In With the New....

My boys don't like very many fruits or veggies, which is very frustrating for me, so I'm constantly trying to figure out ways to get them to eat them. They do like some, but it's very limited. I seem to remember the girls were a lot like that, but now they eat a lot more than they did before. Plus, they're much more likely to try new foods now than they used to be. So, I do have some hope for the boys. lol

Now, I belong to this organic veggie/fruit co-op which I get every two weeks with about 11 veggies and 4 fruits. I split my share in half with a friend because there's no way we could eat a whole share ourselves, plus it's cheaper to split it. And, as it is, with half a share we hardly ever eat all that we get. It is frustrating for me to see so much food go bad before we can use it. So, tonight I had a brainstorm and an experiment.

Nicky's still on night shift (bummer), and he didn't get to eat his packed dinner last night, so I was able to send it again tonight. This means I didn't have to cook for us...yippee!! I did end up actually cooking, but something different. I decided we were going to have a taste test dinner. I cooked up some veggies, plus had some raw veggies, along with some fruit. I also had a bowl of ranch dressing and a jar of peanut butter. I put one or two of each item on the boys' plates and prepared my plate, then we tried each food one at a time. I held up each food, one by one, told them what it was and whether it was a veggie or fruit. Then I told them if they could dip it in the ranch or pb, but that they had to try it plain first. If they didn't like anything, they didn't have to eat it, but they had to try it. Now, normally, they don't like to try anything new, especially Levi. But, I guess since it was kinda a fun thing, neither one of them gave me any trouble at all about trying the new foods. I was so impressed! And, we had good results!

Here's Indy with his plate.


And, Levi with his, while he's trying grapes. Yes, I said grapes. This child will not eat grapes. GO figure. Believe me, he's been offered grapes over and over. All my kids like grapes, except Levi. I had green and red grapes on the plate and he actually liked them. I'm sooo happy that he likes grapes now! Whoo hoo!

Here's some of the foods we tried....

Cantaloupe

Carrots and Celery
(Indy liked pb on these, but Levi liked the ranch dressing.)

Cucumber

Asparagus (cooked in oven with seasonings and Parmesan cheese)

Sauteed mushrooms (not a big hit, needless to say)

(Oh well, I like them...)

Grapes, Red and Green

"Fried" Green Beans (in pan on stove with olive oil and garlic)

Breaded and Baked Zucchini

(Great with ranch dip!)

So, that was a pretty good selection, huh? I had kiwi, too, but completely forgot to prepare it, so I'll save it for another night. Besides Levi liking the grapes, he also liked the zucchini. I was amazed. And, Indy decided he liked the carrots and even the celery, especially with peanut butter. I was so excited! Even the girls had this stuff for dinner and found a couple new things they liked, too. Isn't that great?? This experiment came out so well. I'll have to try this again when I get some different fruits and veggies from my co-op.