Fearless Cooking for Kids (the intro)

Greetings. My name is Kathleen.  I am a single mom of a three-year-old wild beast little boy. I’m a special education teacher, runner, novice seamstress, history geek and foodie turned mama who, like most of you struggles to get her child to eat anything other than the go-to kid entrée of white flour, white sugar and processed cheese. Naively, I assumed my penchant for fine food and spirits would be passed down the gene pool to my little one. But oh boy, did I think wrong. At one point, I thought he was going to turn into a noodle and cheese. He never ate anything else! Then one day, I had an epiphany.  Sick and tired of making “special meals” for him I chopped up a serving from my dinner and just gave it to him. He promptly turned up his nose and spent the next hour or two groveling, whining, begging for Mac and cheese but I stood my ground. Then finally, (after an hour of painstaking whining and thus, wine drinking) he took the tiniest mouse sized bite and oh-my-dear-lord, can you believe he actually liked it! In fact, he ate the whole plate. And the rest, my friends, was food history.

Since then, I have been slowly introducing him to more foods filled with flavor and pizzazz because truthfully, it is not just about getting your kids to eat healthy. Yes, nutrition is important but you want your kids to be adventurous with food. You DO NOT want your 30-year-old son to still be ordering chicken tenders and fries at a restaurant. Mothers, listen closely. I have been on dates with men who have ordered corn dogs and chicken tenders and it is a major turn off. Hear me, MAJOR turn off. So instead, teach your children to explore food. Teach them to taste new dishes and appreciate the art of cooking.

The reason I started this blog is so that I could share my tips and techniques for getting my kid to actually E-A-T. There are not very many gritty, tell-it-like-it-is advice columns out there for parents of picky eaters. Also, I wanted to pass along the healthy but unique kid-friendly dishes I have found to you. In the end, it’s about turning the moans and groans of everyday cooking into something enjoyable- for the whole family to munch on.