Parenthood is a very personal experience and the meaning and implications are as varied as humanity itself. And of course, sacrifices are generally required.

However, such sacrifices need not include eating a subsistence diet of what’s currently marketed as kids’ food: neon orange noodles, corn-encrusted meat products on sticks and soggy nuggets shaped like extinct animals. Kids can often scarf such foods for every meal. Parents, on the other hand, don’t instantly lose their mature palates when they have a child.

This culinary alignment rarely happens in real life, but several area restaurants are ready to please both parties. There are those whose dedication to food and families are equally strong, who make having a fresh, tasty and crowd-pleasing meal downright easy. Parenthood, after all, is hard enough.

Chick-fil-a

Five area locations, chick-fil-a.com

Good food can come with a drive through, and this fast-food franchise has standardized quality. The fresh-faced youth working the registers are friendly and polished with training, and from the real flower on each table to the modern ketchup packets (dip it or squeeze it!), Chick-fil-a emphasizes customer ease.

Deep-fried foods do dominate the menu, but so does hormone-free white-meat chicken. With grilled nuggets, fresh fruit and applesauce, their kids’ meals ($3.15-$3.95) offer some of the best healthy substitutions in the industry. Hottest in the industry, their Spicy Chicken Sandwich Deluxe ($6.49 as a combo), along with fresh salads and a tasty Chicken Salad Sandwich ($6.59 combo), also offer something more mature to chow down on. Wash it down with lots of fresh lemonade afterward.

And then there’s this: Waffle fries. Waffle fries are multi-generational.

The Egg and I

5838 Barnes Road, 574-57007816 N. Academy Blvd., 268-0700theeggandirestaurants.com

At these locally owned and operated franchises, kids’ chocolate-chip pancakes (all kids’ meals $4.69) can easily share a table top with a fluffy frittata stuffed with Portobello mushrooms, bacon, asparagus and Havarti dill cheese (M.B.A. Frittata, $8.79). Cooked to order and fresh, the asparagus spears are crisp under tooth in both frittata and the Veggie Benedict ($8.49).

Benedict options are especially varied, including crab cake and Philly steak bennies, but kids’ options are, too, thanks to several healthy egg-white dishes. Best of all, high chairs are numerous, and though kids’ messes may be equally so, the staff doesn’t bat an eye. Instead they smile and offer to refill your personal carafe with Arabica coffee.

Naturally’s Market and Café (soon to be renamed The Phoenix)110 Canon Ave., Manitou Springs685-0555, naturallys.net

The holistic, somewhat hippie atmosphere of Naturally’s Market and Café is family-owned and geared to support families. Such is obvious as soon as you spot one of their unique, ergonomic, wooden high chairs on wheels or the book- and puzzle-filled kids corner.

As the name implies, the food is natural and healthy – and also downright tasty. For instance, a thick-sliced turkey and locally baked bread sandwich ($9.75 whole, $7.15 half) rises to several inches high with all its veggie toppings, including shredded carrots and beets, cucumbers and sprouts. Beets as sandwich topping are surprisingly exceptional.

With this great balanced menu, health-conscious parents can nosh on trendy grains like quinoa and millet in the Black Diamond Burrito ($8.79), but kids won’t be scared off by all-beef hot dogs ($4.95) or grilled PBJ with bananas ($4.75).

Poor Richard’s Restaurant320-324 1/2 N. Tejon St.578-5549, poorrichardsdowntown.com

Very few kids will ask for broccoli on their pizza, but at Poor Richard’s you can have your broccoli and get the kids plain cheese, too, thanks to their baked-to-order pizza slices. The kids’ slice will run you only $1.95, and for $9.30, your three-topping slice – broccoli, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, perhaps? – comes with a house salad and a soft drink.

And the salad isn’t mere iceberg lettuce with carrot shreds. It boasts green beans, chickpeas, olives and feta cheese, a great fresh break from a kids’ food diet. Poor Richard’s also gives you a break in the back room, where shelves of books and a huge play castle keep the young ‘uns busy while you savor this mature meal out.

Just keep an eye on your wallet. The adorable toyshop next door can prove pretty irresistible.

ZIO’s Italian6650 Corporate Drive593-9999, zios.com

ZIO’s is what I call a family go-to restaurant, meaning when the “Where do you want to eat. I don’t know, where do you want to eat?” conversation occurs, everyone will be happy going to ZIOs. Divided by columns and arches, the cavernous dining room could seat a crowd – or 12 crowds. The book of a menu contains most of the classic and modern Italian you could think of, centered on a core set of sauces, many cream heavy.

At $3.99 every day or $1.99 on Wednesdays, the kids’ menu is hearty and appealing. (Translation: Cheese! Grilled, in ravioli, on pizza and in lasagna.) But adult palates will find much to like in piquant dishes, including the caper-heady Chicken Piccata ($13.99) with spinach and mushrooms. Or while the kids eat plainer cheesiness, light up your taste buds with the Spicy Shrimp and Prosciutto ($13.49).

ZIOs isn’t reinventing the wheel in terms of casual Italian dining. However, the small-chain restaurant is a smooth-running wheel sure to get everyone easily and happily from empty to full.