Saturday, July 26, 2008

i have a secret


I have stumbled upon an amazing discovery. I know how to get your children to eat vegetables. Benson normally will not eat vegetables (except the occasional carrot in Ranch) and the other day for dinner we had his (and ben's) worst nightmare; zucchini casserole. I almost feel badly serving it to them because I know how much they both hate zucchini but I wouldn't be much of a mom if I didn't serve some foods that they can talk to their friends about how disgusting they are. So I put a little of the green stuff (which incidentally is one of my favorites) on Benson's plate and this is what happened:

Benson: (pushing plate away) That is NASTY. I'm not going to eat it.

Me: Benson you need to try just a bite and then you can have some bread instead.

Benson: Mom, I can't. It's tooooo NASTY.

Ben: Hey Benson, you should just try it because those are the zucchinis you picked from the garden today.

Benson: (big eyes and silence. he puts a little in his mouth and we are waiting eagerly for the verdict) Mmmmm, this is actually pretty good.

Benson then continues to shovel in what is on his plate and ask for seconds. This child will not even eat corn and yet he will eat zucchini as long as he picked it. He will also eat carrots straight from the ground and peas by the handful as long as he is standing there harvesting them himself.

So the moral of the story is: If you want your kids to eat vegetables, plant a garden.

6 comments:

laura d said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
laura d said...

its all about the mind-games now, but its usually the other way around. At least you have an in for a while on the vegetable front. Lets hope for a long fall....

Anonymous said...

That is a great idea...I loved being in the garden with my Dad as a kid....to learn how to pick the vegies and watch them grow...what fun!

Michelle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michelle said...

hmmm. i deleted my comment because i thought i left it on the wrong post. but i didn't. i left it on the right post, so here i am leaving it again...

i said.
i totally agree with the planting your own garden thing. and the trick works for husbands too!

Caity said...

So, can you grow a garden all-year-round there? It's warm enough, right? That is pretty clever! AND...you're getting vegetables from your garden! I'm glad to know your labors were successful! Also, will you post a recipe for zucchini casserole? I've never made it, but I'm a little scared to google it. It sounds like something you need the right recipe for.