I have been comforted by the moms (all moms so far) in the Raising Foodies Cooking Challenge who have admitted that their children are eating bologna and PBJs for dinner while the grownups eat organic veggies and free-range hormone free meats. We sometimes end up with kids having cereal or sandwiches for dinner (hence my pleasure at creating a healthier bread they liked last week) but they usually just eat a minimized version of our dinner. Our younger one continues his beige stage with a very few exceptions. Our older one is getting better about trying things but still swears dramatic aversions to some rather unusual items (hello, cheese, I'm talking to you. You too, soup).
So I thought that in our usual taco rotation I'd add the corn-zucchini quesadilla recipe I found here. So simple, so inoffensive...what could go wrong? Well, plenty as it turns out. The older one decided he not only does not enjoy cheese (though he cheerily eats it on a taco) but now he doesn't like corn. The younger one, despite the beigeness of it, was not interested at all, even to try the bite that dessert depended upon.
My husband and I enjoyed them, but that wasn't the point. We like tacos too, and there are more low-cal veggies in them. It was a worthy experiment, but not a win for us. I include this for a) honesty and b) those of you with kids who will eat cheese and corn! Easy and lovely and easy to augment (black beans would be great in these, and I added avocado and a smidge of sour cream to some of mine as well)...but not a hit with my picky eaters. We also tried Mission Life Balance Plus! tortillas (I had a coupon)--apparently they have Omega 3s and ...let's see...DHAs and calcium and other add-ins. They were fine, better for quesadillas than tacos (though only marginally) but without the coupon, would have been too expensive. Still, I fret over the complete nutritional wasteland that a regular flour tortilla represents so this was a worthy experiment too. The Tipsy Baker makes her own tortillas but if I bring another specialty flour in to this house my husband will seriously consider leaving me. And of course there's Jora's (and Jora's mom's) taco mix that saves us from the MSG in the packets!
Taco Seasoning Mix
6 tsp. Chili Powder
2 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
5 tsp. Paprika
3 tsp. Onion Powder
4 1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
2 t. salt
Use 1/4 c. (or so) of mix and add one cup of water, to one pound of cooked ground beef/turkey/chicken. Simmer for a few minutes until it thickens a bit.
Click over to the Raising Foodies site though--there are some great ideas there and I am excited to try the souffle to see how that goes! The boys do love their basil...I might also try this pesto hummus from my favorite young frugal foodies, TwoFatAls, to take advantage before every last one of my basil plants dies. In fact, let me go make one of those things Right Now.
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2 comments:
Ooo -- that can be so frustrating!
One thing I'll say, though, is some of the whole fussy eater thing is Just How They Are -- but a lot of it seems to be age-related. My 13-year-old and 7-year-old eat just like adults now. (The 7-year-old really never went through a picky stage.) The 11-year-old's foods have expanded dramatically, just in the past couple of years, but she can have her issues. The 5-year-old is coming around.
My kids can be pretty picky, but I refuse to let them off the hook at dinner. They eat what we eat. If we're having Shrimp Scampi, my youngest might eat only the pasta with it, but she'll eat the veggie or salad and the bread, so that's okay.
My kids eat a lot of things other kids wouldn't, and I think that's one reason why--cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, fish, etc.
Of course, they still won't eat PB&J or mac and cheese, so I'm definitely not claiming to have all the answers. lol
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