Let Them Eat Cake

Growing up my parents had a rule that we ate what was made for us or we would go hungry. Until I was like 13, this was the way it was. THEN they decided that they had 4 kids and if I didn't want to eat what the cooked I could fix a PB and J and call it a night. There was no sense in fighting the small things. Most of the time they fixed kid friendly stuff...mac and cheese, meatloaf, sloppy joes (or sloppy joseph's if you live in my house). But of course there was the one meal that I despised. It was dubbed GARBAGE. My dad created this...thing. It was rice, frozen veggies, and cut up polish sausage, doused with cajun seasoning and probably worcestire (sp?). So it wasn't horrible..I just didn't like it. I am sure every family has something like this. Anyways...the point is...I grew up telling myself that my kids WILL eat what I fix, that I am NOT a short order cook, and that is THAT. Umm..well...now that I have a child...let me just say...that is not that.

Bowen has always been a picky eater. When he first started eating people food it was only mashed potatoes, rice, and grean beens. I should have NEVER complained about this! Atleast then he was eating something semi-healthy! Then he got off that kick, but would eat scrambled eggs, toast, pancakes, waffles...THEN he went through this cheese enchilada, rice, chips and queso stage. That is like the only REAL food he would eat. Don't get me wrong, he would eat a cupcake, cookie, chips or crackers in a heart beat. But I am focusing on non-snack food. Nowadays it is even harder to get him to eat something. Right now it is basically snacks. And chips and queso, mexican rice, chicken nuggets, and french fries. His eating habits may be the death of me.

When Jason and I moved in together (six short months ago) I would cook for us AND make Bowen something, like fish sticks and fries...or potatoes and green beans. The kid NEVER ate it. He would go right to the pantry for cereal or crackers or chips. (and I am NOT a bad cook) We would say no, no, no, and try to get him to eat, but it wasn't working. Then he would wake up in the middle of the night and bring me a box of graham crackers and eat them in my bed while I am trying to sleep. This caused quite an issue. (it is NOT ok to wake up with half a mushy gaham cracker stuck on your cheek)

So lately (ok for 5 months now) we just let Bowen eat whatever. I fix dinner for me and Jas and then he eats crackers or whatever he digs out that day. (shut up...I obviously have mommy guilt over this) It drives me nuts! He hardly ever eats breakfast, MAYBE a nutrigrain bar if I am lucky. And I have to pack his lunch for school, so what I pack depends on if he eats lunch. I have looked at every website imaginable for ideas on how to get past this. Here were what they said:

Let your child help you prepare their food

Cut sandwiches into fun shapes with cookie cutters

Make food bite size (like pinwheel type things, or cheese blocks)

Give kids sauces to dip stuff in

Add chopped veggies/fruit into stuff like spaghetti sauce or casseroles

DON'T be a short order cook

Let me break this down for ya'll....

1. The only food Bowen will help me prepare is cookies or cupcakes...I have tried every other food imaginable

2. He never touches the sandwiches cut into trains or stars etc

3. He won't eat cheese cubes, ham and cheese roll ups, pb and j pinwheels...won't touch them

4. The only thing he will use a sauce for is chips or fries...umm..the point is to be healthier

5. If he ate spaghetti or a casserole I might be able to slip some veggies in there...but obviously this is the problem (thanks for nothing jackass)

6. And if I tell the kid NO to his snacks he will literally NOT EAT. He went on TWO days without eating. I can be mean...but I cannot be abusive. Cheese and rice folks.

So now the situation is..Jason and I are trying to eat healthier. I found this really cool website called weelicious.com and there are healthy, kid friendly recipes. Jason and I have tried quite a few and they are super yummy. But Bowen refuses to try them. The kid won't even eat mac and cheese. What kid doesn't eat mac and cheese?!?! He won't eat a hot dog! Seriously..even I LOVE hot dogs! The situation is outta control and I am losing the war to a 3 year old. And I don't like losing!

I HAVE made a few improvements. Instead of giving him fruit punch (I was doing the 100% juice, Juicy Juice kind) I give him V8 Splash. (hey there are servings of fruit and veggies in those) He suddenly likes those go-gurt things, so there is some yogurt. And he HAS to have apple sauce in his lunch box. He even calls nutrigrain bars cookies, so maybe that is a step in the right direction. So those are all good things.

Maybe I need to stop focusing on the fact that the kid is the pickiest eater of ALL time. MAYBE I need to focus on the fact that he is healthy. He is in the 100% percentile for kids his age and (now that we have his allergies under control) rarely gets sick. I just see all these kid who eat carrots, raisins, and NORMAL food and I get it stuck in my head that my baby should be doing that. But now that I am thinking about it, when have we ever done things the way everyone else has? Umm never!! Do I want to be like everyone else? Absolutely not. We are not the Cleaver family for God's sake. All I really worry about is Bowen's health. And obviously that is fine. I am SURE this is just another stage. (like the playing with his penis stage or the picking his nose stage) All I really know...is that this kid knows just how to push my buttons and make me crazy. Maybe this eating thing is just a small piece of his grand scheme to send me to the loony bin.