Food Fight 2

Emma got up and ate yogurt for breakfast. She got a snakc of goldfish from her Bible class teachers. Then we went to Senors for lunch. She ate 1/2 a soft taco shell, a bunch of chips and cheesedip, a bite of rice, and about two bites of cheese enchilada. Before I got on to her for not eating much of her lunch on her plate. I thought about it and she really did eat a bunch of food for her age. At church Corrie gave me a book called Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense. I read and skimmed the parts that pertained to Emma's age. It was informative especially the portion sizes for different ages. Going with the age 3-5 (instead of ages 1-3 since she'll be 3 in Dec)

Ages 3-5 portion sizes:
Meat, poultry, fish 1 oz
eggs 1/2
cooked dried beans 3-5 Tbsp
Pasta, rice, potatoes 3-5 Tbsp
Bread 1/2 slice
veg's 3-5 Tbsp
fruit 3-5 Tbsp or 1/3 piece
milk 1/3-1/2 cup
fats and oils to appetite

Minimum amount of food needed from each food group:
Bread, cereal, rice, and pasta group: 6 servings
Fruit group: 2 servings
Vegetable group: 3 servings
Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group: 2 servings
milk, yogurt, and cheese group: 2 servings

Other excerpts from the book:
- have family meals that are enjoyable
- let the child serve themselves from the serving bowls on the table
- give them planned meals and snacks
- don't force food or bribe for it
- don't cater to the child and make extra things for them

I have come up with a schedule I think might work with our schedules. We will try it and use other ideas for snacks out of the book. We'll see how it goes. Prayers for this struggle as well as my internal struggle of trying to be a good Christian mother to Emma and Garrett while they are both trying to figure out how to be independent and learn to do things on their own would be greatly appreciated!