Cultivating Taste...

Cultivating the palate is something we've worked very hard on in our home.  I remember when Xander was a toddler and being in awe of a friend with 4 boys who all pounded their veggies.  I remember asking her what the trick was since her youngest was just 7 months older than Xander.  She told me that they didn't have a choice it was that or nothing.  It helped that this young boy had 3 older brothers and parents who ate healthy, well balanced meals. 

Now that we are nearly 7 years into our parenting journey, I'm really starting to see the fruit of offering my children healthy options over and over an over again without alternatives.  It certainly hasn't been easy.  Given the choice, my kids would choose soda, twinkies, pretzels, fish crackers, etc over fruit, vegetables, non-processed foods and water.  But I've found that persistence pays off!

If at first you don't succeed - try, try again definitely applies to this area of parenting...

This last year they've learned to love spinach - mostly because of this salad which pairs spinach with one of their favorite fruits - strawberries!  A few days ago we polished off almost 8 cups of spinach between the 4 of us at lunch one day!

It was so much fun to hear them begging for another helping!!!

Even the three year old who still spurns the veggies from time to time ate with relish. 

We regularly tell the boys that they are 'training' their taste buds to like food that will make them big, strong and smart!  Those nutrition lessons that they learned last year when we studied nutrition are still paying huge dividends.  And I always remind myself that we are helping to train their tastes now that will help them form healthy eating habits for the rest of their lives.

Here's our recipe:
Strawberry Spinach Salad
*2 Tbs sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2 1/2 TB white wine vinegar
*1/2 c vegetable oil (although I've switched to using Grapeseed oil)
* 1/2 TBS poppy seeds

Combine ingredients and shake well.
Add to a bed of spinach, toasted almonds and diced strawberries!  Enjoy!

My sister is always an inspiration in the eating healthy department.  Following her lead, I've been incorporating more salads and vegetables into our lunch routine.  While the kids could subsist on PB & J, I'm trying to branch out and make healthier lunches for them.  Since we are staying home a lot more this summer to escape the heat, my plan is working well for the time being.  It also helps for me to take baby steps in moving my family towards more wholesome eating.  So inch by inch, we are all learning to make healthier food choices.

Now of course, I'm not totally hard-core yet.  I'm off now to make {whole-wheat} dough for cinnamon rolls to eat in the morning!  Balance, right?  This makes for a VERY happy hubby...

I'm always looking for new lunch options, so if you have any that your family enjoys, let me know! 

Also, has anyone read Nourishing Traditions?  I just started it last week and it has been very eye-opening.  It was well worth the 3 month wait to get it from the library and I'm putting it on my 'will eventually buy' list.