Mothership Meals and Satellite Saucers: Happy Spring!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Happy Spring!

I'm not religious (after running into a cross-carrying parade the other day, I told my kids with much dubious shoulder-shrugging and head-shaking about the meaning of Good Friday and Easter as told by Christianity), but I love Easter for the fact that it's basically a celebration of spring.

As I've mentioned, I've been working on the eco-Easter basket, with some success. It turns out so many things are spring-like and delicious, that it's a wonder Peeps ever saw a need to be made. Okay, maybe you like Peeps (as my mom does), and if so by all means indulge.

Here's what went into our baskets:

- Spring-like dish cloth to line the basket. This is so cute and right-looking (and practical!), I don't know why cellophone grass dares to exist
- Chocolate Easter bunny
- Ferrero Rocher chocolates (an Easter gift from a neighbor, which I decided to regift into the baskets)
- Jelly Bellies, tucked into plastic eggs which I saved from last year (Does anyone like Jelly Bellies? My husband got these. I feel good about them, they are like the malted eggs from my childhood; no one will actually eat them.)
- Lemon candies
- Strawberries
- Blood orange, perhaps the last of the season
- A Pansy, to be replanted tomorrow

If I thought my kids wouldn't scream at the sight of asparagus, I probably would have put some stalks in, for height, you know?

Anyway, happy spring! It's supposed to be beautiful tomorrow.

1 comment:

Larissa said...: Now I'm thinking next year I WILL put asparagus. It would look so good!

Also wanted to relate my daughter's comments on Sunday morning: "MOM! I can't believe he brought us BLOOD ORANGES! HOW DID HE KNOW WE LOVE THEM?"

Both my kids ate their strawberries before they touched anything else, and my daughter ate her orange right after that. I'm so happy with our eco-easter baskets!
-Larissa; April 13, 2009 at 7:19 PM

Post a Comment

The Mothership Method

(Or, how to sit down for dinner with your family without completely losing your mind)

It would be great if kids AND parents wanted boiled chicken and baby carrots every night for dinner. But, too bad, we picky parents want spicy, exotic, fun foods, and our kids want, well, sorta lame foods.
Here's the solution: break it down. Serve the dish deconstructed, and let everyone put their own dish together at the table. Sort of like tapas, or smorgasbord, or tacos. Or how in some parts of China you get a bowl of rice, and everything else is in the middle of the table and you take what you want for your own little bowl of rice. That way everyone gets to eat what they want, parents don't have to nag their kids, and kids get to feels some ownership over their meals. Plus, kids get exposed to the look and taste of the foods you hope they will one day love. But it's not just tacos. You'll be amazed at what can be served with the Mothership Method.

Ten Tips to Get Through Dinner Without Having A Nervous Breakdown

1. Accept That Kids Are Picky. No need to freak out on your cooking ability, or look at your kids like there is something wrong with them. It's called "neo-phobia", and it's just how they are, especially from ages 3-6.

2. Serve Meals Broken Down. Even grown-up meals like coconut curry or linguine with clams can be served in their elements, making them more appealing to kids. Grown ups can assemble their own jumble of deliciousness at their own plate while kids take on the pared-down elements.

3. Push if it Works, But Don't Nag If It Doesn't. Some kids are okay with being expected to taste everything on their plate. Others aren't. I think it's okay to push kids -- but not if you're turning dinner into a battlefield.

4. Suggest a Smell. Smelling a new food is easier than tasting it, and can sometimes provide a kid with the information needed to take that scary first bite. But don't confine smelling to new foods. Smell favorites, too, and help them develop their sense of smell by making a game out of it.

5. Don't Ask "Do You Like It?" Instead, try, "What does this remind you of?" or, "Would your cousins like this?" or, "Does this taste salty or sweet?". Asking if they like it or not gives kids too much power and ends the conversation. Besides, we don't care if they like it! We just want them to keep tasting it until it is familiar.

6. Don't Get Frustrated. Imagine being in Taiwan, or Nairobi, or Rome for the first time. Would you eat everything on the local menu? New foods are scary and gross. Our kids need time to learn about the foods that we eat.

7. No SubstitutionsThis is family dinner, not a diner. You, in all your wisdom, have provided foods that are healthy and delicious and appropriate for your children. There is something on the table for them to eat. Period.

8. No Snacks Before Dinner. This can be the hardest with our hectic schedules and hungry kids. But children who come to the table hungry are more likely to eat than cause trouble.

9. Put Peer Pressure To Your Advantage. School children are more likely to accept new foods if the alpha girls in their group accept them. Swap healthy food ideas on playdates.

10. Involve Your Kids In Cooking, Shopping, and Gardening. The more experience kids have handling and preparing a variety of foods, the more likely they are to eventually accept the foods. (But don't get upset if they help you make a complicated wonderful meal, and then refuse to eat it.)