Now Eat This!

I have my first picky eater on my hands. Actually, "picky" is not the word. My little one, Will--won't eat a thing. This is the complete opposite of his big sister who has always been a good, 99th percentile-for-weight-eater! From birth, she would basically eat whatever I put in front of her. I didn't really have to get "creative" with her food. With Will, I need to start getting creative to ensure he stays his plump little self. The recipe below is one of my first successes with him. Also, some notes as I endure this "self-imposed fasting" by my little one:

1) The vast majority of kids go through phases of hearty eating and virtual non-eating. Although these phases may seem to last years, they really tend to last a few months or so.

2) I offer healthy foods at every meal, even if I am sure he won't touch it. It is important for them to see that something other than cheese and Goldfish (in Will's case!) exists in the world. Will usually won't touch anything I offer, so I bag it up and offer it again at the next meal. One time out of 100, he will try something new. For instance, yesterday he tried a big hunk of apple after refusing it 20 times previously.

3) Once you find something they really like, don't go out to Costco and buy the 4,000 pack of whatever the food is. They go through phases. Today it might be cheese, tomorrow Goldfish, the next day sugar snap peas. You never know. Not to mention if you ate only one thing for 200 days straight, you might get a little tired of it.

4) Once you find something they like don't offer it at every meal, every day. They might reach burn out quickly and you'll be back to square one. With the "smoothie" below, I am offering it to Will every other day so he doens't get bored of it.

The recipe below incorporates tofu, which is one of the healthiest things you can eat. It's packed with protein, calcium and even some iron. The protein is key if you have a self-imposed, non-meat eater like Will!!

Strawberry-Banana "Smoothie"

1-basket of fresh strawberries (frozen, thawed works too)**
1-ripe banana
1/2 cup silken tofu (NOT the kind for stir fries!!)
About 3/4 cup of milk (to desired thickness)
Pinch of sugar (optional)

**You can use any berry or combination of berries

Blend together in a blender and voila! Something they'll eat/drink :) Even though it's a drink, I feel pretty good about giving this to Will because it's fresh fruit, protein, milk and not too much sugar. Definitely more nutritional value than Goldfish crackers!!

He approves! :)