Picky Eater

My son is a picky eater. Despite my hopes and dreams, he is that child that eats what he wants to eat and nothing else. Sometimes it is difficult to determine exactly what he will eat because what tastes good to him on one day is unacceptable on another. Right now the food we have in rotation includes: pancakes, waffles, french fries, sweet potato fries, bread, fruit and chicken. He LOVES chicken. Sometimes I can get him to eat a veggie burger or noodles with sauce but it really depends on his mood.

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!