Picking Peaches and Words of Encouragement for Parents of Picky Eaters

As I adjust to life as a stay at home mom, I've been trying to find ways to mix it up during the week.  Anytime I can find an activity that a) won't wear the kids out or take all day b) is a learning experience and c) is fun, I'm all in!  Yesterday we visited Jones Orchard in Millington, TN which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our home here in Arlington, TN.  It was a nice drive, and there was a big beautiful produce stand complete with fresh Contender peaches, nectarines, watermelons, berries, peppers, fresh jams and jellies, and even fresh baked cookies.  The kids picked out some peaches for their great-grandmother who has recently fallen and broken her wrist.  They also picked out some peaches for us as well as a fun sized watermelon as a bonus.

We added our produce to our dinner table that very night, and because they had been part of the process of selecting the produce, they proudly gobbled down each bite!  I don't know if that strategy for coaxing your children to eat is always successful, but it worked for us in that instance.  Plus we had fun which is the most important part.

On to my words of encouragement.  It's not always feasible to take your kids to the produce stand before you put dinner on the table.  Heck, the only reason why I have time to do it because I'm a stay at home mom!

It's also not always feasible to "trick" your kids into eating their veggies.  I went through a "sneaky chef" and a "deceptively delicious phase."  I know some of you know what I'm talking about.  I have no issues with these cookbooks, and I think that "chickpea chocolate chip cookies" or "spinach brownies" are probably a better choice than the real thing.  However, pureeing pounds and pounds a veggies and THEN using it as an ingredient in yet ANOTHER recipe is just plain exhausting!

My kids both started out eating almost anything when they started eating table food.  Then despite my best efforts, somewhere around the age of 2, both of them refused to eat anything resembling anything other than fruit.  Sometimes they'd surprise me, but honestly there were (and are) days where I have no idea how they are existing based on that they ate (or the lack thereof).  It's bizarre...and also completely normal from what I'm told.  But it can also be extremely frustrating.

My pediatrician always gives me the best advice.  When telling him the woe that is feeding my children, he said to me, "Heather, the best thing you can do is enjoy your own healthy food....I've never seen a child starve who was been served meals."  It's so simple.  But it's true.   So ever since that day, I've tried my best to follow that advice.  No stress.

Low-and-behold, my 4 year old is now starting to come around.  She's eating things that used to make her gag.  She actually ASKED me for a bite of my broccoli the other day at the gym (yes, I was eating broccoli at the gym..another story for another day!).  Some of her latest consumption this week include kale, orange roughy, italian turkey sausage, spinach, cantelope, watermelon, asparagus, and broccoli.  She doesn't always clean her plate, but we are definitely making progress.  I stopped stressing and baking spinach into brownies and just focused on cooking healthy, REAL food and NOT fixing them anything "special" if they didn't eat.

My two year old isn't there yet. He's still existing on grapes, but this time I'm not going to stress.

I hope this serves as words of encouragement for any of you parents who have picky eaters on your hands.   Now I'm going to go eat some peaches!