One thing I’ve been learning from other families... Meal planning isn’t actually the hard part anymore. AI can suggest hundreds of recipes in seconds. The hard part is remembering real life. - Which dinners were actually eaten? - Which recipes were rejected? - Which meals did they actually eat away from home? (at Grandma's / Daycare / Local Restaurant, etc.) Six weeks later… would you remember? How do you remember the meals your kids actually liked?

Every week, I’m going to share one meal we’re considering adding to the Nirvana Nutrition app before it goes into the catalogue. This week’s candidate is Mickey’s Maple Harvest Plate (see the pic of my attempt below 😁) The goal isn’t to make Instagram-perfect food. The goal is to create meals that busy parents will actually cook, and kids will actually eat. So here’s my question… Would this realistically make it into your family’s weekly dinner rotation? 👍 Yes 🤔 Maybe 👎 No And if you answered “Maybe” or “No”… What’s the biggest thing stopping you? (Recipe in the comments 👇) Prep time? Ingredients? Your child would never touch it? Too much washing up? Something else? Every answer genuinely helps shape what makes it into the app, and what goes straight back to the drawing board.

Parent Lab question for today 👇 I’m learning that the real problem with meal plans isn’t always “did the kids eat it?” Sometimes it’s: • We ate out instead • Grandma/someone else handled dinner • We made something easier, or dinner took too long, and everyone gave up 😂 One parent testing a plan this week made a Thursday dinner on Wednesday, then had to explain that it wasn’t “skipped” or “eaten out”… it just moved days. That feels very real to me. When you plan meals for the week, what happens most often?

Something weirdly useful I learned yesterday about cooking oils for kids 👇 I was wondering why toddler recipes favor canola oil more than olive oil, ghee, butter, avocado oil, etc. And the answer actually made a lot of sense. It’s NOT because canola oil is “better” in every situation. It’s because it quietly solves a few very real parent/kid problems: 1. It doesn’t taste like much - Extra virgin olive oil can be amazing, but it has a stronger peppery / slightly bitter taste. - For adults, lovely. - For a toddler who already treats dinner like torture, that flavour can be enough to trigger a coup 😂 - Canola is more neutral, so it disappears into things like oat cakes, mild daals, muffins, pasta, etc. 2. It gives tired parents more margin for error - If you’re cooking while also answering endless questions, preventing climbing-related injuries, and trying not to burn dinner, smoke point matters. - Canola handles higher heat better than EVOO, so it’s a bit more forgiving for everyday cooking. 3. It has a small omega-3 bonus - Canola oil contains ALA, a plant-based omega-3. - It doesn’t replace fish / DHA / EPA, but as an everyday cooking fat, it can quietly add a little nutritional value in the background. 4. It’s realistic - It’s affordable and easy to find. - That matters. The takeaway I’m getting is: - Canola oil is probably a good “default” oil for neutral, everyday kid meals. - But it shouldn’t be the only oil. My rough mental model now is: - Canola oil = neutral everyday cooking - Avocado oil = premium neutral high-heat option - EVOO = low-heat / finishing / pasta / soups / dips - Butter or ghee = flavour-building, especially where dairy is okay I’m curious now… What oil/fat do you usually cook with for your kids? Canola, olive oil, avocado oil, butter, ghee, coconut oil, or whatever is closest to the stove at the time? 😂

The geek in me can look at nutritional data all day, but the only metric that actually matters is if they will put it in their mouth. We tested the new "Ricotta Pea Pasta Pinwheels" from our meal catalog, and as you can see, she gave it a thumbs up and ate it two days in a row! It packs a massive vegetarian nutritional punch. If you want to try it this week: Cooking Cheatsheet: - The Mix: 70g ricotta, 60g peas, 30g spinach. (Tip: Blitz in a food processor for easy spreading). - The Base: 30g lasagna sheets. (Tip: Add to the boiling water one by one, and remove sheets individually with tongs so they don't stick.) - The Roll: Lay flat on lightly oiled greaseproof paper. Spread mix (leave a 1cm border), roll tightly, rest seam-down for 1-2 mins, and slice. - The Stats: 26 mins | 2-4 servings | 9g protein | 140mg calcium. Now, I need a favor from you guys. I have a few other new meals waiting to be locked into the app. Before they are, I want to run them through the ultimate stress test: your little ones. I am going to drop a few "Beta Meal Cards" in here tomorrow. If you are open to testing one out this week and reporting back (even if it ends up on the floor), let me know in the comments! ❤️