Thanks for the great suggestions in this post. I don’t have kids, but they’re good ideas for everyone. I would also add sliced tomatoes with mozzarella & basil, I devoured that stuff when I was little. My mom would pick fresh tomatoes & basil from the garden, and she used the good mozzarella that comes in water, and a flavored olive oil with herbs in it to drizzle over top. I thought it was super fancy.

I have one of those kids with a constant appetite on “go”. From day one, he has never suffered hunger well. If he is well-fed, he is happy. So that too-late-to-snack time while I am preparing dinner has been challenging at times. If he snacks on nuts, he fills up too much for dinner. Or he starts asking for really inappropriate pre-dinner things, like chocolate, which annoys me.

What has been successful lately is I have been making sure to cut up extra carrots sticks, celery, etc., as a “quick grab” item (either for storage in the fridge or right as I start dinner prep) for when the “seedling” shows up super-hungry while I am preparing dinner. Putting him to work in the kitchen hasn’t taken off yet (I’m still hopeful), but having something sitting there ready to eat (that won’t spoil his appetite) has been very useful. If it is already on the table or in the fridge, he often doesn’t even ask for anything or complain about hunger, he just helps himself and bides the time quietly until dinner. Peace to my ears.