Kids and Food
I don't know how food works at other people's houses but this is how it works at mine- I cook and it's pretty much a crapshoot whether or not people are going to eat it. By people I mean the under 4 crowd, Brian and I eat our food.
So here's a typical dinner at our house- vegetable, starch, protein, and what its pictured, typically a fruit. That night we had kale salad (from costco), butter noodles, salisbury steak meatballs, and some kind of fruit not pictured. Ok not the healthiest of dinners but in fairness it was homemade, I rolled those little meatballs myself, there was chopping and raw ingredients involved. Yes there could have been fewer carbs and what there was could have been whole grain, but give me a break sometimes you need butter noodles.
This is pretty typical of our meals, lots of chopping, lots of fresh stuff... and lots of fasting on the part of my 3 year old. I comfort myself by saying there is no way he is going to be 35 and trying to live on a diet of fruit snack and goldfish crackers. Or that someday his little brother will end this crazy bipolar hunger strike he has going on and instead eat like a person. Right now Michael tells me that he is "fasting" and Zach, well there are some days where Zach will literally throw his milk and me because he doesn't want it and instead wants real food and other days when he wants it surgically attached to his body. But seriously is this how things work at other houses?
Today, well today I thought I had the world by the tail. The other day I tried a new recipe for teriyaki chicken. It was a hit, fast (well fast in the sense that it baked for awhile but that doesn't really require much effort), easy (limited chopping), and everyone liked it (no leftovers). So I tweaked on thing (swapped out the zucchini that Michael said made him throw up (ok...) for carrots and broccoli (that he sometimes devours))....and he ate maybe 5 bites, after a lot of coaxing, begging, and threats of a night of starvation. I liked it the first time, but not as much as he did... so fail. Zach on the other hand refused it the other night but had two servings tonight. Why can't we like the same thing twice in a row! The meatballs... another hot and cold thing, sometimes they love the noodles, sometimes they love the meatballs, but never the same, and never together... is this normal? This week Michael has been living on a diet of ham and cheese sandwiches. He takes a whole sandwich to school, eats it and comes home and asks for another. I'd like to prepare by you know buying more... but I'm hesitant, next week the sight of ham might make him cry. Oh well, I'm comforted by two things- 1. despite his refusal to eat like... a person, he continues to grow, and 2. I've yet to met an adult who flat out refuses all food... so that's a good thing...right?
So here's a typical dinner at our house- vegetable, starch, protein, and what its pictured, typically a fruit. That night we had kale salad (from costco), butter noodles, salisbury steak meatballs, and some kind of fruit not pictured. Ok not the healthiest of dinners but in fairness it was homemade, I rolled those little meatballs myself, there was chopping and raw ingredients involved. Yes there could have been fewer carbs and what there was could have been whole grain, but give me a break sometimes you need butter noodles.This is pretty typical of our meals, lots of chopping, lots of fresh stuff... and lots of fasting on the part of my 3 year old. I comfort myself by saying there is no way he is going to be 35 and trying to live on a diet of fruit snack and goldfish crackers. Or that someday his little brother will end this crazy bipolar hunger strike he has going on and instead eat like a person. Right now Michael tells me that he is "fasting" and Zach, well there are some days where Zach will literally throw his milk and me because he doesn't want it and instead wants real food and other days when he wants it surgically attached to his body. But seriously is this how things work at other houses?
Today, well today I thought I had the world by the tail. The other day I tried a new recipe for teriyaki chicken. It was a hit, fast (well fast in the sense that it baked for awhile but that doesn't really require much effort), easy (limited chopping), and everyone liked it (no leftovers). So I tweaked on thing (swapped out the zucchini that Michael said made him throw up (ok...) for carrots and broccoli (that he sometimes devours))....and he ate maybe 5 bites, after a lot of coaxing, begging, and threats of a night of starvation. I liked it the first time, but not as much as he did... so fail. Zach on the other hand refused it the other night but had two servings tonight. Why can't we like the same thing twice in a row! The meatballs... another hot and cold thing, sometimes they love the noodles, sometimes they love the meatballs, but never the same, and never together... is this normal? This week Michael has been living on a diet of ham and cheese sandwiches. He takes a whole sandwich to school, eats it and comes home and asks for another. I'd like to prepare by you know buying more... but I'm hesitant, next week the sight of ham might make him cry. Oh well, I'm comforted by two things- 1. despite his refusal to eat like... a person, he continues to grow, and 2. I've yet to met an adult who flat out refuses all food... so that's a good thing...right?
I would officially like to eat at your house. Every day. My children are not invited, as they will react as yours do. I think Benson lives on peanut butter sandwiches and milk.
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