We seem to have hit “that” stage.  You know, those phases you chat about with friends, family and just about anyone out there that will listen (or look at you, breathe like they are alive and make you feel as if they are listening)?  Their return always involves the phrase “been through THAT stage before,'” right?   Think back to a time where you thought a mental contest with something less than half your size would turn into the never-ending tennis volley.  One word questions and answers bouncing back and forth… two players that aren’t going to let this point get away.  Rush in the door, dog needs to go out, kiddies that are tired from a long day with friends and hungry, hungry, hungry (in case you didn’t get that from their 496 reminders), breakfast still on the counter from when you practiced the exact same routine in reverse order this morning… exactly what you are up for right now… the dinner challenge.  Ours began with a demand for waffles.  Why is that… they seem to want everything inverted.  Ice cream for breakfast and waffles for dinner?  Listen, do not get me wrong – a day alone without children?  Clearly, this would be my menu layout – yet, there is no doubt it would be the first story my little one shared with friends and teachers during her nutrition class on Monday [off topic but stay with me here: who here had “nutrition class” scheduled weekly in pre-school? times have changed]

I give you, the waffle sandwich.  Hey kiddo, no problemo with the waffle request… hope you don’t mind the ham and cheese to go along with it (because I certainly won’t mind cleaning up the scraps – mental note, post dinner toddler tray vacuuming does not assist with achieving a lean & mean waistline.  Meh, will worry about that tomorrow).  Anyhow, we were all out of sandwich bread for grilled cheeses, she needed a little extra protein and the only way to indulge her laser point focus on waffles was this delicious sandwich.  Prepare it the same way you would a grilled cheese.

Need to change it up?  Blueberry waffles with turkey and cheese would probably be very good – a bit of that sweet & salty combination.  Or perhaps put a bit of Italian seasoning in with a little bit of butter before adding the sandwich to the grill pan… We went with the standard whole grain waffles, ham and cheese.

The choice is yours and the options are endless.  The point being, we can often find ways to meet in the middle without a significant amount of effort.  As much as I would love for my kiddies to sit down to a nice, well-balanced hot meal, full of protein, veggies and starches for dinner, the reality is… sometimes a breakfast for dinner request can be entertained.

More often than not, I hear “just wait… as they get bigger, so do their problems.”  If that is the case, I am certainly going to appreciate the demand for waffles these days.