Today from the CSA we got tons of stuff. A bunch of carrots, chard, tat soi (a very yummy hearty green), a red kumi squash (did I spell that right?), 4 chiles, 4 various tomatoes, an eggplant, a bunch of leeks, lettuce plus three pounds of apples and three pounds of pears. We are SWIMMING in fruit.
What would my heaven be? A full 3 hour block of time where my kids both behave and play with toys while I make an almond crusted pear tart in the kitchen. Or I could make apple-pear jelly in a gently bubbling pot during a lazy Saturday afternoon. Or spend a quiet morning, while the kids sleep in, roasting pumpkin to later use in muffins. Or even more heavenly? I could make a salad with a beautiful balsamic dressing with fresh tomatoes and carrots sliced on the diagonal and I could share it with my boys and they would actually eat it! There is my heaven.
Recently I braised an amazing grass fed pork shoulder all day in the crock pot and it came out all unctious and glistening in it's glorious pork fatty-ness. So soft and delicious, I really hoped at least one of the Things would eat some. Nope not even one. That is a shameful truth for a girl from Memphis. When are my kids going to start eating? How do they manage to only eat the worst foods for them, even when they have only good foods they will choose the least healthy of all of them. I have taken away the hot dogs, nitrate filled meats, chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, flavored yogurts and most of the white flour in our lives. But yet still they manage to gravitate to bread and nothing else. *Sigh* Please someone tell me this gets easier.
Today from the CSA we got tons of stuff. A bunch of carrots, chard, tat soi (a very yummy hearty green), a red kumi squash (did I spell that right?), 4 chiles, 4 various tomatoes, an eggplant, a bunch of leeks, lettuce plus three pounds of apples and three pounds of pears. We are SWIMMING in fruit.
It *usually* gets better. I broke some rules by making rules. They had to eat "their age" in pieces of "salad" (veggie)- a cherry tomato, a baby carrot, a bite of broccoli, etc. If not, no seconds on anything else and no dessert. I know it is supposed to make kids sweets crazy, but it worked for us.
ReplyDeleteWe were also lucky on two fronts- kid2 loved veggies from the start and influenced his brother, and kid1 was told by an adult he admired that each time he ate a new food he'd add 7 years to his life (Japanese saying).
Then, my husband and I went through cookbooks and recipes all over our house and made a list of all the menus that would feed kid1 a balanced meal, even if he didn't eat every bit of it. He had to try a few bites of each item. No options were ever available from the kitchen as a replacement dinner or snack later. He went to bed hungry fewer than three times, but I knew it was his choice, as upset as he was. (I guess I practice tough love.) By age 7 he was eating almost anything I cooked (kale was a favorite veggie) and by now, age 9, there is nothing he won't at least try.
I think having recognizable meals matters, regardless of how healthy (yucky) they are, they are comforting in familiarity. As adults, we missed the variety for a while, but it has come back.
I don't see the blog "It's Not About Nutrition" http://itsnotaboutnutrition.squarespace.com/ on your list of blogs you read, but I thought I had found this one through you. Maybe you do read it and it is just not listed :) As you know, I don't have kids, so I'm hardly a person to be giving "advice" about making sure children make healthy food choices. Nevertheless, I have spent hours over at that site reading about tips for getting kids used to eating different kinds of foods, storing up knowledge for my future, I guess. I'm not sure if there will be new ideas there for you to try or not, but if you haven't been over there it can't hurt to check it out. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy Kids Mom: My daughter is 2 and quarter and we recently started sending her to bed hungry as well. We are already noticing great results. If she doesn't at least try a few real bites (not little teensy invisible bites) of what I cook, there is no yogurt, or appplesauce or even milk. Nothing. If she will at least give it a shot but then truly doesn't like it, I'll let her have other "fillers" but if she won't try it, she gets nothing. She has definitely started trying things more. There has been great resistance and it takes a lot of fortitude on my and DH's part but she's only gone to bed hungry two or three times. She seems to be getting it, that we're serious. We'll see how it goes!
ReplyDeleteTQ