Finicky Eaters

I love to eat.  I like to try new things.  I like to cook.  Food excites me.  So when it comes to feeding my children, you would think it would be something exciting or fun to do.  WRONG.

It all starts pretty well when they are babies.  They eat their baby food rather well and then they seem to transition into table foods rather well since it's so much tastier than that bland mushy stuff.  They'll put almost anything in their mouths and then once they get used to that it goes downhill from there. 

To be able to feed all my five kids is such a chore and a stress in my life.  I am disappointed that most of my kids are rather finicky.  Can they be my kids?  I love to eat, why don't they?  I've always dreamed of cooking these beautiful meals for my kids and seeing their eyes widen in anticipation as they see a home cooked meal served before them.  My heart breaks every time they decide they don't want to have any or rather eat chicken nuggets instead.

A was probably the worst out of them all.  She ate french fries and graham crackers for most of her early years, but like many said, their taste buds change with age and they will eat more things as they get older.  Yes, it's true!  Now she will eat salads, burgers, meats and pastas.  Yeh!  This trend is also holding true with A's siblings as well, HOWEVER each child has their own picky palette and in the 8 years of cooking food for my kids, I've fallen into a horrible habit of cooking to one's preferences.  "Ok kids, what will you guys eat tonight?  What do you want?"  I end up walking to the kitchen and making 3 to 5 different things.  Oh...it's not that I'm making 5 different elaborate home cooked meals, but I will go out of my way and make something they will eat.  I'm ashamed to admit it.

I've heard it before - they won't starve, make one meal and if they don't eat, they don't eat.  They will eventually eat.  Why can't I do that?  I have gotten so fed up sometimes that I just get all worked up and yell as if I'm laying down the law, "This is what's for dinner, take it or don't, I don't care!"  But I walk away and I stare at them frowning at the meal in front of them and desperately want them to eat so they grow big and strong.  That gets me and the bad habits of making something else for them creep back.

I have small kids!  They are all hanging on the bottom of the growth chart.  Coach is 5'6 and I'm 5'5 - we make small kids, I get that.  But when I see other kids eat so well it drives me crazy. 

Not only do I want to transition to just one big meal a night for my kids I would also like to add the element of a balanced meal to the mix.  Oh boy, that's even more challenging.  I have five kids who like a variety of foods, but not all the same.  I have to face the fact that no one is going to like everything on the table.  Can I resist the temptation of making a little something for the kid that doesn't like what's on the menu? 

I also have other small obstacles too.  During football season, we don't always eat with Daddy because of his odd hours.  I end up cooking two meals sometimes - one catered to kids and then one for the adults.  I get discouraged making a bunch of food no one will eat.  There are a handful of dinners that I make that the whole family will eat, but that gets old. 

I will try to keep focused on my goal of one dinner a night for everyone, making it balanced/healthy and broader for all eaters and trying new things to expand their finicky palettes.  This is my desire.  Wish me luck!