Day 2 of the Family Makeover

*A note: This excerpt is from another blog of mine, in which I am striving to change the eating habits of my family. Enjoy!

Like any good warrior, I prepared for battle by amassing my arsenal. With a stop at Sam's Club, I picked up salad greens, cherry tomatoes, a bag of pre-cut mixed veggies, and a tray of pineapple, canteloupe, and honeydew melon with a strawberry here and there. Now keep in mind, this is Sam's Club, so I pretty much walked out with 10 pounds of produce. I had a mild panic attack: How on earth are we going to eat this all before it goes bad? Then I steeled myself: Oh, yes, we will eat all of this!


Before dinner, I put the fruit plate out on the table. My little boy immediately sidled over to his chair, saying, "Ooo, I want this!" and grabbed both strawberries. (Again, he is not the issue.) My daughter took one look, sniffed, and was about to open her mouth for a disparaging remark of some sort when I interrupted her with, "Just have a seat. Dinner's almost ready."

Kate plunked into her chair, eyeing the fruit plate with incredible mistrust. (Meanwhile, Jack has polished off both strawberries and has started chomping on a slice of canteloupe.) I finish their peanut butter and jelly tortilla wraps (for those who advised I serve a favorite along with a new veggie/fruit), lay two baby carrots on each plate, and place them on the table with a cheerful, "Here you go!" (I have also made myself an enormous salad, which is sitting on the table as food for thought while I make their dinners.)

And then my wonderful daughter, God bless her, absently pushes the carrots around on her plate, stares down my salad, sighs heavily and says, "Mom, can you at least make me some broccoli? You know I don't like carrots."

Oh, words from heaven! I conceal my shock as best as I can and strategize. I don't want to steam broccoli for her at this moment because I'm trying to get away from "special request" dining. Instead, I say, "Do me a favor. Hold this piece of pineapple in your mouth and suck on it like it's candy. Let me know what you think." Sure enough, after a moment of taste-testing, Kate nodded her approval, and pineapple supplanted the carrots. She even extracted a promise from me to make the broccoli for the next dinner.

Oh, progress!

The extra bonuses were that my husband probably got two extra servings of fruit today and I made such a big salad that I was full for the rest of the night. And my little guy? He ate the strawberries, some canteloupe, and his carrot sticks. There is hope, after all, for this family!