Dinner this evening was its usual hairshirt of an experience, with Brian objecting strenuously to the presence on his plate of sauteed zucchini (which he liked last week) and begging me to let him off the hook."Nope," I said, sticking to my guns. You see, those of us who have been moms for a while know that the other children were watching this scene closely. If I excused Brian from zucchini duty tonight, I would have a summer-long vegetable revolt on my hands. "Eat the zucchini or no dessert," I told him, my heart breaking as some of his tears plopped onto his food.
5 minutes later, during which I studiously ignored her zucchini-averse weeping brother, Susie sighed and handed me her empty cup. "Could you give me some more water?" she asked. Gesturing at her own pile of zucchini, she added, "I'm gonna need it to get these down."
Get these down? Sheesh, it's a tough life for a 5-year-old around here, isn't it?
[Zucchini duck: Alex Gee's photostream]
Geez your blog takes forever to load!! I wonder why? I LOVE zucchini. I used to make risotto with zucchini, back before children. Now if I do the kids won't eat it. Does zucchini even have any nutritional value? It's sort of light, for a vegetable. Not worth fighting about, in my book...
ReplyDeleteMan, it IS tough eating those veggies! I'm 29--coughcough-- and it's still work for me to try to find some way to make them that I like! I still have flashbacks from being forced to eat peas even though they made me gag. For reals.
ReplyDeleteSusie is a wise old soul. My oldest child (19) still won't eat zucchini. He has LITERALLY vomited when he's been forced to eat it. I just gave up about 5 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI love that!!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Amy on the loading--I read two other blogs while I wait!
ReplyDeleteYou can send your leftover sauteed zucchini my way--we love it.
Just so you know I agree with you. You have to stick to your guns or you end up paying for it for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI have a really great recipe for grated carrots and zuchinni. I am not a zuke lover but I really like this. Let me know if you want it.
I love zucchini too. I give each of my kids one little piece to nibble on and then I eat a whole plateful!
ReplyDeleteYour blog does take really long to load and sometimes it just freezes up on me and I don't have enough time to sit and wait!
It loaded quickly for me! And look at all that green! Should we blame the zucchini or did all the rain green things up a bit? ;)
ReplyDeleteYes... the rest are watching... and planning...
Well, today, your blog loaded really fast for me, so I don't know what's going on. Like your new look too.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, my dad and the neighbor's dad used to grow zucchini in their gardens, not quite competitively but almost. It's the one vegetable you can count on to thrive in a drought! Some days we ate it for breakfast lunch and dinner! Did you know you can prepare it like pumpkin pie filling? If you bake it in a custard cup, it tastes like pumpkin pie, and your kids will think it's a treat if you let them eat it for breakfast! That's how my mom tricked us into eating it.
A faithful anonymous reader
After sticking with the "eat your veggies" rule, my kids are showing improvement. The complaining is still there, but they know the answer and they do it now. Stick to your guns! Maybe some zucchini ice cream!?
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteI have found a splash of ranch dressing (my kids favorite) makes any cooked vegetable more appetizing. Just saying.
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini cake or muffins! Make them eat the fresh stuff in order to eat the super yummy baked stuff! Why do their ears work so well under these circumstances, but when trying to teach no hearing at all? hmmmm :)
ReplyDeleteI <3 your new look here.
ReplyDeletePoor kids. Sauteed zucchini? Are you trying to KILL them?
Hate to say it, but when my daughter was little and we had to get liquids into her, we'd feed her steamed zucchini. She wouldn't drink Gatorade, and we had to do SOMETHING!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, my kids won't eat any of the quick-and-bad-for-them emergency foods that all kids beg for. Chicken nuggets? Tacos? Tuna casserole? Hamburger Helper? NO. Pile o' meat, pile o' starch, pile o' veggie. *sigh*
I was that kid sitting at the table with the brussel sprouts on my plate. Everyone else....gone. I would sit and sit and say that I thought they tasted like diapers. (They do.)
ReplyDeleteI admire your daughter for her bravery in telling you that she needed water. I chewed them up and spit them in my napkin when possible.