Small, Really Small Victories

I get a little worried about EC's eating habits. I always said I'd never be one of those moms that only gives my kid chicken strips and mac and cheese. Man, those "nevers" really come back to bite you.

Actually, she doesn't eat chicken strips. In fact, she eats no meat. And no vegetables. I've tried so many things- disguising them, making her have one bite before getting the good stuff, multiple exposures to the same foods. Rather than progressing, I'd say at this point we are back sliding. She used to eat chicken and sweet potato regularly. Not anymore. Her primary foods are beans, blueberries, cheese, milk, yogurt, applesauce and banana. Balanced diet? Hardly.

I will not be deterred in my efforts. It's really become a cycle. I get a great idea for hiding veggies and give it a try. It's a big failure, I resign myself and make a big pot of homemade mac and cheese (whole wheat noodles, of course). A few days go by and I'm back at it. I've even tried ketchup- nope, not one bite.

My latest effort was a taquito type dish. The filling was made up of sautéed onions, ground turkey breast, spinach, black beans and mascarpone cheese. And it had more cheese sprinkled on top. I felt like my chances were good! Ever the optimist am I.

I set her tray down in front of her with the delectable meal. She started crying. We were off to a rough start but I just let her "think" about it while I kept getting our dinner ready. Eventually, she took a few bites. Not loving it but trying. And that's progress, folks.

Pretty soon, Jeremy and I started eating and she saw that we had sour cream. She wanted sour cream. Well, she's had sour cream before and it can be really hit or miss with her. You just never know! I put a dollop (it wasn't daisy) on her tray so I could show her how to dip it. Before I could show her, she scooped up a glob and shoved it in her mouth and asked for more. I give her more and show her how to dip and she loves it. I think loves the dipping more than the food. Anyway, I'm already patting myself on the back for a job well done- my kid eats veggies! Until, she decides to run her hands through her hair and scratch her nose and my victory unravels quickly. She's a hot mess!

She ended up eating about 70% of the burrito (and probably half a cup of sour cream).

Jeremy can't believe the scene and I can tell he thinks EC was victorious. But just between you and me, I'm still counting this as a small victory because she probably consumed more spinach tonight than she has in the past 6 months combined.

And I agreed to take bath duty tonight.  Did I mention at one point she started screaming because she got sour cream in her eye?  Still a victory.