I feel like this is always a constant battle in our house. All my kids used to be GREAT eaters....then one day my middle daughter, Betsie, decided she didn't want to eat anything healthy. Of course, this was right around the time her little brother was playing "monkey see monkey do" and he decided to follow suit!
Lucky for me, Anna Cate, who has special needs, has always had an incredible appetite.
In the last year, Betsie has started to come around and she pretty much eats anything...as she really wants dessert. My rule is, no dinner, no dessert. If you get hungry after dinner, I will heat your dinner up, but after a certain time...still no dessert. Eli, has gone to bed many nights hungry.....I will not cook more than one dinner.
I find I sometimes get into ruts with cooking, as I care more about the kids eating than anything else. And not hearing them complain about dinner is also a factor! However, I like to try new dishes.
So one day, I decided to "try" and make our "kitchen" clean...and the kids had wake up call as to what foods they would be allowed to eat. I was surprised they didn't give me much complaining at all. I should have done this sooner!
Slowly, I introduced new foods into their diets and didn't bring the old foods back in. It was not until Monday night where....for the first time...my son tried something new and LOVED it. No fuss, no muss, ate the whole thing. I was so proud of him!
We had Aidells Chicken and Apple Sausage sautéd with onions in coconut oil (the onion were sliced in big piece as I know the kids do not like them and it is easier to pick out), Harvest Blend from Trader Joe's and a salad. This will be a keeper in our rotation for sure!
However, it didn't end there. Today, on our day home from school I tried two new items with them. For lunch we had Roasted Red Pepper Bisque from Trader Joe's with a couple of crackers on the side. Another hit! At snack time I tried something I had seen recently and I can not remember where...maybe pinterest....anyway...it was sliced bananas drizzled with honey and then sprinkled with cinnamon....yum...yum...yum!
Getting my youngest to eat vegetables has been a challenge. Fruit he loves..veggies...not so much. This summer we got a juicer and it changed my world in getting vegetables into his diet. He will not eat many vegetables; however, if he drinks them it is a different story! I think it is the whole idea of him helping me make the juice which he likes. Whatever it takes...I'm game!
Last week a friend mentioned she made apple cider with her kids using their juicer. My kids LOVE apple cider, so today I thought would be the perfect day to try and make some with them. Anna Cate didn't want to get too close to the juicer when I offered for her put an apple in, she preferred to stay back and watch. I wasn't going to push her, as we were having a fun day together. Betsie and Eli took turns making apple cider for us. It turned out pretty good!
While Hurricane Sandy was trying to wash out our day, we were cookin' it up in the kitchen! And it was a huge success!
What are your children/grandchildren's favorite foods? What do they like to help you do in the kitchen?
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