L.M.No.Peas

Wonder if this book would help PDub like peas?

Remember being little and what it was like to be offered something new to eat for the first time?  Were you an eager Guinea pig?  Or did you feed it to the dog under the table? 

I recall our family meals when I was little and a strange new dish was put on the table.  Having two older brothers, the dish was usually passed first to them before reaching me.  I vividly remember one dinner when the prettiest little chicken breasts were proudly presented by Mom for dinner.  "Quail!" wailed my brother.  The other one began to giggle.  Now at the time, I didn't have a clue what a "Quail!" was, but one thing was for sure.  I wasn't touching it.  My brothers laughed at me, my father fussed at me, and my mother was clearly disappointed that her attempt to serve something new had set off such drama at the dinner table.  But my theory was that anything that created a reaction like the one given by bro was to be avoided at all costs. 

That and other unpleasant dinner experiences led me to crave peace at the dinner table.  The slightest unrest and my stomach tightens and my appetite excuses itself.  I think the dinner table is sacred territory.  It is the one time that the whole family stops long enough to shut out the rest of the world and receive nourishment.  To me, it's not the food that matters, but the nurture.

That brings me to the cry for help Mama at Law posted on facebook last week.  How could she get her picky eater to eat something other than chicken nuggets.  It seems that PDub has a habit of not eating his dinner and Mama at Law rescues him by fixing him a side of nuggets.  She got lots of suggestions, and I admit I like the ones that said to include at least one food she knows he likes.  (Hint: It starts with chicken and ends with nuggets)

My only suggestion is this.  Keep dinnertime sacred.  Don't use this precious time to teach him a lesson and show him who's boss.  Fix a dinner (with chicken nuggets on the side, if needed), sit down together, turn off the television and be together.  Offer him what you're having, but don't turn the table into a battlefield.  You're eating something healthy, right? *wink*  He will develop his taste buds over time.

Now if you have a better idea, I would love to hear it, but keep in mind that Mama at Law works until 6:00 or later every day, and sculpting faces out of vegetables is probably not an option.

~Bon Appetit!