September 08, 2010

Going Green

Some of you are going to wish you had this problem. My daughters cannot get enough vegetables! I need to start a garden, because they are all about the leafy greens lately. Unfortunately, we are basically the only people in our neighborhood who don't own a dog, so our backyard has become a "Bunny Refuge," which means a garden is not a possibility right now.
Anyway, the girls who, until recently, shunned chocolate milk, ask for veggies on a regular basis. Two nights ago they wanted green beans, but when I couldn't open the canning jar they settled for frozen peas. They devoured the peas and asked for more. The night before that they ate a salad... and asked for more. They've eaten all the vegetables, so last night they had to go without. You would have thought I was the meanest mom on Earth.
Even my pickiest eater, the one who forced me to establish the "One Bite Rule," likes her veggies. She especially enjoys cucumbers dipped in Ranch dressing. So, I'm going to try something new. It seems my daughters are going through a growth spurt. They eat what I think is a huge meal for preschoolers and then ask for seconds. (They're on the "skinny side," so if they want to eat more, I'm not going to stop them.) Today, when I go to the grocery store, I'm going to stock up on vegetables (and some fruit for breakfast and lunch). Before I'm finished making their meal, I'm going to invite them to the table for a little crudite. The worst that can happen is they won't want to sit down to eat raw vegetables before dinner. I'm sure it's not something I'll do every night, but I figure if they want to eat vegetables, why would I discourage them?
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10 comments:

MaryAnne said...

That is very cool. Emma is eating a ton right now also, and also on the skinny side. Maybe she'll start to catch up with her friends in height?

Stephanie Barr said...

That sounds like a brilliant idea.

SarahMarie said...

My twins love veggies, which really surprised me! Glad to hear your kids love them too. I like that idea - hope it goes well!

reanbean said...

That's great! My two (also slow weight gainers) loved eating fruits and veggies so much when they first started eating table foods. That was pretty much all they ate. One nutritionist (who we were sent to by our pedi as a result of the slow gaining) told us to stop giving them so many fruits and vegetables and to give them more carbs and proteins which would help them gain more weight. I suppose that make sense, but I was not about to go that route. They eventually learned to eat the carbs and proteins too, but they still love their fruits and veggies. :o)

Kim said...

Only a mother could understand the awesomeness of this post! My twins love fresh fruit, but I can't get them to eat vegetables without a hassle.

Meg said...

My girls love veggies ~ and we have never given them chips or c.r.a.p. food. It's SO rewarding to me when we're with friends and my daughters request green beans while their friends request potato chips.

It's always a *little* hard to hide my proud smile. :)

Meg said...

I do want to note though that I don't think less of anyone else for feeding their kids potato chips (God Forbid I start a Food Fight on QuadMama's blog! Haha!). I happen to personally love chips and surviving the first trimester of my last pregnancy would have been impossible if it weren't for Lay's Classic Potato Chips. :)

Quadmama said...

The first night of crudite was a hit! (Although not everyone finished the main course, but I can't expect perfection!)
@Meg: I actually tried veggie chips for awhile, but the girls didn't like them, so, yes, we do still eat chips : )

Jacqueline Miller said...

I don't know if this is an option where you live, but for about six years we've owned a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share from a local farm. It's great, you pick up a box of fresh veggies every week from like June-October - whatever's in season - it's convenient and saves me money and grocery store trips. Sorry if I sound like a commercial for CSAs, but they're great for families who eat a lot of veggies. We LOVE ours. Might be worth looking into.

Quadmama said...

There was one agency that did that, but they stopped... but I'll have to look into CSA, because it sounds like a good option!

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