Last Friday, something unique happened. CandyMan and I only had three children. Necco was at girl scout camp and KitKat was at Hershey Park performing with her middle school chorus group. I was thrilled. Just a few days before, I had received 5 cards from Noodles & Company for free noodle, soup, or salad bowls. Five cards are tough to split between seven people, but when you get rid of two of them….Perfect!
I had only been to Noodles & Company once before, and never with the kids. I wasn’t sure how the kids would like it (their typical dinner out consists of hamburgers, chicken nuggets, french fries….you get the picture). Reese was not excited about going out to dinner, and whined about having to go.
The next morning, she asked if we could eat there again that night. They loved it!
Noodles & Company was a huge hit with the kids (and with me and CandyMan). Everyone loved their meals, and there was hardly anything left over (which is a HUGE accomplishment!) I can count on my fingers the number of times all of the kids have finished their meals. And I loved the fact that they were eating healthy foods…with veggies!!….and smiling while they did it. And unlike a typical sit-down restaurant, our meals came out super fast. That’s a huge plus for a family of seven (or five!).
Our trip to Noodles & Company got me thinking about how we can eat more healthy as a family, and specifically how we incorporate more vegetables into our kids’ diet. A couple things that we do are to include lots of fresh veggies with our meals. My kids may frown at cooked green beans, but slice up a cucumber or add some carrot sticks to the table and they will gobble them up.
I have also found a few recipes that add pureed veggies “hidden” in the meal (Deceptively Delicious
What are some of your tips to help your kids eat more healthily (and eat their veggies)?
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Noodles & Company and received five Noodles & Company bowl cards to facilitate my review. Mom Central also sent me a thank-you gift certificate.
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Looks like a yummy place. Reese’s expressions are hilarious.
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Adorable pictures!!! Looks delicious!
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I do the same, I cut up fruit and veggies before dinner and they ‘snack’ on those while they wait. Noodles and Company sounds good for healthy family meals for sure!
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That picture of your daughter in the upper left hand corner has me CRACKING up! What a character.
I absolutely love their Thai curry soup. Mmmmm.
I just don’t make the bad stuff very often. And when I am in charge there is no junk before fruit/veggies and protein. My hubby would let the kids eat burgers, chicken nuggets, happy meals, etc. all the time.
Mommy is “mean”.
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Hi Lolli!
Now you tell me :)
Take care.
Happy WW!
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Ooh – I love Noodles and Company. Though I’m not sure what I get there is truly considered healthy!
None of us at our house likes Noodles & Company, but we do always like to make the healthier choices when we do buy fast food. We switch out the fries for fruit and milk for the soda. Not as good as a home cooked meal, but better than the full-blown junk.
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Been wanting to try that place for ages. Looks delicious. In other news, pretty sure I was at Hershey Park with your daughter. We went last Friday and were surprised to find that it was like music program appreciation day. Other than the jostling-in-line preteen boys who talked about weird things like s-e-x we had a blast!
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i love the Noodle Company but we rarely go there.
we find our kids eat better when we make healthy meals (like tilapia and grilled chicken) than they do when we make fast crappy food. :)
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My oldest loves carrots, and the youngest loves anything you put in rice….eggs? No prob, put it in rice….peas? No prob, but it in rice!
But it does seem we have to hide them in the food!