The Eating Habits of My Children

We'll start with Gabby because she's my biggest frustration when it comes to meal time.  She is 7 and she thinks that food comes in three food groups: sweets, mac & cheese and hot dogs.  Um, FALSE!  I have had an uphill battle to get her to try foods and find new things that she likes.  Part of the problem is that she was allowed to eat whatever she wanted before I came in to the picture.  That's not good.  Nana figures that if Gabby eats donuts and cookies, it's better than eating nothing.  Also, FALSE!  So, back to Gabby, she says she's a picky eater and can't eat this and can't eat that.  However, she'll eat hummus (which she calls peanut butter salsa stuff), salami and lasagna.  These are not picky eater foods.  The flavors and spices are entirely too powerful if you ask me.  But, we've been trying.  She has to eat a veggie with dinner and has to eat a fruit with her lunch and/or snack.  I know that's no where near the recommended daily serving of fruits and veggies but I'm trying.  I've gone as far as to hide vegetables (usually pureed) in her food-- ex. zucchini in brownies, cauliflower in mac and cheese.  I'm sneaky and it works.

The real reason I can't stand how Gabby eats?  It's because of how Jack eats.  He's a chowhound and will eat anything and everything (except white potatoes and bananas).  We took him out for his birthday and he ate crab legs for lunch.  He loves all fish: shrimp, crab, salmon, red snapper, cat fish.  He also loves veggies: beets and spinach in his applesauce, green beans, brown beans, black beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes. And, he likes fruits: apples, pears, mango, pineapple, blueberries.  It's amazing!

I thought for a while that if Gabby saw the praise that Jack was getting for eating so well that she'd want praise too.  I don't think she cares.  Our latest system is that Jack sits next to me at meals and eats off of my plate and Gabby has to have a smaller portion of what we're eating and then after she eats it, she can have PB&J, chicken nuggets, etc.  If anyone has any other suggestions, please send them my way.  Meal time is very frustrating at my house lately.

Pork chops and asparagus taken from his daddy's plate