Cooking for Kids

 I was a picky eater growing up. I remember loving McDonald's French Fries. Happy Meals were my jam. At home I enjoyed sandwiches, hamburgers, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, spaghetti,  and chili. I would turn my nose up at beef stew, chicken and dumplings, and anything that contained any sort of vegetable for years. 

It was not until my teen years that I realized my Mom dumbed down her cooking for me. Onions and peppers came out of her chili recipe. What a sacrifice! Imagine loving to make beef stew but not being able to justify making two meals because of your bratty, hard-to-please kid. It doesn't surprise me that my Dad loves to go out to eat. I imagine my limited menu as a kid made even my Mom's great cooking a lot more boring than it should have been. 

I have really misfired with youngest. All of her life she has had a choice about eating what is prepared or having something else. She tries things in limited quantities. Most recently she ate a good amount of my sweet and spicy chicken over rice. It was not a good place for her to be reasonable. I overdid the red pepper flakes due to a spill and the plate she ate was five alarm hot. The kid managed like a champion. Surprisingly enough brownies absorb heat well. 

Rather than make the sacrifice that my Mom has made for me, I have been trying to make things that push the boundaries of what she likes. She balks at anything green on her plate just like I did. I am sneakier than my Mom and am not afraid to dice things up fine or add cheese as necessary. A broccoli and cheese baked potato wins out of chicken and French fries in my book. 

I do find that I am pushing my own boundaries. I keep playing over this video I watched about baked Brussel sprouts in my mind and thinking," I might like those now." It didn't matter how much green stuff my parents ate when I was a kid. I was a dedicated junkfoodivore. I am certain that plays a role in why I am wide as outside these days. Habits are hard to change. 

Luckily my mini-me enjoys things like steak, chicken, and baked potatoes. Having Ribeye more than one night a week is unlikely because I think those cow parts are made from gold based on their price. A ground beef patty is called steak around my house. So is cubed steak. I just wish we could interest her in eating roast beef. 

I have been thinking through how to con her into more foods. The trick seems to be in making in fun and visually appealing. Teagan is a child that rarely will touch mac and cheese if it doesn't look absolutely amazing. She also eats shredded cheese as a side dish so I don't know after six years where these evolving rules are going. All I know is I want her to be more healthy and well rounded than I ever was.