Sunday, August 24, 2008

How I get my kids to eat this stuff.

I've gotten quite a few questions about how I get my kids to eat the wide range of foods I cook. Let's see. What can I say?

Well...
1. They weren't always this great. Not entirely true. Anna and Miles have always been fabulous about eating whatever they happen to get. Abbie, on the other hand, was a horribly picky eater as a child. And it was awful. But one day, I just decided that I wasn't going to be her short-order cook anymore.

2. My kids don't get a lot of snacks (don't I sound mean!?). I mean, they get snacks, but I don't fill them till they're full at snacktime. Snacktime is usually some string cheese and a handful of crackers or the like. I don't keep feeding them till they burst. If they complain that they're still hungry, I remind them that dinner is in a couple hours (usually 2-3 hours) and if they're thirsty they can have some water. So, basically, I make sure they're good and hungry for dinner.

3. Again, I'm not a short-order cook. My oldest daughter picked up this saying from preschool and we have LOVED it here, "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit" (said in a sing-songy voice, of course). Basically, this is what's for dinner. I worked hard on it and (generally speaking) it tastes good! Eat up!

4. If you finish your dinner, there MAY be dessert. Not every night. Even if the kids finish their dinner, we don't do dessert every night. And my kids are either weird or deprived. Sometimes dessert is something as simple as 5 Skittles, or a plum, or even some honey-roasted peanuts once. But dessert isn't guaranteed if you finish your dinner, but if you don't... well, the chances of me giving dessert to the other kids who did eat it, are infinitely more likely. Yeah, I told you I was mean.

I have to admit that I have 3 wonderful eaters. I like to think it's my fault, but I'm guessing it's more a product of my husband. That man will eat anything. And somehow, he convinces them to try it. They eat sushi, shrimp, oysters, octopus, curry. All things I can't stand.

Sidenote -- Something you probably didn't know about me: I hate seafood. I like fish, but detest shrimp. So, this blog will NEVER contain seafood recipes (Jenny hates seafood AND fish). If you were looking for some seafood recipes, you'll have to try another food blog. Good luck.

The moral of the story for me is that my kids aren't picky eaters because it's not an option.

3 comments:

lacyboo said...

i love it. this is what i am trying to do with kade. i on the other hand am a extremely picky eater and my parents did short order cook and i wish they hadnt. so thats how it is here too, ya get what ya get ad you dont throw a fit. thats not to say that fits arent thrown:)

sheri said...

Dude, fish IS seafood, lol! And my palette thanks you. Well, and so does my gag reflex. I wish I liked seafood. In fact, I try to make it (salmon, etc) a few times/year. But so far, it's still a no-go. I feel badly that my kids might not end up liking it because of me, though.

Hil said...

Your not mean, I am exactly the same way. I do still have picky eaters, namely Jeremy he hates rice & fish (we keep a stock of hotdogs in the freezer), we have this rule you don't know that you don't like it until you have tried it. Usually after they try it they love it. Last night we had spicy chicken J said he is not eating I say fine more for me. He in turn tries it loves it and wants seconds! We love going to buffets, they love to try anything and everything, There is this new one here in town they have sushi (which I love) and everything strange and weird you can think of. We love that place cause you can try new things that I could never make!

I never buy soda for my kids, they get some at grandmas but that is it, once and awhile we will have a movie night and I will get some, but that is it. They drink water mainly, but they are orange juice fanatics. They don't really care for milk, just in there cereal. I get the OJ fortified with calcium and vitamin D. For dessert we mostly have sugar free popsicles.