This was our Wednesday lunch: a date with Daddy at Chipotle. It rocked.

We beat him there by a few minutes—just long enough to run to the bathroom and wash hands after an hour of cricket-chasing at a nearby park. (Can I say how happy I was to have a warmish sunny day at last?) This is Baby A waiting patiently for his arrival:

Hope your Wednesday was this good, too.

Posted by QSMama at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A friend—okay, a barista at my favorite coffee shop, and anyone who serves me espresso is a friend—passed along a great article from the New York Times. It's called "Don't Point That Menu at My Child, Please," linked here.

Please read the article (even if you have to register) rather than accept my little summary. It's worth it. But...basically the writer decries the fact that restaurants everywhere, along with grocery stores, approach our kids with the expectation they'd rather eat the usual kid's menu of chicken fingers, mac and cheese, cheese pizza, grilled cheese (pattern here?), and fries, rather than smaller versions of what's on the regular menu:

"In short, I came to the realization that America is in the grips of a nefarious chicken-finger pandemic, in which a blandly tasty foodstuff has somehow become the de facto official nibble of our young. [...] It pains me that many children now grow up eating little besides golden-brown logs of kid food, especially in a time when the quality, variety and availability of good ingredients is better than ever."

Righteous.

Now I'd like to offer some hints on avoiding the usual kid's menu, even in the fast-food or casual dining setting. 'Cause sometimes you just want something different for your kids—you know?

• Try the unusual fruit bowls for kids at California Pizza Kitchen. Then share some of your own, grown-up pizza with your child. Presto: yummy, solid lunch for cheap.

• Visit Chipotle, where there is no kid's menu, and share a Burrito Bol and some of their unstoppable guacamole and chips with your kids. Again: yummy, nutritious, cheap. In the picture above, Baby A is proudly making her own "baby burrito" at Chipotle, spreading guacamole (ours) on a plain tortilla (hers). It cost, like, 50 cents.

• Go to Wendy's or McDonald's and get one of their premium salads—the ones with diced chicken, pecans, and fresh fruit, like mandarin oranges. Give some of the toppings to your kids, even the really young ones. Baby A loved those things when she was just over a year old. Add a fruit and granola parfait and it's an inexpensive, healthy meal.

• Try smaller versions of regular menu items, like the Bambino Burgers at Good Times or the simple taco at a place like Taco Bell or Del Taco. They're ideal for the three-to-ten age range.

• Go to a Thai, Chinese, or Japanese quick-serve place, like Pei Wei or Panda Express, and make a small plate for your child from yours, with rice or noodles, meat or tofu, and veggies. We've been doing this with Baby A for, gosh, two years now. And she just turned three.

In short, think about how you can adapt the regular menu items for your kids. The choices areout there. You'll do the kids a favor by expanding their taste horizons, and probably save $3 to $4 per meal, too. And who needs the little toys, unless it's something really special your child just has to have? (When there's a "Wonder Pets" or "Little Einsteins" meal, I'm afraid we'll have to get one. No one is immune, right?)

And, restaurants? Get ahead of the curve on changing kids' meals. I think you'll find plenty of support.

Posted by QSMama at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's some news that caught my eye this morning...

* Los Angeles mulls a ban on trans fats. Will it go the way of New York (passed) or Chicago (failed)? Good Times Burgers & Custard is also trying to go trans-fat-free. "This is the right thing to do," says president and CEO Boyd Hoback.

* This study turns the usual point-of-view upside down: How do children's eating habits affect those of the adults in their households? Turns out the answer is "not so well," and busy schedules plus the convenience of fast food might be partly to blame.

* Snacking might be the next frontier for quick-serves. A new study from Technomic Inc. found that consumers' snacking behavior is evolving, and there is stronger interest in more and healthier options. Restaurants, however, have only had limited success so far in attracting this business, says Technomic.

"We view this as an excellent but underdeveloped opportunity for many chains," says Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic Information Services. "By analyzing their current offerings from a fresh perspective and offering new options that appeal to the snacking consumer, chains could make a measurable impact on same-store sales and add business during what are frequently off-peak hours."

Go here to view the breakdown of reasons Americans give for their snacking.

Come to think of it, healthy snack options are PERFECT mealtime options for little kids.

Hey, chains, you have two strong markets here!

Posted by QSMama at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)