Do you find that the kids in your house determine the dining choices? I cannot tell you the number of times that I spent a significant amount of time creating what I and my husband thought was a delicious dinner only to be greeted by the little critics as "disgusting". The offspring (ages 8 and 4 1/2) would prefer chicken nuggets or Spaghetti-o's (it's even hard to type that!) to anything I make. What to do? Dumb down the dinner to the basics of plain meat, plain pasta (for my daughter-she won't usually even eat sauce) and plain vegetables for the whole family or make different dinners for the kids and the adults. What do most people do? I fed my son the same foods we eat and he used to enjoy it but recently his food choices have become very limited. My daughter has never liked to eat different things although she will eat fruit at dinner time.
You never know what dinner time will bring. Last night, I made Braised Chicken with Rosemary and Pears from Molly Stevens' book "All About Braising" and it went over very well. My husband and I enjoyed the pear sauce but my son took the chicken and made it into a soft taco with rice, corn and salsa; not what I had in mind when he made it but it looked good and my husband even tried adding salsa to his and liked it, too. My daughter even gave the chicken a rave review by saying "this is the best chicken you've ever made" and pronouncing we should have it for dinner every night from now on.
How do you satisfy everyone? I really want my kids to eat good food and want them to try different foods other than hot dogs and cheeseburgers. I can't make plain, boring food; the chef in me can't do it. I realize that I am having some influence as my son reads the labels on food before he eats it but how to get to the next level? I will let you know the progress we make.
