19 Jul, 2010
Know More Do More Mondays: cold turkey (I mean, chicken)
Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Know More Do More
The KMDM activity for this past week was:
Cook extra chicken, turkey or roast beef for dinner and use leftovers as sandwich fillings for lunch. Deli meats are highly processed and usually high in sodium.
I’ve been on High Sodium Alert lately, and I have to say, it is shocking to see how much sodium is packed into so many processed foods. It is beginning to turn my stomach, not to mention my tastebuds. We’re a low-sodium family, and when we eat high-sodium foods I can really taste it.
Sadly (for me) deli meats are a food we rely on pretty heavily around here. As I mentioned in my previous post, deli meats (specifically: salami, ham and bacon) are among our favourite things to eat, especially during the school year. It’s a crutch, and I’d like to reduce the amount of deli meats we buy … but it’s hard when it’s one of few proteins the girls will eat in their lunch.
This week we BBQd chicken breasts for chicken caesar salads (one of my favourite summertime meals). I bought a larger package of chicken and we made two extra portions and popped them into the fridge for lunches the next day.
This is not unusual in itself. Mark and I often eat the leftovers. The challenge here was, will the kids accept cold chicken on a sandwich? I know this must sound crazy, but the only cold meat they’ve been known to eat is ham and salami. I feel like a bit of a parenting failure when I see that typed out. Why don’t my kids eat casseroles and cold pasta salads? Gah.
Experts insist that parents need to offer new foods 20 times before a kid will eat it. I used to balk at this, but in my experience it’s actually true. If I could share one piece of parenting advice, I would say KEEP TRYING. No matter how annoying it is. I have a great ginger chicken recipe the girls never ate, but I kept making it because Mark and I liked it. Then lo and behold, they started eating it. It happened with scrambled eggs yesterday. Sarah was suddenly eating them.
“When did THIS happen,” I said, agog with shock.
“At camp,” she said, with a nonchalance that just about made me fall over.
So you see, I had hope for cold BBQ’d chicken. And I was really hoping it could be something I send along for future school lunches.
I sliced up the chicken nice and thin, and put it on some fresh seedy bread with a good smear of mayo and some lettuce. They ate it, grudgingly. Emma ate more than her sister.
“IT’S JUST CHICKEN,” I argued. “You like bread, and mayo, and lettuce, AND chicken, why don’t you like it all together in sandwich format?”
“MOM,” said the elder, in full rationalizing mode as 11-year olds are wont to do. “It tastes different when it’s cold. I don’t like cold pizza, and you said it’s OKAY that I don’t like cold pizza …”
Sigh.
Places like Saslove’s and Piggy Market must have better-for-you non-processed lunch meat, right?
FYI – Busidoka has posted a 3-part video on making your own luncheon meat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFgAEpLVWW4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1gWqCPUJF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDI8sLE5YIc
Anyway, I’m not giving up. I’m going to keep trying.
The KMDM activity for this coming week is a good one, with more chance of success:
Pick out a new recipe to try this week together. 20% of families eat frozen dinners and another 20% eat pre-cooked meals.
I’m looking forward to this one!
