Another thing that worked for us is making a big deal about going to the farmers' market. I would give my son some money and let him pick and pay for a few things. Hoo boy! The freedom! He picked things like beets, which I then had to learn to cook. HA!

NO< NO< NO...don't use the canned chicken. It tastes like tuna. If you are strapped for time, just go to the grocery store and buy a rotisserie chicken and cut the meat off the bone. Besides, it's probably not stuffed with preservatives and yucky stuff....oh great -- now I'm talking like a kid!

Yep, DS6a dips everything but bread in honey-mustard. DS6b likes things spicier, and likes things like olives and tomatoes.

They both CRAVE sushi. They love sushi. DSa prefers the rice and b prefers the fish but we insist they both eat some of the protein. Oh, they also LOVE the edamame that we always get with sushi. It's like peas that you shell as you eat them.

Once we got a lot of fresh peas at the farmer's market and we sat out on the deck shelling them... the kids ate more than they put in the pot. Fresh, high quality veggies taste good. I agree, if they can grow their own, even better.

Thanks for posting the "kitchen-sink" spaghetti sauce recipe!!!

Oh, if you're going to try Velveeta, you might try putting it on the side, as a dipping sauce.

I got D17 a sushi cookbook/kit last year, but we haven't opened it yet, LOL. I need to find that darn thing.

But that's another way to get kids eating - getting them to help prepare it.

Also, can you find one of those farms where you pay $5/bucket to go out and pick your own stuff? Those are fun, I tell you! And makes for great memories. I still remember the one time I did it as a child, and that was 40 years ago!

Oh yeah, their day care a couple years ago organized a family trip to a strawberry farm! That was cool. They prolly don't remember it though.

Sushi cookbook??? Isn't that an oxymoron?

hey, cat..... *hug*

Now there's a first! Coming over to the GQII board to feel safer to post!

Warning, temporary TJ - sorry! Jayne, I love you! Thank you so much. I hate having a thread that I hope doesn't have any posts in it. I feel like such a failure today.

Now I know how YAL felt when I kept trying to drum into her head how dangerous her bf was. Is. ugh

btw, that sushi kit had chopsticks and the whole shebang. It was one of those things you buy at the bookstore, you know, with all the kits to do everything under the sun. Really cute.

Well, chicken and veggie pancakes were a hit with my finicky boy, but the other two didn't care for them.

The good news is that I discovered he really likes carrots, so that's a start.

Not doing the chicken and veggie pancakes again, though. Not popular enough with the other two.

So I'll try the spaghetti next!

I have them this weekend so that will be a good time to try it.

The idea with the spaghetti sauce can also be turned into chili for those kids who like something southwestern. Take the onions, celery, peppers and garlic and cook them the same way..BUT cook them in vegetable oil and not as much. Then add: 2 cans chopped tomatoes, black pepper, 3/4 tea. oregano, 1 tsp ground sage, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, and 1-2 Tablsp. chili powder. Simmer for 1/2 hour until flavors blend. A half hour before serving, add: 1 pound precooked hamburger, and 3 cans of drained beans. I add 3 different types of beans for a variety in color. Kids are drawn to colors and variety of patterns even in food, so I will use a can of white beans, a can of lg red chili beans and a can of pink beans.
We do a chili "bar". Everyone gets a bowl of chili and I set up bowls of condiments for each to add-their-own. Grated cheddar, chopped black olives, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, etc. We have either corn chips or rice to go with it.

Silly names worked for me.

Squirmy Wormy Beans = green beans

Green Pea Bird Eggs = microwaved green peas in a nest of mashed potatoes

Italian Vegetables = steamed zucchini w/ sun-dried tomato/spaghetti sauce topped w/ Parmesan cheese

Goodness! Kids are finicky eaters!

Spaghetti is normally a hit. Tonight? Not so much.

I took a can of Dora spaghetti, emptied the sauce, and added the pasta to spaghetti I prepared.

My finicky boy had a few bites and that was it.

Now, something that has worked very, very well (too well, as it turns out) is what I call the "silly bounce".

There's only one rule: You can't do the silly bounce unless you have (insert food group here) in your mouth.

So, the kids get a mouthful of carrots, for example, then they bounce up and down either in their seats or next to their chairs and sing, "Silly bounce, silly bounce, silly bounce!" Say it over and over and faster and faster.

Lots of giggles and laughs ensue followed by more mouthfuls to continue doing the silly bounce.

On a side note: The Superman cookie jar has been a monster hit. The kids insist on it now and don't want their cookies any other way.

I fly him around the kitchen singing the theme from the movies and land him to get the kids their cookies.

He then flies back to his spot. They ask for it every time!

LOL I'm confused... you have to do tricks to get your kids to eat cookies? Or are these like what we call "breakfast cookies" but they are actually granola bars?

And the silly bounce... how do you keep the food from going everywhere, if they are bouncing up and down and singing with a mouthful of carrots? LOL That would be disastrous in my house. Unless there's something I'm missing!

I know what you mean about how quickly the favorite standby can become something impossible to eat. We keep cans of Dora spaghetti etc on hand for when they're in the mood. Also, they sometimes like Ramen noodles - you know, it's called different things in Canada and the US but it's the packages that you can get 10 for a dollar, and you break the noodles into boiling water and ad the flavor packet... cheap food, but sometimes the only thing they'll eat is that with a grilled cheese sandwich.

They put the veggies in their mouth, come to me to show me they have it in their mouth, and I sing "silly bounce" while they bounce up and down and chew their food with smiles on their faces.

The cookie thing is just a new thing. I bake chocolate chip cookies for them almost every time they're over, but the Superman cookie jar just gives me a good reason to be goofy.

They enjoy it.

We have the most fun when I'm very goofy.

OIC! Thanks for clearing that up for me. I thought the kids were doing the singing! LOL I pictured chewed carrots ending up all over the place

Yes acting goofy is great. How old are they?

You bake cookies? I'm impressed. I love to bake... cakes, pies, homemade sourdough bread... but cookies baffle me. The best I can do is the frozen disks that you just put on a cookie sheet and put in the oven. When I was single they didn't even get into the oven.

What happens when they don't like what you make? Do they eat something else? Do you fix it for them?

I'm a softy, and my dad owned a restaurant so I was in grade school before I realized that most families all sit down and eat the same thing. When I was little we ate dinner in the restaurant and we all just ordered whatever we wanted. So I tend to fix them something else if they don't like it.

Often I give them a choice - would you like soup and sandwiches, or fish sticks, etc. - they have to agree usually. So they have to eat it if that's what they agreed to.

When they don't get a choice it's usually because we (or I) have planned a menu that's more elaborate - like chicken marsala, or steak, or crock pot chicken. It's primary aimed at grownup tastes, so if they don't like it I am willing to nuke some fish sticks or chicken fingers if they want.

H is more strict about them eating what he cooks, but also he's better at cooking things that they like! (They usually eat his salmon, sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, steak, pasta, and tacos.) My experimental recipes sometimes appeal to adults but not kids. They love my bread though, and I hide lots of nutrients in it like flax seeds etc.

Hey Jayne: If your kids like your bread recipe, why not turn it into stromboli (stuffed bread). You can also use frozen bread dough for this. Roll your thawed or fresh dough (after first rising) out into a large rectangle and fill with your favorite fillings. I make a vegetarian one with onions, celery, and garlic with southwestern seasoning and lots of cheddar. I also make a pizza one and a ham and cheddar that's always a hit. Fill 1/2 of the rectangle with the filling of choice to within an inch of the edges. Fold the other half of the rectangle over the filling and using egg wash, seal the edges. Use an egg wash on the top too. You can cut slits into the top to vent steam. Bake like for the bread but not as long. Only until golden brown.
Check on www.allrecipes.com for a more detailed recipe. After it cools for about 10 min. slice and it makes great finger food for parties, or easy suppers.

This thread will become the MB cookbook!

Comfort food for broken hearts everywhere!

My mom did this too. She said if we eat it raw then we didn't have to eat it cooked. Since we had such a huge garden I always walked my way down each row eating as I went. Green peas, carrots, potatos, cucumbers, asparagus and corn all raw. Just rinsed them off with the hose. Then I'd move on to the raspberry bushes and strawberry plants. And I still love raw potato with salt on it. Rhubarb fresh with salt, same with watermelon. Yummy.

raw potato with salt! One of my all-time favorite foods! Woohoo!