Day 13
And another day when Asher is in bed by 6:00. Seriously? Turkey? You won't eat a few little chunks of rolled up deli turkey? It was the really good kind too, tasted like fresh roasted turkey.
Paul and I had turkey, brie, and cranberry panini for dinner. A side of broccoli rounded things off. Hannah ate turkey, bread, and broccoli (remember...anything cheesy is a no-no, and why would I waste good brie on her?)
Asher ate carrots, cucumbers, wheat bread, and then when I told him if he didn't eat the turkey (which I had dressed up by putting a toothpick in each little bite) he would just be going to bed, he got down from the table and went to his room.
No stickers given out tonight. Hannah didn't have anything "offensive" on her plate to try and Asher got sent to bed.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Day 12
I was soooo looking forward to dinner tonight. Chicken and asparagus in peanut sauce over brown rice. It was the first time I made this particular recipe, but I've made a lot of different peanut sauces for satay and stir fries.
The kids started with the "What's for dinner tonight?" around 4:00. Then when I told them it was chicken with peanut butter sauce (what kid wouldn't want something with peanut butter sauce on it!) they both started questioning, "Do I have to eat it too?" "Do we just have to taste it?" "What am I having?" This did not bode well for smiles. I gave them each brown rice, plain sautéed chicken, and asparagus. I also gave Asher some cucumbers.
Hannah licked her piece of chicken and gave the usual, "blech." But then was reminded that touching a food to one's tongue does not constitute tasting the food. She eventually put a small piece in her mouth, made her gagging sound, gulped some milk and swallowed. Asher sat quietly and ate brown rice, the cucumbers and chicken. He would not touch the asparagus or the sauced chicken. With threats of being sent to bed again he eventually let my husband poke one small taste of the chicken and feed him. He spat it back on the plate and cried.
Am I torturing my children?
Outcome: Hannah got a grumpy sticker. Asher was denied a sticker and went to bed early.
I was soooo looking forward to dinner tonight. Chicken and asparagus in peanut sauce over brown rice. It was the first time I made this particular recipe, but I've made a lot of different peanut sauces for satay and stir fries.
The kids started with the "What's for dinner tonight?" around 4:00. Then when I told them it was chicken with peanut butter sauce (what kid wouldn't want something with peanut butter sauce on it!) they both started questioning, "Do I have to eat it too?" "Do we just have to taste it?" "What am I having?" This did not bode well for smiles. I gave them each brown rice, plain sautéed chicken, and asparagus. I also gave Asher some cucumbers.
Hannah licked her piece of chicken and gave the usual, "blech." But then was reminded that touching a food to one's tongue does not constitute tasting the food. She eventually put a small piece in her mouth, made her gagging sound, gulped some milk and swallowed. Asher sat quietly and ate brown rice, the cucumbers and chicken. He would not touch the asparagus or the sauced chicken. With threats of being sent to bed again he eventually let my husband poke one small taste of the chicken and feed him. He spat it back on the plate and cried.
Am I torturing my children?
Outcome: Hannah got a grumpy sticker. Asher was denied a sticker and went to bed early.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Day 11
A very successful dinner tonight. We had homemade pasta, and homemade meatballs and sauce (leftover "Sunday Gravy" from the freezer) and beautifully fresh green beans. When my daughter learned of tonight's menu earlier in the afternoon she almost threw a hissy fit...but held it in. Remember, Hannah = no sauce, of any kind. When I make my sauce I always keep some meatballs out and bake them with no sauce. But, when I freeze the leftover sauce everything goes together.
As expected, my son gobbled his meatballs and pasta and ate his green beans with only a little reminding. Once I assured her that I had scraped off almost all of the sauce from the meatballs, Hannah enthusiastically took a bite. But then exclaimed, "I don't like it!" But, with a gulp of milk, chewed and swallowed the bite she took. She ate multiple servings of pasta and green beans.
Outcome: Both children got smile stickers tonight.
A very successful dinner tonight. We had homemade pasta, and homemade meatballs and sauce (leftover "Sunday Gravy" from the freezer) and beautifully fresh green beans. When my daughter learned of tonight's menu earlier in the afternoon she almost threw a hissy fit...but held it in. Remember, Hannah = no sauce, of any kind. When I make my sauce I always keep some meatballs out and bake them with no sauce. But, when I freeze the leftover sauce everything goes together.
As expected, my son gobbled his meatballs and pasta and ate his green beans with only a little reminding. Once I assured her that I had scraped off almost all of the sauce from the meatballs, Hannah enthusiastically took a bite. But then exclaimed, "I don't like it!" But, with a gulp of milk, chewed and swallowed the bite she took. She ate multiple servings of pasta and green beans.
Outcome: Both children got smile stickers tonight.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Day 10
It was chicken fajita night. I made yummy homemade whole wheat tortillas yesterday for the first time. My daughter has had one with butter and sugar and cinnamon for a snack two days in a row. I felt that this was a good sign that she wasn't going to balk at chicken fajitas wrapped in these delicious warm tortillas. Um....wrong.
Tonight I used grilled chicken, onions, red pepper, mushrooms, and frozen corn in the fajitas. I gave Hannah a tortilla and she chose to fill it with chicken, some corn, and snap peas that I made just for the children. I gave Asher some cut up grilled chicken, and snap peas (it was Friday...I was tired...I didn't want to push it.) Hannah ate a few bites of her "fajita" but then ended up just eating the "guts" and leaving the tortilla on her plate. (???)
Asher insisted he didn't like the "black part" of the chicken (it was grilled on the gas grill) and, even though he was the one that suggested we buy snap peas at the market today, just pushed his snap peas around his plate. He eventually ate his chicken and took 1 bit of snap pea. Then he asked for more chicken, ate one bite and for some reason gagged and spat it back on his plate.
Conclusion: Hannah got a smile sticker. Asher (although threats to send him to bed were sprinkled throughout dinner) got a grumpy sticker. They are both cleaned, pajamaed, and are watching a Disney Junior show before bed.
Just a note....dinner time still sucks in my house.
It was chicken fajita night. I made yummy homemade whole wheat tortillas yesterday for the first time. My daughter has had one with butter and sugar and cinnamon for a snack two days in a row. I felt that this was a good sign that she wasn't going to balk at chicken fajitas wrapped in these delicious warm tortillas. Um....wrong.
Tonight I used grilled chicken, onions, red pepper, mushrooms, and frozen corn in the fajitas. I gave Hannah a tortilla and she chose to fill it with chicken, some corn, and snap peas that I made just for the children. I gave Asher some cut up grilled chicken, and snap peas (it was Friday...I was tired...I didn't want to push it.) Hannah ate a few bites of her "fajita" but then ended up just eating the "guts" and leaving the tortilla on her plate. (???)
Asher insisted he didn't like the "black part" of the chicken (it was grilled on the gas grill) and, even though he was the one that suggested we buy snap peas at the market today, just pushed his snap peas around his plate. He eventually ate his chicken and took 1 bit of snap pea. Then he asked for more chicken, ate one bite and for some reason gagged and spat it back on his plate.
Conclusion: Hannah got a smile sticker. Asher (although threats to send him to bed were sprinkled throughout dinner) got a grumpy sticker. They are both cleaned, pajamaed, and are watching a Disney Junior show before bed.
Just a note....dinner time still sucks in my house.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Day 9
I know I usually begin with a little ditty about what I made for dinner tonight. But I just have to exclaim first:
My son ate a green bean tonight!!!
Not only did he eat one green bean tonight, he ate 4 or 5 and he liked it. Whew.
So, dinner tonight consisted of braised Italian sausages, hash brown potatoes made in the waffle iron (see picture below) and cut green beans.
They're really easy to make. Just grate a potato, add a tablespoon of melted butter and a bit of seasoned salt and put it into a hot waffle iron. Yum.
Both kids like sausage and Hannah likes almost anything that has to do with a potato. Asher is expanding his potato repertoire beyond "crispy crowns" from the freezer aisle and fast food french fries. He enjoyed his "waffle fries" tonight. And, as I said, he ate green beans too! Hannah likes almost all green vegetables.
Outcome: Both children got smile stickers tonight.
I know I usually begin with a little ditty about what I made for dinner tonight. But I just have to exclaim first:
My son ate a green bean tonight!!!
Not only did he eat one green bean tonight, he ate 4 or 5 and he liked it. Whew.
So, dinner tonight consisted of braised Italian sausages, hash brown potatoes made in the waffle iron (see picture below) and cut green beans.
Both kids like sausage and Hannah likes almost anything that has to do with a potato. Asher is expanding his potato repertoire beyond "crispy crowns" from the freezer aisle and fast food french fries. He enjoyed his "waffle fries" tonight. And, as I said, he ate green beans too! Hannah likes almost all green vegetables.
Outcome: Both children got smile stickers tonight.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Day 8: Could you hear the gagging tonight? Dinner was delicious. Lasagna rollups (cheese) with meat sauce I made a couple of weeks ago defrosted from the freezer, and a lovely green salad. I made the kids cut-up leftover lasagna noodles with butter, chicken nuggets, and vegetables. And, I didn't even make them try the lasagna (I thought this was very generous.) I just put some lasagna noodles on one side of the plate with some sauce on top.
Hannah cut a small piece of sauced noodle, ate it and gagged and gulped her milk, exclaiming, "eeeewww, I don't like sauce!" Then she asked for some bread. Nope...no bread unless you eat everything else on your plate. She ended her meal crying and wailing that she NEEDED bread and she would even eat some dipped in a little sauce instead of her noodles. Liar, liar, pants on fire. She gagged when eating that too.
Asher refused to even touch the sauced noodles. He likes the sauce when I give him meatballs. Why won't he eat the sauce on the noodles? He didn't stay at the table to find out. If you don't eat what is served to you, you go to bed. He was in his pajamas and in bed by 6:30
Outcome: Hannah got a grumpy sticker and got sent to her room to finish her crying fit and finish her homework. Asher got no sticker and got sent to bed.
I really thought we were making headway on our "Try New Foods Chart". Three steps forward...one step back.
Hannah cut a small piece of sauced noodle, ate it and gagged and gulped her milk, exclaiming, "eeeewww, I don't like sauce!" Then she asked for some bread. Nope...no bread unless you eat everything else on your plate. She ended her meal crying and wailing that she NEEDED bread and she would even eat some dipped in a little sauce instead of her noodles. Liar, liar, pants on fire. She gagged when eating that too.
Asher refused to even touch the sauced noodles. He likes the sauce when I give him meatballs. Why won't he eat the sauce on the noodles? He didn't stay at the table to find out. If you don't eat what is served to you, you go to bed. He was in his pajamas and in bed by 6:30
Outcome: Hannah got a grumpy sticker and got sent to her room to finish her crying fit and finish her homework. Asher got no sticker and got sent to bed.
I really thought we were making headway on our "Try New Foods Chart". Three steps forward...one step back.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
In the beginning....
I need to record the outcomes of this experiment. So, this is where I'll do it.
A little background.
Hannah is 8. In the grand scheme of things, she is a good eater. There aren't a lot of vegetables she refuses. Her favorite thing when she was younger was to go to the salad bar at the market and get a "special lunch." She won't eat anything with any kind of sauce or dressing on it, which means I make separate meals for her often.
Asher is 4. He is particular about his food. He would eat chicken nuggets three times a day if I let him. He likes most fruit, but his vegetable intake is limited: cucumbers, carrots (formerly only cooked carrots, but lately he'll eat them raw too,) baby food squash. Yes, baby food squash. Hey, it's squash, and he eats it.
My husband and I were fed up with the kids looking at something on their plates and, without tasting it, saying, "I don't like <insert offensive food here>!" We tried to simply say, "everyone must take a bite of what is on their plate." This didn't work. So, now we have the smile chart.
I'd love to say that I am only serving one selection at dinner now. But, I admit that I still cook one dinner for my husband and myself, and then modify it for the kids. But, whatever it is that we eat gets put on the kids' plates and they are required to take a taste of it. If they do this without a fuss, they get smile stickers for their charts. If they complain, whine, cry, or somehow fuss about what is on their plates they get grumpy stickers on their charts. If they refuse to eat it altogether, they go to bed.
It's been going on for just a week now. It's not a perfect system, and I'm sort of lenient about the "don't make a fuss rule"--they usually get one warning. But here are the foods that they tried:
Day 1: I made homemade baked macaroni and cheese (yummy...fontina, cheddar, parmesan, american, ritz cracker topping.) The kids eat boxed macaroni and cheese, and Asher will eat melted cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich. Both Hannah and Asher will eat melted cheese in a cheese quesadilla. And both will eat melted cheese on pizza (pizza is a whole other story!)
I gave each about 3 elbows macaroni's worth of mac & cheese on their plates, along with their plane buttered elbow noodles, hotdog and vegetable. Asher happily ate his mac & cheese (but didn't ask for more.) Hannah whined, cried, insisted that she didn't like cheesy things and refused to eat it. She eventually put a piece in her mouth, gagged on it, then gulped her milk and swallowed.
Outcome: Asher gets a yellow smile sticker, Hannah gets a blue grumpy sticker
Day 2: I made roasted chicken, roasted red skinned potatoes, and steamed asparagus. Hannah was in luck. She loves all of that. This left me in a quandary. Does she automatically get a sticker? Do I search for something to give her that isn't actually part of the meal? She got a sticker.
Asher has, in the past, insisted he doesn't like chicken--only chicken nuggets, store bought or homemade. So, I actually made him chicken nuggets and a vegetable that he likes. But, he was given 4 little bites of of chicken, one piece of potato and two little bites of asparagus stalk. It took an hour for him to finish his dinner and eat a bite of each of the "supposedly yucky" things. He eventually did it.
Outcome: Asher gets a blue grumpy sticker, Hannah gets a yellow smile sticker
Day 3: It's pizza night. Hannah has never liked tomato sauce. For years she just never ate pizza when I made it. But, recently she has learned to love "Hannah white pizza": olive oil, sprinkle of parmesan, sprinkle of mozzarella--not too much or it would be "cheesy", broccoli and black olives. Asher likes pizza with sauce and cheese only.
On this night I made a 1/2 and 1/2 Hannah/Asher pizza. When I cut it, some sauce got on to Hannah's slices. She was required to eat it without complaint. She complained...and complained.
Asher usually insists on having his pizza cut into bite size pieces. How annoying when you're at the pizzeria and all there is a plastic knife and fork. He was required to pick up his pizza slice and take bites. No problem.
A little background.
Hannah is 8. In the grand scheme of things, she is a good eater. There aren't a lot of vegetables she refuses. Her favorite thing when she was younger was to go to the salad bar at the market and get a "special lunch." She won't eat anything with any kind of sauce or dressing on it, which means I make separate meals for her often.
Asher is 4. He is particular about his food. He would eat chicken nuggets three times a day if I let him. He likes most fruit, but his vegetable intake is limited: cucumbers, carrots (formerly only cooked carrots, but lately he'll eat them raw too,) baby food squash. Yes, baby food squash. Hey, it's squash, and he eats it.
My husband and I were fed up with the kids looking at something on their plates and, without tasting it, saying, "I don't like <insert offensive food here>!" We tried to simply say, "everyone must take a bite of what is on their plate." This didn't work. So, now we have the smile chart.
I'd love to say that I am only serving one selection at dinner now. But, I admit that I still cook one dinner for my husband and myself, and then modify it for the kids. But, whatever it is that we eat gets put on the kids' plates and they are required to take a taste of it. If they do this without a fuss, they get smile stickers for their charts. If they complain, whine, cry, or somehow fuss about what is on their plates they get grumpy stickers on their charts. If they refuse to eat it altogether, they go to bed.
It's been going on for just a week now. It's not a perfect system, and I'm sort of lenient about the "don't make a fuss rule"--they usually get one warning. But here are the foods that they tried:
Day 1: I made homemade baked macaroni and cheese (yummy...fontina, cheddar, parmesan, american, ritz cracker topping.) The kids eat boxed macaroni and cheese, and Asher will eat melted cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich. Both Hannah and Asher will eat melted cheese in a cheese quesadilla. And both will eat melted cheese on pizza (pizza is a whole other story!)
I gave each about 3 elbows macaroni's worth of mac & cheese on their plates, along with their plane buttered elbow noodles, hotdog and vegetable. Asher happily ate his mac & cheese (but didn't ask for more.) Hannah whined, cried, insisted that she didn't like cheesy things and refused to eat it. She eventually put a piece in her mouth, gagged on it, then gulped her milk and swallowed.
Outcome: Asher gets a yellow smile sticker, Hannah gets a blue grumpy sticker
Day 2: I made roasted chicken, roasted red skinned potatoes, and steamed asparagus. Hannah was in luck. She loves all of that. This left me in a quandary. Does she automatically get a sticker? Do I search for something to give her that isn't actually part of the meal? She got a sticker.
Asher has, in the past, insisted he doesn't like chicken--only chicken nuggets, store bought or homemade. So, I actually made him chicken nuggets and a vegetable that he likes. But, he was given 4 little bites of of chicken, one piece of potato and two little bites of asparagus stalk. It took an hour for him to finish his dinner and eat a bite of each of the "supposedly yucky" things. He eventually did it.
Outcome: Asher gets a blue grumpy sticker, Hannah gets a yellow smile sticker
Day 3: It's pizza night. Hannah has never liked tomato sauce. For years she just never ate pizza when I made it. But, recently she has learned to love "Hannah white pizza": olive oil, sprinkle of parmesan, sprinkle of mozzarella--not too much or it would be "cheesy", broccoli and black olives. Asher likes pizza with sauce and cheese only.
On this night I made a 1/2 and 1/2 Hannah/Asher pizza. When I cut it, some sauce got on to Hannah's slices. She was required to eat it without complaint. She complained...and complained.
Asher usually insists on having his pizza cut into bite size pieces. How annoying when you're at the pizzeria and all there is a plastic knife and fork. He was required to pick up his pizza slice and take bites. No problem.
Outcome: Asher gets a yellow smile sticker, Hannah gets a blue grumpy sticker
Day 4: My husband and I are going out and the in-laws are babysitting. They got takeout for themselves and the kids. But, I made the kids a salad to have, in addition to their takeout treat. Red pepper slices were included. Hannah immediately says, "Mommy, you KNOW I don't like red pepper." My response, "Everyone is required to try everything that is served to them." Hannah replies, "But, I DON'T LIKE RED PEPPERS!" Blue grumpy sticker status has been established. Asher has begun to enjoy the power he has when he can pick up a food, take a bite and say, "Mmmm...I like it." I think he says this sometimes, even if he doesn't. Just to get a rise out of his sister.
Outcome: Asher gets a yellow smile sticker, Hannah gets a blue grumpy sticker
Day 5: Penne with vodka sauce, garlic focaccia, roasted asparagus. Each child got a bowl of plain buttered penne, but also got three penne with the creamy tomato vodka sauce too. Hannah ate one piece of penne, gulped her milk and just continued on with her meal. With a little encouragement Asher put his sauced penne in his mouth, gagged, and spit it half way across the table. He got a smile sticker just because of the shear hilarity of the situation.
Outcome: Asher gets a yellow smile sticker, Hannah gets a yellow smile sticker
Day 6: Garlicky yumminess. It's time for baked shrimp scampi, rice pilaf, and cooked carrots. I didn't expect that the kids were going to gobble it up so I made them chicken nuggets to go with their rice and carrots. Besides...Paul and I love this dish so much I didn't want to share with the kids anyway. I sacrificed one buttery shrimp topped with tasty garlic/shallot/panko topping and cut it into four pieces. Each child got two small pieces on their plates. Hannah tasted it, smiled and said she kind of liked it but it was a "bit spicy on her tongue." (I used A LOT of garlic.) Asher whined, and actually shed tears. He put his to his tongue and insisted that that act constituted "tasting". Then he scrunched up his face and ate a piece at the last possible minute.
Outcome: Asher gets a blue grumpy sticker, Hannah gets a yellow smile sticker
Day 7: We had a family favorite tonight. Homemade crunchy baked chicken nuggets with creamy honey mustard sauce--the sauce isn't necessarily a kid favorite. I paired it with a chick pea salad that had chick peas, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, parsley, oregano, lemon juice and olive oil. The kids had little salads of chick peas, cucumbers, carrots, red peppers, no sauce. Hannah loves it all (well, as we learned above, all but the red pepper) but I also gave her a little scoop of the dressed salad which included 1 cucumber, 2 pieces of feta and a couple of chick peas. She ate hers with only a scrunch of the nose and a gulp of milk. She even took a nibble of the red pepper in her undressed salad. Asher had to be coerced to eat his chick pea. And then he said he liked it, so we coerced him into eating another one. We're getting a bit stricter so the coercion counted as "making a fuss" tonight.
Outcome: Asher gets a blue grumpy sticker, Hannah gets a yellow smile sticker
We'll see how this goes. The chart I set up has enough spaces for three weeks. Maybe the experiment will at least get my children to try things without complaint and possibly discover that they like things they never knew they liked.
Tomorrow will be a challenge...lasagna with homemade sauce. Sauce is a dirty word in my kids' lives.
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