I've been worried and concerned because there are days when despite my efforts to provide him with variety in his diet he will leave food untouched on the table. I have gotten to the point where I don't get worked up about it because I know that he will eventually eat when he is hungry.
Recently my husband had a brilliant idea to deal with this problem that actually worked. He suggested making cornbread and infusing it with protein and veggies. That way Mekhi would get what he needs without having to "see" what he is eating. I put this theory to the test and baked cornbread muffins.
I utilized the quick pre-heat feature on my frigidaire gallery range that I have as a result of being a Test Drive mom and set to mixing and pouring my batter. I made my usual cornbread recipe with corn meal, flour, eggs, a little bit of sugar and added salmon that I sauteed in a pan. I also added a few brocolli florets to the mix.
I place the mixture in my muffin tin - my son loves muffins and placed them in the oven. I cooked them for about 10 minutes and was able to watch their progress.
The final result? Nice and tasty muffins. At least, I am guessing they were tasty. I gave a muffin to my son and he soon requested another. I placed all of the extra muffins in air tight bags and froze them. When I wanted to give them to Mekhi as a meal, I simply defrosted them in the microwave.
In the future I will probably add spinach to the mix but this time I was afraid the color might be off-putting to him. As they say there is more than one way to skin a cat - or in this case, to get your toddler to eat!
19 comments:
I think I am definitely going to have to utilize this idea. I have done this in the past with different foods, but have gotten lazy and forgetful. My middle daughter used to eat anything and has become picky, and the little one can be rather troublesome, but she does loves veggies, salad and fruit. Corn muffins are brilliant! I can get some extra nutrients in that. Thanks! :)
Your hubby is a smart man! Glad that worked for you.
Thanks for commenting on my blog about my lupus diagnosis...I would love to connect with your mom. I have so many questions. My email is melissa at organizedlifebydesign dot com. Thanks again, Renee!
Melissa
Yea! That is a great idea. Hmmm...you've got me thinking now.
Good idea for picky eaters! I imagine the salmon would compliment the cornbread taste quite well.
And spinach sounds yummy as well!
I wonder what you could say the green flecks were?
Awesome idea! I have a house full of fussy eaters.... :(
Great idea! So smart. Can u come to my house and make them for my son. He only eats hot dogs and white rice!
So far I've been lucky on the eaters. They whine here and there about what's offered, but for the most part I make pretty bland, child-friendly but usually healthy meals and they'll eat them. The oldest one knows he doesn't have a choice, the middle one has always been pretty good about eating, and the youngest wants whatever someone else has on their plate. As long as what's ON our plate is good stuff, he's getting healthy stuff to eat. I've heard that baking the nutrients into foods is a great hideaway. Good work.
I like the broccoli bread, I've had it before. And the spinach sounds really yummy. How did the salmon work for you? I have this thing about fish, I don't want it in a soup or mixed in anything.
Good job mom and dad =). That is a fabulous idea. I have a picky eater too, one who has recently sworn off the cornbread muffins, lol. My grandmother was just telling me that she was going to do this with her muffins yesterday while we were shopping. She bought a mexican style corn, that has bell peppers in it, and she is going to add it to her cornbread muffins.
Be sure to let us know how the spinach goes over.
I love corn muffins I always add cream style corn with mine. I love the range looks all fancy lol
I love that you found a solution and a sneaky way to get some more vitamins and good stuff into Mekhi!
Wow that sounds so good and I never would have thought of adding those things. I like the idea of spinach. Yum!!
That is a great idea. Much better than the "Eat it or you don't get to go to bed. I've got all night." method my dad enforced in our house growing up!
My best, Lynn
*I finally tried the 7th Generation. Love it!
That's a great idea.
My son is also picky, despite the nutritious foods his dad and I eat. It's hard to get him to eat veggies, but my trick is to make soup. For some reason, he loves soup, especially with crackers crumbled into it. I can get him to eat most anything if it's in a soup.
We moms have to get sneaky sometimes! I've added flax seed meal to the muffin mix; I've pureed spinach and pork to make a creamy spinach cream soup (with egg) which the kids love. We all do what what we have to do. Heh.
Great, great, great idea... perfect way to get the good stuff in!! :)
I have heard rumors about a cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious," or something along those lines, that may be of interest to you! It's full of similar recipes!
:)
Those look delicious! I'm lucky to have a toddler who is not a picky eater, but I still might make those.
Great idea! My son is getting a little pickier...but my baby is really the pickiest!
I may have to steal this idea!
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