Picky Eaters

This post is for anyone with a particularly picky eater. I happen to have a child who shuns every vegetable he meets and stares at most dinners with disdain. Even the typical "kid foods" like mac & cheese and chicken nuggets upset his gag reflex. Only very select smells, flavors, and textures pass his test. Needless to say, feeding this child is a Herculean feat.

His staple foods consist of... cereal, oatmeal, granola bars, cinnamon toast, grilled cheese, Nutella on bread, pancakes, and waffles. I do my best to make these limited selections as healthy as possible; I buy or make whole grain breads, add ground flax seeds to his cereal, and make his pancakes and waffles with enriched batter (although he prefers the frozen waffle variety!) Despite my efforts, I still see monumental room for improvement. I've used every trick in the mothering book, such as...

• Offering vegetables repeatedly. They say a few times should do the trick. Yeah right, I'm still falling short after a few years!
• Sneak veggies into tomato sauce. Well, what if your child doesn't like tomato sauce?
• Offer small quantities of a new food. What if he refuses to eat even one pea? Is that quantity too large?
• Offer no other options. This suggestion generally ruins dinner for the whole family, no thanks!
• Don't let him leave the table until he's finished. That's a great idea; let's create all negative associations with food. I imagine he'll thank me for that one later!

So you see, this is an ongoing struggle in our home. I have a solid understanding of nutrition and I love to cook, but my son just won't take part in my culinary adventures. Unless, of course, my kitchen expeditions include baking cookies, cakes, muffins, or pastries. In these cases, he's an eager explorer!

But tonight, I was determined to get a vegetable in my son, and not just any veggie- spinach! I've made my kids crazy juice combinations and smoothies in the past, but I've never successfully passed off a green drink. The stars must have been aligned today, because both of my kids polished off their vitamin-packed beverage! My son obviously wanted to know the green ingredient, but my husband opted to bend the truth slightly in this particular circumstance. Fearing that total honesty would result in our son "totally" not taking another sip, he answered with, "Food coloring, green food coloring." Ahhhh, parenting, it can tarnish even the purest souls!

So, if your child falls into the, "I'm going to shoot myself if I have to make another pancake for dinner!" category, then I suggest you make this. I've coined this drink the "Green Monster". I figured adding "monster" to the name would make it that much more appealing, and what do you know, it worked!

Green Monster

2 hand fulls of fresh baby spinach (organic, if possible)

1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek yogurt is best)

1 cup milk (more if you prefer a thinner consistency)

1 banana

Honey to taste

Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend away! Note, blend mixture long enough to puree the spinach leaves completely (you wouldn't want those pesky green bits to ruin your efforts!) Another tip... place in the freezer for a little while to achieve a milkshake-like consistency. Enjoy!