How kid-focused is your Thanksgiving menu?
Babble.com has a slide show of kid-friendly (dare I say kid-focused) Thanksgiving side dishes that gave me pause.
The most creative side dishes were cranberry sauce molded to look like turkeys and soup served in tiny little pumpkins.
The slide show made me feel guilty that I didn’t think more about amusing my kids’ bouches, instead of just making yummy (mostly traditional family recipes) that I think everyone will like.
For example, the kids don’t like sweet potato soufflé so we are also having mashed potatoes. And while they like broccoli they don’t like my mom’s broccoli rice casserole (I don’t either!) so we are also having beans. (They’ll eat the turkey, stuffing and rolls.)
The desert is where I did really take them into consideration. I knew I was going to make my mother-in-law’s pecan tarts (because they are super tasty and easy). The kids like them OK but I wanted to also make a desert that the kids would go nuts for so I am making a chocolate hazelnut tart – basically Neutella in pie-form.
But should I feel guilty if I am not forming things into turkeys and putting soup into adorable baby pumpkins? (Would those cute pumpkins really make your kids eat the soup?)
Is the Babble web site thinking too hard about making this meal not just kid-friendly but kid-focused or am I not thinking enough?
What’s on your menu that will appeal to kids? What did you add just for the kids? How much did you take into consideration making the meal whimsical for your kids?
- by Theresa Walsh Giarrusso, Momania blog
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54 comments Add your comment
motherjanegoose
November 23rd, 2010
2:46 pm
@catlady…I nearly spit my food out reading your post…I EAT OLIVES…can we still be friends? My family always had them and thus I serve them. My husband does not touch them. He cannot stand cranberry sauce either. I cannot imagine Thanksgiving without it. No one ate it at his house except his Grandma, myself and his brother in law. We enjoyed ourselves.
@ RJ…the person who told me about the mac and cheese was not a friend…it was a teacher I met and probably not from the south. I never had mac and cheese for Thanksgiving when I grew up in Chicago. I never fix nor serve boxed mac and cheese…I cannot stand it. My husband and kids eat and ate it while I was gone. I will buy it …LOL. Come to think of it, I have never made home made mac and cheese….I do like it but do not fix it….my daughter does and she does a great job.
While some here think I am being snide when I mention that I have been to all 50 states, I do so to share that NOT EVERYTHING DOES THINGS THE SAME WAY and that I have learned so much about people when I travel. The different lunches I eat that are served at meetings…are all over the place. Jello salad is VERY popular some places. Add a dollop of cool whip and you are in style :0 I was out west and mentioned that we had fried chicken and squash in North Carolina…they could not imagine it. We ate lime rice soup in Alaska with little bits of fish in it….it was delicious with a creamy sauce but I cannot imagine it being served say in Texas, that would be BBQ…yum! We also had rhubarb pie for dessert….one of my favorites!
@ Wayne…do they serve mac and cheese for Thanksgiving in Boston? Once, a New Englander told me they did not even eat mashed potatoes….which I cannot imagine…but had rice for Thanksgiving. This may have been her family tradition and not so much a regional thing. I do not know. Any idea? Did you ever get to that yummy Italian Restaurant I mentioned in Boston…we are talking about a visit again!
JJ…I love the Ragu story. Over 20 years ago, we took my husband’s brother and wife across the border to Mexico to eat at an authentic restaurant we had often enjoyed. When asked if they like it,
“Well it wasn’t Taco Bell…” YA THINK?
momof 3…hugs to you….do you live in metro Atlanta or anywhere else I might be? We could meet for lunch? JATL …you could be on my short list too, if you are interested. I need to chat with you about our Gyno Doctor.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE AND ENJOY WHATEVER YOU EAT WITH YOUR FAMILY!
JD
November 23rd, 2010
4:09 pm
Irun – where do you find your key lime juice?
catlady
November 23rd, 2010
7:03 pm
MJg–Sure, we can be friends, but I won’t eat olives with you for Thanksgiving, or any other time! I had just never thought olives were a special Thanksgiving treat!
Ann, you sound very sensible! I agree: put good food on the table and let each person decide what and how much they will eat. You don’t see (too often) an elderly parent tell their middle aged child they need to eat more beets (or whatever). The food is there; have some. (Now don’t get into a spitting contest with the kid and demand they eat before they leave the table. Just put up the food, and more will be served at the next meal. No bullying, no wheedling, no bribing, just plan good meals and stay out of the way.)
FCM
November 24th, 2010
10:23 am
Um….no I have no problem not being Martha Stewart….Loved the Ellen where she tried to do MS Thanksgiving and then one her guests brought Martha to the party….HILARIOUS!
Anyway…This year more than ever Thanksgiving seems to be in perspective for most people. That means feeling fortunate to have a roof, a meal, a family. Not the fancy stuff…just down home good.
With what you said it sounds like you nailed it.
God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving from my family to all!