Sunday, February 26, 2012

Don't Knock It 'til You've Tried It

Toddlers and food, a love-hate relationship.  At least that's how it goes in our house.  One moment food is an occasion for great rejoicing; the next moment a time for weeping.  And should the color green make an appearance.....  Oh No!!


I remember our second Thanksgiving with the boys, as they were happily joining us at the table and enjoying the best of the best with the rest of the family... potatoes, turkey, rolls, yum, yum.  Until I saw Papa slipping something GREEN onto the oldest boy's plate... "NO!!  Don't do it!!  We're having such a nice dinner!" I intercepted him mid-serving.  My son started his green-food aversion early, a sudden switch from a baby who would slurp down pureed kale without a second thought.  We still haven't moved on from our green-phobia. 

So when I read these suggestions from Katie at Good Life Eats, I thought, "Yeah, OK, most of that makes sense, but I'm not into making food into a game all the time."  Her #3 suggestion for making food more fun is to use fun names.  Here's where my literal streak comes in.  I like to call things what they are.  I don't like to trick my kids into eating things.  Oh, I'm not above sneaking a veggie into a muffin or adding a carrot to the spaghetti sauce, but if you ask me, I'll tell you what's in it.  So, I'll call broccoli "trees" if that's what you think they look like, but I haven't served up any spider brains lately. 

But today, as I was whipping up some spinach-laden smoothies for myself and whoever else cared to join me, it occurred to me that it wouldn't hurt to try.  So, I called Micah and Titus in to witness the creation of "monster drink."  Can I tell you?  They slurped it down... with gusto!

It worked, and I'm  not knockin' it anymore. 

Warning: Be prepared to serve monster smoothies with a side of endless roaring and scary faces. 

No comments:

Post a Comment