I ran across a wonderful blog the other day that is an answer to a question I’d been asking myself since I first read Bringing up Bebe and French Kids Eat Everything. What is a good example of a weekly menu that a typical Frenchie would have in their home, every day, WITH a baby? Behold, the lovely blog, French Foodie Baby, written by a French woman who lives in L.A. At the beginning of the week, she posts a menu of what they’ll be eating for lunch, snack (gouter) and dinner. I love how adventurous she is with her cooking and while she has the luxury of living in a city with tons of markets and options, I have found that I can adapt the recipes pretty well for us.
French kids only have one snack per day and it’s usually at 4 p.m. We’ve already started this habit in our house with Olive that she doesn’t eat anywhere but the table, and she only gets one snack around 3 or 4. If she acts hungry 30 minutes before dinner, either Matt or I will go distract her in the other room by playing until dinner is ready. She is usually quite hungry for lunch and dinner and does pretty well at restaurants because she’s hungry and will eat as long as we do (while turning 360’s in her high chair to check out the scene, of course.) As two moms at a restaurant pointed out the other night, “She’s been sitting here for an hour! Well, just wait till she’s two…” Ah, the “just you wait” threat. Moms give it to me on a weekly basis. I am fully aware that a year old is way different than two, and that we will have to be extremely diligent in our efforts at mealtimes, but I’m confident that starting now, instead of at two, or whenever the eating issues arise, will make things much easier for us in the future.
This fish recipe was taken from the French Foodie Baby blog nearly word for word. We enjoyed it very much, but I will warn that if this is the first time your baby has had roasted garlic, go easy. (she suggests the baby be 8-10 months old for trying this for the first time. We gave Olive’s portion a rough chop so they’d all be bite-sized pieces) Olive’s diaper the next day was…epic. My fault. She’d had plenty of garlic before, but maybe it was just too much? Anyway, I would suggest straining out the garlic clove before preparing a small portion for your baby.
Cod with Brussels Sprouts and Garlic Cream Sauce
Serves 4
1 lb Brussels sprouts
The Family Meal 
Thank you so much for the kind words! What an honor to have inspired a post!
I offer words of comfort. My kids are now 5 and 6. Both of my children understand how to behave during mealtimes, especially when out to eat. I can’t think of one time when I fought with them over behaviour in public at mealtimes. Food issues rise from time to time but they are minor and infrequent. We began teaching the habits we expected as soon as we began introducing solid foods and we fed them the same flavors we ate ourselves. I always heard the “just you wait” threats or was told that I’m just lucky, but I truly believe that it’s not luck but good training.
You’re doing a great job with Olive and it will make life so much easier!
I love reading your recipes and plan on including some of them in meal plans in the near future. Thanks for sharing them!
That means so much to hear! I appreciate your words of encouragement! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post!