I swear to God, my children once ate vegetables. They ate fruit, and healthy grains, and fish and lean meats and foods that came in all different shapes, sizes, textures and COLORS. Then, each of them hit 18 months, and they were all, "nah... OVER IT... I'll just eat chips and Skittles until I'm out of college and my palate returns to normal, thanks." My son (who turns SEVEN today!) was always a little better (maybe because I had time to actually focus on one, single child?) but my girls are trying to turn me into a mental patient. As a mom, I keep trying. That's my job, to feed them healthy foods. So I keep trying. Like yesterday, I made this Green Mac & Cheese, assuming I could trick them into thinking a magical leprechaun turned it that color. That's fun, right?!
Me: Hahahahahahaha, look lasses and laddy, a wee little leprechaun has played a trick on us, ohhhhh, aren't we lucky little Irish children!?!
Them: (Blank, disgusted stares)
Cut to THREE different-sized meltdowns over dinner. My middle kid ran from the table, the baby just screamed "all done, all done, all done, all done" and my seven-year-old took a bite, plugging his nose and choking back tears, like I was feeding him poison.
My take on this creamy, cheesy pasta full of pureed spinach and broccoli (which I decided to throw into the blender with the spinach so there were NO VISIBLE SIGNS OF VEGETABLES)... it's delicious. It's so, so good. Carson loved it as well. Which is good, because we will be eating it for lunch every day this week. You should make it too, because your kids are probably better than mine.
*Look, I even melted cut-up string cheese on the top because I ran out of cheddar and I wanted it to be EXTREMELY GOOEY AND CHEESY.
OMG! I thought I was the only one whose kid did a 180 regarding veggies, rice, fish--well, pretty much anything that isn't a burger, chicken nugget, pizza, or (yellow) mac & cheese!! At around 18 months, my now six yr old suddenly REFUSED to eat all those things I first listed. Since then, he gags, or makes this horrendous face if he eats a bite of something he doesn't consider a "favorite." The only healthy items he deigns to eat daily now are grapes, and maybe an apple here or there. I wanted to thank you for posting this because I felt so alone (and felt like a crappy mother because my parents always give me a hard time because my son refuses to eat "healthily") until I read this. Love your blog, BTW!
ReplyDeleteMy "babies" are now 19 & soon to be 25 and we went through the EXACT same thing with the 25 year old. . . Ate ALL sorts of green vegetables, etc. and then put the brakes on around 2 yrs old. This child didn't even like pizza, unless it was without sauce. Thank You "white" pizza for being a real thing! This is the same guy thought that loves blue cheese, pesto, fish sauce, and all kinds of pizza (except veggie. . ha ha) so hang in there, it will change again, and while he still tries most everything and his tastes have expanded dramatically, he still doesn't like his veggies. :-/
ReplyDeleteYoungest? Anything and everything.
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ReplyDeleteMy 23 year old did the same thing around two. Before that he couldn't shovel the veggies and salad into his mouth fast enough. Then we went through the beige food years - plain noodles, white pizza, etc. But eventually thanks to peer pressure (of course you eat the regular pizza at your friend's birthday party) and the summer of four new foods - don't ask- he started slowly adding the good stuff back. Today, he loves to cook!
DeleteMy 23 year old did the same thing around two. Before that he couldn't shovel the veggies and salad into his mouth fast enough. Then we went through the beige food years - plain noodles, white pizza, etc. But eventually thanks to peer pressure (of course you eat the regular pizza at your friend's birthday party) and the summer of four new foods - don't ask- he started slowly adding the good stuff back. Today, he loves to cook!
DeleteHahaha that's awesome!! It does look delicious, and very festive.
ReplyDelete