Mac 'n' Cheese -- NOT!

The never-ending quest for something to feed the boys other than mac 'n' cheese or pizza continues. They both prefer high-fat carb-loaded white food to anything that might possibly provide sound nutrition. Trying to get enough calories and protein into a wanna-be vegetarian like Ben and get five servings of fruit and vegetables into strictly carnivorous Logan stretches my meal-planning ability to the limit. And oh, by the way, let's keep it low-sodium and low-fat for Grandma. It worked pretty well yesterday.

Starting with left-over mashed potatoes and roast loin of pork, I made potato pancakes to put some calories on Ben's plate. Then I sliced the pork into a  garlicky stir-fry of Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, and spinach. Both boys actually liked it although Ben picked out the pork. I thought it was tasty and look forward to finishing off the leftovers for lunch today.

Then I made some tabbouleh. The thing about tabbouleh is it's hard to make a small amount. The recipe starts with two cups of bulgar wheat. By the time you get all the veggies added, there's enough to feed a family of three for a couple of months. Fortunately, I overcame this hazard by conveniently dropping the bowl and spilling approximately two thirds of the stuff all over the floor. The remaining third should do us nicely for about three weeks. Seasoned only with lemon and cumin, it's flavorful and low-salt. Also provides some nice whole grain nutrition including protein. With a bit of diced tofu added, it's a meal for vegetarian appetites. And it sneaks in five more veggies. And they ate it! I judge the success of a meal by the number of bowls of cereal the boys consume between dinner and bedtime -- last night it was 0! Score one for the grandma!