Some Disclaimers

Ann asked if my kids were good eaters, and if they would eat the things I posted earlier this week. I thought I would add some disclaimers so that all you moms out there weren't wondering how in the world I get a one and three year old to eat a salmon BLTA! As a general rule in this house, I do not cook separate meals for all four members of the family. Our rule is "you may eat what mama makes!" We have been extremely fortunate in that Micah is not a picky eater at all. He doesn't care for some meat, namely beef, but other than that he loves most all food. He actually prefers veggies over all other options. I have a hard time getting him to eat fruit, so we have turned to smoothies, a great summer treat! I will load the blender up with some juice and a couple of cups of frozen fruit and the boys (along with me and Matt) love it. Owen, unfortunately, has to be picky because he has no choice. He has an allergy to cow's milk. We try a bite every four weeks to check and see if he has outgrown it and Thursday's tummy ache after a bite of Micah's grilled cheese proved that he is not quite over it. He seems to be ok with eggs now though!
Ok, so back to the disclaimers. I cut things up into bite sized pieces and get the boys to try it. I will cut up the toast, bacon, and salmon for example and let them try a few bites. I have learned not to make it a battle. Babies' taste buds are constantly changing. Owen loved bananas until a week ago, now he spits them out. I normally don't go make them a new meal if they don't like what I fix, I just try to make sure that within the meal there is something that I know they like, and then they can just try all the rest. So, I know they like the bread (I usually use a whole grain for vitamins and fiber, and I will add a slice of cheese for Micah) and if they only eat a bite or two of salmon, that's okay, because sometimes you have to try something up to 12 times to develop a taste for it. I also give the boys a multi vitamin along with a calcium supplement for Owen. This helps curb my fears if they are having a "picky" day. I also offer a snack before bed. We usually do warm milk (whole for Micah, Rice Dream for Owen). And sometimes a bit of dessert. This helps me know that they are not hungry before the long night of sleep. For breakfast and lunch, I do make them things that they like (chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries, pasta, cheese toast, frozen veggies). Now as far as the casseroles go, here is a trick that has worked with Owen. He loves pasta, so I will just take out a few pieces of the pasta from the casserole and let him eat them (it has all the flavors of the whole dish so he can get accustomed to them on something he loves. Then I will try a piece of onion and zucchini. Since he already likes the flavor, he only has the texture that is new in this bite instead of throwing a new taste and texture at him all at the same time.
I majored in nutrition in college, and eating a variety of healthy foods is very important to me. I have also found though that sometimes I can feel some anxiety about feeding my children healthy foods. I have tried to keep dinner times as pleasant as possible because it is very important to us that we all sit down and eat dinner as a family (and that it be a happy time, not one filled with tears, anxiety, and lost patience.) So, rather than worry so much about what they are eating, we try to work on: praying before the meal, no throwing cups on the floor, saying please, sitting until everyone is finished, and other manners. If they would rather pass on the tomatoes, then they aren't going to starve. I always tell Micah "one bite, and if you don't like it, you can eat the other things." Hopefully I can at least keep him open and excited to try new foods, instead being scared I will make him eat something that tastes bad to him. I would love to hear anyone else's tricks to getting their children to eat healthy foods. The zucchini bread was a big hit around here. I guarantee that no one would guess there were veggies in there. Adding purees (try carrots, sweet potatoes, and all varieties of squash,) to muffins, pancakes, breads, ect. is a great way to get some extra veggies in your little ones and yourselves!