What do I feed my kids?????

I have been asked this question a lot.  And here is the answer - They eat what I eat!  We have a rule in our house - you HAVE to try at least one bite, and more than one bite if you like it!  My boys have often been pleasantly surprised when they taste a bite of something that they don't think they'll like.  I tell them that "this is something you LOVED eating when you were a baby!!!".  That usually gets them all excited.  My philosophy on kid eating is this - if they're hungry enough they'll eat what you offer them!  Don't get me wrong - there are definitely days when the pizza kit comes out of the freezer, but most of the time I prepare home-cooked meals & the boys are expected to eat them.

One trick I've come up with to get them to eat the food on their plates without much fuss is to get them involved in the process!  I'll give each kid a Weight Watchers cookbook and 5 sticky notes and ask them to look for 5 meals they'd like me to cook.  Luckily they start toward the front of the cookbooks (the desserts are in the back!) and they usually find several really good sounding meals.  Now that Grayson can read he always finds the seafood section and makes his choices from there.  Preston usually finds the steak / pork section.  They also like noodle-dishes a lot.  A lot of times I'll have them cook with me.  In fact, Grayson knows how to make waffles ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!!  :)

I also bring them to the grocery store with me and have them choose the veggies / fruits.  Preston is a big kiwi fan, and Grayson LOVES him some tomatoes!  Once it is farmers' market season we'll be there doing the same thing - choosing healthy & delicious foods to eat!  A really fun way to get your kids to eat fruits (if that is a struggle for you) is to make a giant rainbow with them!  We'll go to the grocery store and grab strawberries, mandarin oranges, pineapple (fresh - not canned - I can't STAND that stuff!!!), kiwi, blueberries & grapes - you get the picture.  We'll cut them into bite-sized pieces and arrange them on a large platter to look like a rainbow.  You can put cool-whip, mini marshmallows or yogurt as 'clouds' on the ends.  I give each kid a tooth pick and have them go crazy!  Sometimes when the boys each have a friend over I'll make this as one of their snacks.  They always think it is cool, and I think it's cook that they're eating so much fruit!
 

I also have days where we 'eat the rainbow'.  Mondays will be all red (apples & tomatoes), Tuesdays all orange (oranges & sweet potatoes), Wednesday will be yellow (bananas & yellow squash), etc....  We'll have a fruit & a veggie of each color.  This is a GREAT way to get kids to try new foods!  I also ask the kids for suggestions when we do this.  It does get challenging to find blue veggies, but we've decided that purple potatoes are close enough!  :)

Another trick with veggies is this:  Don't ask, "What kind of vegetable do you want with dinner?".  You KNOW the answer will be a very whiny "I don't want any veggies!!!".  Instead ask, "Do you want zucchini or green beans for dinner?".  You're more likely to get an answer that contains a vegetable with that question!  :)

(Speaking of veggies - if you're in the Addison County area of Vermont check out Elmer Farm.  They have a great CSA program.  My parent's joined last year and I couldn't believe how much great produce they brought home each week!!!!  I joined this year and I can't WAIT for farmers' market season!!!!  If you sign up make sure you mention that I sent you - I think I get a gift certificate or something!)

So, anyway, my kids eat what I eat.  There are rare instances where they just won't eat what I've made - and on those nights I just find some leftovers from the fridge (there are usually many of those!) and offer them something that I know they've eaten before.  I also make sure I put a lot of fruits / veggies on their plate, and that usually helps to fill them up!

If you have any tips - share them with me!!!!  :)

Nutritional Diary 3/14 - 35 Total PP
Breakfast:
     Coffee w/ 4 t. sugar (it was STRONG!!!) & 2 T. half 'n half (3 PP)
     Jenn's Oatmeal (5 PP) + 1 banana (0 PP)

Lunch:
     1 serving Chili Verde (7 PP)
     1 c. white hominy (5 PP)

Dinner:
     1 serving Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese (7 PP)
     2 c. steamed cauliflower (0 PP)

Snacks:
     1 small clementine (0 PP)
     1 orange (0 PP)
     1/2 c. grapes (0 PP)
     1 cheese stick (2 PP)
     .75 oz. chocolate covered almonds (2 PP)
     1/2 c. Butternut Squash Fries (0 PP)
     1 serving Cherry Fool (this was a culinary disaster that was WW's fault!!!  The recipe is WRONG!  When I figure out how to fix it I'll post the recipe.  It still tasted good, though....) (2 PP)  w/ 1 T. mini chocolate chips (2 PP)