Thursday, November 08, 2007

Happy Random Thursday

It's cold and foggy. In fact, there is a fog advisory flashing on the taskbar for the Weather Channel on my screen. Frost has begun to form on my windshield in the morning. I think I've been spoiled by the warm, sunny weather lately. I'm not ready for the cold. I am a weather wimp.

Wife and kids came to work to visit me and have lunch yesterday after they'd been to Build-A-Bear Workshop. Big day for them! It was fun to see them and introduce them to my co-workers who had not met them yet, and ones who couldn't believe how big they are getting.

Did I mention that I won another scholarship? I found out last week that I won our school's energy law scholarship. I have no idea if they give out more than one or what the competition was like, but hey - I'm happy! I bring this up on Random Thursday because I was thinking back to last night and how I promised a classmate I would stop giving her grief over dropping our energy law class because it was most likely to my benefit that she was not able to compete for the scholarship. So, I have agreed to fully support her in anything she doesn't want to follow through on as it may later benefit me :) (I know, self-centered, but she does get the benefit of me not hassling her, so really, it is a win-win situation!)

OK - anyone have any awesome recipes for sneaking veggies into kid's food (or adult's food)? Let's just say our whole family is not doing great in the vegetable department, and we have very little time for cooking. I think if Wife has to continue feeding the kids pasta and grilled cheese (all they will eat it seems) for much longer, she will lose her mind. Boy Wonder does OK on fruit, but we can't even get Baby Girl to eat that. "Me no like that," said with great distaste, is a common phrase in our household. Oh, my.

OK - I must go get coffee now. Happy Thursday!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the scholarship!!!

As for veggie sneaking, there are tons of web sites but the current favorite is Jessica Seinfeld's new book. I just read some reviews from moms who have tried her purees and they love the recipes so I ordered it, but it won't arrive until Dec. 12 - boo!

I'd go with the "try one bite" tactic. I'm not above a bribe. You can also try smoothies -- it's a great way to get fruit and veggies in. You can use milder veggies mixed in with fruit juice, yogurt, etc., and make a tasty treat.

I make Mac & Cheese with cottage cheese, diced tomatoes and sometimes spinach. You cook the noodles, add in a cup of cottage cheese, tomatoes and spinach, throw shredded cheddar cheese on top and bake until melted. YUM! I use whole wheat pasta. Barilla Plus is the best tasting one I have found. You can also mix it half/half with regular pasta. Oh, you can also throw tofu in the mac & cheese. ;)

Dakota said...

Great ideas! The Mac and Cheese sounds yummy :)
(Of course, "Me no like" girl doesn't even like all-fruit smoothies, so I don't think mixing in the veggies will work, yet. We keep telling her she has to try one taste because she is getting bigger and bigger and one day she will like things that she didn't like before.

Lynilu said...

Well, congrats on the scholarship! That's great!

On the food issue, I was advised by a good old common-sense doctor many, many years ago to simply offer very small amounts of the desired foods, but to not sweat it when they don't eat it. It may seem unhealthy at this time, but every kid I've ever known grows out of every stage of "Me no want." And they live! the doc felt that power struggling in the least bit was the worst thing you could do as it only prolonged the stand-off. I sometimes sneaked some veggies in by pureeing them in the blender and adding small amounts to the (insert name of favorite food here). Fairly easy to hide in M & C or similar foods. Mostly I ignored it and they grew up to be people who eat almost anything now.

Bottom line is that kids will usually eat when and what they need to have. And parents will still find something to worry about. It is what it is, but without the head to head wrestling, everyone has more fun!

Oh, one of my friend's kids who was absolutely *the* pickiest eater I ever knew (sometimes just one food for weeks on end!!) grew up tall, handsome, smart AND one of the best chefs ever!! Ya just never know.

Dakota said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dakota said...

Thanks Lynilu :)
Our struggle is really more of an internal mommy-guilt thing than an outward one with the kids. We don't believe in fighting over what they eat - as long as they understand if they don't eat at mealtime they don't get to start whining about being hungry and needing a snack 20 minutes later. We make sure they get a bit of whatever we are eating on their plate, along with things we know they will eat. I keep thinking if they see it enough, eventually they will taste, and maybe like. We do sometimes do the "just one bite" deal, but don't force it if it is not going well.

I suspect they will not go off to college eating nothing but Mac and Cheese. Oh, wait - that IS a college staple! Great....