Grazing Like Cows!

Moooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

It's summertime (finally the weather agrees) and the kids are home and hungry! I can understand considering food makes every occasion better, summer included! I do things a little different during the summer, foodwise, to celebrate the carefree vibe of summer fun!

The first thing I do is I buy a big, fat bag of whatever cereal they want. I do not buy "sugar cereals" during the rest of the year so I let them choose whichever generic they want...but when it's gone, it's gone. You get the picture, make it last long versus gobble up quickly.

Another thing I do is I replace the ho-hum bread with the Hawaiian dinner rolls. They have had sandwiches aaaaaaallllllll school year long and we take picnics to the pool, water slides, park a lot in the summer. Those Hawaiian rolls are soft, tiny and sweet. Two of them per kid with their favorite sandwich accoutrement (girl=p,b&j, boy=turkey&cheese) and they love it!

My favorite thing is what I call "grazing like cows". But we are grazing on good stuff. Let me set the scene~ it's one hour after breakfast. Mom is doing the (insert dishes, laundry, floors, etc). Kid is hanging on the fridge door whining "I...am....hunggggrrrrrryyyyy". Well, I found a long time ago that if I put out a buffet of bite size fruits and veggies at about 9:30am we will all graze on it all day long. It is so easy to grab a handful when passing by. Many a times I've had to restock the carrots, snap peas or even ahem broccoli...not even lying! I just put out whatever I have, put in on a cute plate or platter (just cause I love dishes) and the best part is you never, ever have to hear "I....am.....hungggggrrrrryyyyyy" again. You may hear, "I hate that" for the first day or so but if you do not waver they will soon learn that their choice is already chosen and it's on the counter. How great to get your daily servings of fruits and veggies even before lunchtime!

Plus, come on, who could resist sweet, yummy cherries?