Kitchen Help

As mom to the world’s pickiest eater, dinnertime is always a challenge. In J’s defense she suffered terribly from food allergies/sensitivities at a very early age, and there was a period of time just after diagnosis at 2 when her whole diet was baked chicken, potato chips, fritos and grapes.

Happily that time has passed and now at 7 she can eat pretty much normally with only a couple of ‘no’ foods remaining. What hasn’t passed is her reluctance to try new foods or her acceptance of them when she does try.

After a few years of my not being able to just fix something and have everyone eat it, J was very accustomed to being cooked around. I told her recently that time had come to an end and I will cook one meal that everyone eats. (Even on this I am flexible…with bad memories of nasty foods like liver and brussel sprouts from my childhood I do allow them to decide what they like…I just want them to try things.)

While that is a great theory, old habits die hard…S is a great eater and is pretty open to trying anything, but J’s untrained palate remains quite persnickety. So – after her trying but still turning her nose up at a Italian sausage lasagna, I turned to plan B and took her into the kitchen and taught her how to make a sandwich for herself. She was thrilled-thinks this is the beginning of learning to cook!

She was then anxious to make her sister a sandwich (S had already finished a big helping of lasagna), and make herself another…and then make herself a different kind…then teach her 5 yr old sister to make sandwiches…

I don’t remember the last time we actually finished a loaf of bread before we had to toss it, but the loaf we bought Saturday afternoon was gone before Sunday dinner..

Oh, yes – on that whole brussel sprouts and liver thing…as kids we had to eat what was served for dinner, but many years later at my sister’s baby shower my mother REFUSED to even try the spinach dip I made…so much for respecting her own rules of eating everything that is served!


Photo 36 - Day 47