Bodacious Magic Meatballs

The meals and snacks that our kids eat are all homemade. We've been doing this for almost 7 years now. Their meals consist of a variety of lean meats, raw and cooked vegetables, fresh fruit, grains, a bit of dairy, and mashed sweet potatoes. We also bake homemade dog treats from recipes that I've created. In addition to fresh baked dog treats, they also get roasted chicken and raw fruits and vegetables for snack. 

For the most part, our kids gobble up their meals and snacks with gusto. However, every now and then they make meal and snack time a bit challenging.

For example...

Coco will snub his breakfast because it's not on the particular plate that he wants. We play musical plates until his breakfast is served on the one he wants.

Sophie and Lobo will sometimes switch plates. 

Willa will drop bits of food on the floor as a trade off because she wants more of this and less of that. So, while Sophie is eating her grains, Willa is eating the chicken that Sophie pushed to the floor from her plate. 

Sophie may not be in the mood for sweet potatoes on a particular day.

Lobo wants to be spoon fed instead of eating on his own.

Coco might want a few shreds of cheese on top of his meal one day but not the next.

Or one day Coco loves eggs and the next day he sniffs and snubs them. 

The list goes on and on and on...

For about a month, they did this a lot.

It was actually quite amusing to watch all of them eat their meals. 

Then...

For Lobo's 4 Year Gotcha Day last month, I created a simple homemade meatball dog treat. All of our kids loved them and these treats were compatible with all of our kid's dietary restrictions. 

I made quite a few so I froze some and put the rest in the refrigerator.

In addition to using the refrigerated ones for snack, Lisa diced a couple up to include in the meals for all of our kids.

You know what?

All of our kids ate their meals. 

They licked their plates clean. 

The proverbial light bulb went off in our head. 

From that point on, we included a sprinkle of diced up homemade meatball dog treats to their meals. 

Since then, our kids haven't played musical plates or snubbed any of their meals. 

We have officially named our homemade meatball dog treats "Magic Meatballs..."

For this very reason, I'm even more excited about our Cuisinart Electric Meat Grinder that we bought over the weekend and will be delivered on Thursday. 

I'll be able to make our own ground boneless, skinless chicken breasts for these treats and experiment with other meats and ingredients that are compatible with our kid's dietary restrictions. 

It's the little things in life. 

I told Lisa this morning that our purchase was a family Valentine's Day gift. 

Works for us.