DIY pizza for dinner, DIY crepes for breakfast, and then salmon with sides for lunch. Everyone was happy and went home with full bellies.
What's your favorite crowd pleasing meal? Write me nicoleheiner@gmail.com and let me know!
Here's what we ate last week:
Monday: Nicole went out for pizza with a friend, the family made grilled fish and pizza rolls (strange combo but whatever).
Tuesday: Nicole came home late: leftover meatballs from the previous week + leftover pasta + sauteed garden zucchini
Wednesday: pumpkin curry + chopped apples + brown rice (October's cooking class!)
Thursday: Trial recipe for December's cooking class white chicken chili + cheese quesadillas and mango smoothies
Friday: Camping trip: top ramen (with canned chicken and corn added) + go-gurts + sliced apples + brownies
Saturday: DIY pizza on store bought pizza crusts (toppings = basil pesto, marinara sauce, mushrooms, olives, bell peppers, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, pepperoni, pineapple)
Sunday: DIY crepes for breakfast (this is a great recipe from real mom nutrition!! toppings = peanut butter, berries, bananas, whip cream, nectarines, chopped + cooked apples.....we were supposed to have mushrooms but the kids ate them all on the pizzas!)
Lunch: grilled salmon + baked sweet potatoes + frozen green beans + store bought garlic bread + sliced nectarines
Dinner: chili con carne + whole wheat tortillas + red bell peppers + cucumbers + applesauce
Have a great week!