I have four children, one step-child and two grandchildren. I’ve cooked for all of them. This hasn’t always been an easy task. My youngest daughter “only liked chicken” for about two years. I got creative. There were so many types of chicken… pink chicken, brown chicken, big chicken, little chicken, chicken that swims… you get the idea. Whatever we were having for dinner became “chicken” for two years. My first two would eat anything you put in front of them… I didn’t understand why other parents I knew complained about their children not eating dinner. And then I had my third child. The first thing she finally ate (other than breast milk) was ice cream… thank you, Gran. I had just met my mother-in-law to-be. I had jet lag. My child was exhausted, hungry and unwilling to eat. I gave in and handed her over to Gran. They got on like a house on fire, and after the first bowl of ice cream a bargain was struck. Mary could have as much ice cream as she liked… as long as she ate whatever Gran gave her first. It was brilliant! She had to eat all of what was in front of her… or no ice cream. A full plate of food left little room for ice cream.
Skip ahead a few years (past the “everything has to be chicken” phase) and she now refused to eat vegetables. I had to get creative. Vegetables are hard to hide… or so I thought! I always made everything from scratch, so the kids were used to me being in the kitchen “making dinner” long before dinner time. Having meatloaf (or rissoles)? Sauté a bunch of vegetables then run them through the blender and add them to the ground meat. Ta-da!! Lasagna worked the same way… everything was about using the blender for a while. I’d make homemade soup and use an immersion blender so no one would see the veggies in the soup. I could make vegetable soup, tell them it was vegetable soup, and they’d eat it as long as no one saw the veggies.
My children are all grown now. I have two wonderful grandsons. I remembered all of this because it’s time to be creative again… but for me this time.
I’ve discovered a lot of food allergies and sensitivities as I’ve aged, and it’s harder to just “order a pizza” when you’re allergic to corn AND dairy.
I no longer hide veggies, but I have to find ways to replace them.
Amy N Kaplan 