
(all dressed up & enjoying sparkling cider for last year's Thanksgiving Feast)
I think most of us want our kids to be good eaters.
Healthy eaters.
Mindful eaters.
The thought of being referred to as a picky eater conjures up thoughts of some poor mama making yet another pb&j on squishy white bread while dutifully cutting the crusts off. No one wants to do that.
And yet, I have realized lately that we are invariably raising our own kind of picky eaters in this house.
We came to this realization the other night when we didn't feel like cooking. It was hot, we were tired… excuses, excuses. We wished for a dinner fairy to drop us off a wholesome meal. We tried to figure out somewhere to eat in town, somewhere we would get take out, and then we realized…
We've become picky eaters…..
Somehow this was funny to Joe & I, who have made it a bit of a mission to raise good eaters. We've painstakingly had sautéed greens rejected countless times before a certain 3 year old finally gave in and all at once declared them delicious. {celebration!} We've conjured up great amounts of zen breathing, patience and determination to keep on trying…. even when preschool aged children in the house pretended to gag or faint. (please tell me some of you have been here too?)
And while I don't want to come across as self righteous (each of us has our own way, you know) I do feel like it's been a worthwhile journey to raise good eaters, picky eaters if you will. Dinner time is pretty smooth sailing these days with kids taking seconds on that pile of greens and being pretty adventurous when we try something new. And you sure can't beat the conversation had around the table.
To cook for & feed my family and lay a meal out on the table with wholesome (& local) ingredients brings an abundance of joy to my heart. To teach them the value of a balanced meal that was grown nearby that tastes delicious is most certainly something that will stick with them. Knowing what a body feels like fueled with super foods will surely make a popcorn-soda-beer diet less appealing in college, right? (I'm hoping.)
They know how things grow, where things come from, how to bake bread, make yogurt and homemade jam. Some of this came about due to frugality (I'm totally cheap) but mostly because we care about our health, farmers & planet.
And while I admittedly have moments where I feel like dinner is the last thing I want to do after a crazy, busy, sweltering hot day…. I still roll up my sleeves, and get it done…. with help from all the hungry people that live here.
After all, frittata is {almost} as easy as any frozen pizza. And it sure as heck tastes a lot better.
Cheers to all my fellow picky eaters out there!