We plant a garden because our 3.6 year old boy will eat anything that grows. Seriously, if it is in a garden, ripe or not, he will pick it and eat it. Lettuce, kale, chard, radishes, tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, hot peppers, onions... you get the idea.
He was hungry before bed tonight so I said he could eat more lettuce that we picked today, so after he brushed his teeth he stuffed a handful of lettuce in his mouth and climbed into bed. Weird? Yes.
The other day Emma and I went to the farmer's market and I bought a bunch of radishes as a surprise treat for Grady. He was SO excited and promptly went to work eating through the bunch.
Often times when I'm chopping onions for dinner, he'll reach up onto the counter and help himself to a handful of raw onions as a snack.
Tonight (and most nights) he'll announce that he doesn't like the dinner that I made. So I've learned that if I explain the ingredients that are in it, he'll usually end up eating it and enjoying it. But when that fails, I'm not above using a little good old fashioned bribery:
Grady- "Noooooo, I don't like this. It is not my favorite dinner. It will NOT make me strong!"
Me- "Well, if you don't eat it, you won't get any artichoke.
Grady- "I don't want any noodles. They're mushy"
Me- "You have to eat them if you want any artichoke"
Grady- "I want the heart part. With barbecue sauce*."
Me- "Sure. You can have as much artichoke as you want if you eat your dinner first."
Grady- silently stuffing his face with dinner....
*And yes, I know that barbecue sauce isn't a normal accompaniment to artichokes, but that and Italian salad dressings are the only condiments that his dad will eat so they're the only condiments that Grady will trust.
He was hungry before bed tonight so I said he could eat more lettuce that we picked today, so after he brushed his teeth he stuffed a handful of lettuce in his mouth and climbed into bed. Weird? Yes.
The other day Emma and I went to the farmer's market and I bought a bunch of radishes as a surprise treat for Grady. He was SO excited and promptly went to work eating through the bunch.
Often times when I'm chopping onions for dinner, he'll reach up onto the counter and help himself to a handful of raw onions as a snack.
Tonight (and most nights) he'll announce that he doesn't like the dinner that I made. So I've learned that if I explain the ingredients that are in it, he'll usually end up eating it and enjoying it. But when that fails, I'm not above using a little good old fashioned bribery:
Grady- "Noooooo, I don't like this. It is not my favorite dinner. It will NOT make me strong!"
Me- "Well, if you don't eat it, you won't get any artichoke.
Grady- "I don't want any noodles. They're mushy"
Me- "You have to eat them if you want any artichoke"
Grady- "I want the heart part. With barbecue sauce*."
Me- "Sure. You can have as much artichoke as you want if you eat your dinner first."
Grady- silently stuffing his face with dinner....
*And yes, I know that barbecue sauce isn't a normal accompaniment to artichokes, but that and Italian salad dressings are the only condiments that his dad will eat so they're the only condiments that Grady will trust.
3 comments:
Julie you're blog is cracking me up and can I just take a second to tell you a big huge congrats on baby #4! May you're pregnancy fly by :)
Awesome.
such a great story. future chef or farmer in training.
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