Sunday, October 08, 2006

Getting vegetables down the kids

Nine year olds and vegetables. Sigh.

Here's what she'll always eat:
*Artichokes. One of her all-time favorite foods. Picked for birthday meals. Best prices usually at Trader Joe's-I can't stand paying two or three bucks a piece, which is what they will often cost in the grocery stores around here unless they are right in season. She likes them best plain or with ranch; I have to have bearnaise.
*Edamame (you know, raw soybeans in the pod-nice tossed with kosher salt after you've steamed them for 5 minutes). Trader Joe's has great prices-I always have whole and shelled in the freezer.
*Raw peas in the pod. Good deal when you buy the big bag at Costco for $5. Otherwise, usually pretty expensive.
*Raw baby carrots.
*Baked or mashed potatoes.
*Cucumbers
*Raw green beans and (horror of horrors) CANNED green beans. Gotta love that limp goodness.
*Tomatoes. We never get a good tomato harvest as they are always eaten right off the vine. Happy she enjoys them, but it's only good for those few precious tomato months of the year.
*A few leaves of lettuce or baby spinach.
*Raw jicama

Never:
*Broccoli. I've tried selling it as "little trees" a la Enchanted Broccoli Forest to no good. I think it's the absolute least favorite.
*Most cooked veggies, even with cheese sauce.
*Anything pickled.
*Wonderfully crisp, cooked green beans. Heaven forbid.
*Cooked squash, even with butter and brown sugar. This defies all logic, since it is now really more of a dessert than a vegetable.

Themes: crisp, relatively tasteless or sweet: good
cabbagey or cruciferous flavor: bad

So, my goal for the next month is to find a few more vegetables she'll eat. Wish me luck.

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