Food matters

One of the reasons I love Dexter's daycare is because of the food. The catering company is amazing. They use mostly local, fresh ingredients. No trans-fats, artificial colouring, flavour or preservatives. Meats are from local sources, ethically-raised and no artificial growth hormones. Essentially, they supply food that I would normally give Dex myself. No fish crackers and twinkies here. And no chicken fingers or hot dogs which seems to be the commonly accepted shorthand for "kid's food."

You should see their lunch menu. They go for multicultural variety and serve at least one vegetarian lunch a week. Dessert is always fruit and milk. Here's a sample:

Monday: BBQ turkey with wholewheat couscous and mixed veggies
Tuesday: West Indian channa (chickpea stew) served on wholewheat roti
Wednesday: Carrot and flax fish fillet, organic quinoa, baby green peas
Thursday: Wholewheat pasta with homemade Ontario tomato and organic soy cheese sauce with cauliflower or broccoli
Friday: Cowboy beef stew with homemade corn loaf and mixed veggies

Mid-afternoon snacks are also nutritious and tasty, mostly fruit and yoghourt (at least twice a week), but these things also get rotated into the menu: organic corn chips with homemade salsa, banana loaf, fruit muffin, rice crackers and soft cheese, carrots and cucumber with hummus dip.

I mean, he's not even two yet and he's already eating quinoa! I bet neither set of grandparents has ever even heard of that. My daily reports from daycare alternate between "ate plenty" or "lots" beside the word lunch.

The consequence of all this good food is that he's gotten quite bored with my home cooking. I've been quite conservative with the spices and lately, he's been expressing his "disappointment" by throwing every second bite of yet-another-poached-organic-chicken-ho-hum over the side of his high chair.

Then, a suggestion from my family visitor from Toronto public health: "He really should be eating what you are eating," she said. So, starting yesterday, I heeded this advice. We had grilled chicken (marinated with olive oil, lime zest, dijon mustard, tarragon, and rosemary) on white rice with fresh petit pois. He loved that. And he slept like a log. From 8 pm to 7 am! No feedings in between! That was so amazing. I had eight, count them, eight full hours of uninterrupted sleep. And he woke up happy!

Inspired by that, I made some beef stir fry for him tonight: steak strips with ginger, green beans, and mushrooms on rice. Another hearty feed, I must say. And who knew he loved mushrooms so much? Crossing my fingers for another good night's sleep...