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Little PrincessLittle Princess came up to me while I was chopping spinach for a nice spinach salad and asked me a question which froze me in my tracks, "What is that green stuff mommy?" Oh NO! Pop Quiz! I wasn't prepared for this! I didn't study the answers. There is a definite right and wrong answer here and suprisingly the answer is NOT spinach. I quickly scan through possible answers in my head, "vegetables?" nope that's not it. "Spinach?" definitely not! Hmmmm . . . . "Lettuce?" BING BING BING! Give the woman a prize that is the winning answer! Testing my theory, I casually say, "Lettuce" as I continue chopping. I watch a little hand go over to the bag and pull a bit of spinach out and tentatively taste it. Smiling, she munches happily while I silently celebrate that I have successfully gotten spinach her lips.
I have a little confession. Lean over closely and I will whisper it to you . . . . I sometimes lie to my daughter . . . . there I've said it! I feel better. There are all kinds of foods which are only acceptable if you give them the right name. Vegetable soup is only good if you call it letter soup because according to little princess, every child knows that vegetables are yucky, right? (trust me it took me a while to figure this one out). Kraft Dinner is okay but only if you call it macaroni and cheese and add extra cheese and nothing else to it. Rice is okay but only if cooked with so much chicken bouillon that it turns yellow. Anything with enough salt to send your blood pressure soaring is fine. (Keep the salt shake out of her reach if you don't want to see half the bottle disappear). And in this battle of the belly, I play the game. I worry about her food intake and I say whatever I have to say to make the food make the journey from her plate to her mouth.
I think there was a mixup at the factory, I wasn't supposed to get the skinny kid. I wasn't supposed to get the kid who doesn't eat. I was a fat kid, I understand fat kids, I know how to deal with fat kids. A skinny kid is like an alien to me. I know how to limit food intake and to make the child make healthier snack choices. And since people frown on you sitting on your child and shoving food into her, I don't know to make a kid eat. They say that a child will eat what they need, but they never met my underweight, stubborn kid who would rather be hungry than forced to eat something that is on the ever-changing unacceptable list. Ever "What is that mommy" is a pass or fail exam and I didn't study!
Does someone have the manual on this kid? I think they forgot to turn on the hungry button.
Winter
By the way, who ever decided to send us this weather, Very Funny! That's enough gosh darned snow! Now give me my sun back!
I think I know your kid...I was her for the first seven or eight years of my life. Eventually she will start accepting things. And congrats on getting her to eat spinach. That's awesome! Personally, I won't eat it cooked, but I love it in salad. Just take the victories as you can, and keep trying. And don't worry, she WILL eat when she is hungry enough! Promise!
ReplyDeleteSending some sun your way! It's not exactly lying, it's stretching the truth a bit. A nice Spinach salad with some egg and red onion sound really good.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on sneaking in that spinach!
ReplyDeleteYour comment on my blog about the family not knowing about your veganism is strangely similar to when I used to smoke and they didn't know (I have now quit) except your vegan choice is something to be proud of- you are far more conscientious than they will ever be, I say let them know slowly and who knows you may influence someone. You have all my vegan support!
Ohhhhhh I had one EXACTLY like that! He's 17 now, and I STILL lie to him about his food! He's caught on though and now refuses to eat ANYTHING at home ... at all. He found out that all these years he thought he was eating "beef" in his tacos he was actually getting low fat ground turkey.... he went over the edge! I don't know that what you're doing is so much "lying" as it is "renaming" ... and after all, you could just as easily study spanish and give her THOSE words for whatever -- and she would probably accept it too! Well, heck -- Campbells even did it FOR ya on the Letter Soup -- they just call theirs ALPHABET! It still has carrots and green beans! LOL!
ReplyDeleteAhh .. another warrior on the front lines of the Great Food Wars. It sounds as if you have won the battle, keep up the good work and victory will be ours!
ReplyDeleteThey sure do like to keep you on your toes, that is for sure. I wish I could help you out but I barely tolerate spinach and other vegetables. My kiddos eat a lot of dried fruit as often times fresh is simply unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, I lie to my children all the time. Really. There are just some things they don't need to know, aren't prepared for or ready to digest.
ReplyDeleteI recall a story once my best friend told me. Her son was in kindergarten and his favorite food was fish sticks. He had them 3 or 4 times a week as snack. One day he was hungry and she offered up the fav and he said "GAH NO! I'M NOT EATING THOSE. THEY HAVE FISH IN THEM!" and he has never touched them since. He is 17 now.
There are some things they don't need to know. Spinach is one of them.
If you can put spinach in the family of lettuces, it's not a technically a lie. Oh, I do feel sorry for moms who have picky eaters. My son would eat, but my baby brother lived on pb and mayo sandwiches for as long as I can remember. He's still alive and seems perfectly healthy!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried allowing her to pick out a fruit and veggie each week and have her help you cook it? I found that helped my kids get really into good food.
ReplyDeleteI think that Vicki (veganvice) has a very young child friendly cookbook.. I remember her posting pics and recipes from it last year..
I had little boys, so it was always fun to make gross style things like eye balls and stuff like that..lol.. maybe that wouldn't work with a girl!
Pan didn't know what cookies where until he was 27 months old and spent a day alone my sister's house - and she introduced him to OREO's!!
ReplyDeleteHe always thought crackers were cookies!
Congrats on getting the spinach in - aka_Meritt uses the three bite rule, they have to take three bites before they can say - "ewww" - it's working for me with Tink!
I have one very picky eater that doesn't like veggies all that much but I find a way to get them into the food anyway. I puree them sometimes and put them in sauces and such.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by with well-wishes; I do hope my back gets better soon too!
My oldest son is a picky eater too even though I ate everything under the sun when I was a kid. You can actually see bones sticking out of his rib cage, and no matter how much I try to feed him.
ReplyDeleteBut he does like his broccoli cheddar soup though. But I can't get him to eat meat at all.
I guess they will outgrow it but you really have to introduce everything to them, something will stick eventually. That's my theory anyway.