(43-328) Look Who's Cooking...

To say that my children are picky eaters, would probably be an understatement.  Of the three Nicky is the worst of the bunch; which I guess stands to reason since he's my first child.  Lyndzi will try more things than either Nicky or Kelsie and eats more of a variety of things.  Kelsie will try more than Nicky, but there is many a night that she'd prefer not to eat meat (of any kind) and / or others when she'll request cereal.  Kelsie is the snackiest of the three but most of what she snacks on are healthy things like fat free yogurt, fruit, or a granola bar.

Being that they're kinda choosy, lunch during the school year is a bit of challenge.  They don't care for school lunch, which is fine with me, but they're also not that fond of sandwiches.  This past school year I think that Kelsie took PB&J for all but maybe two weeks total.  Lyndzi would eat a turkey or ham sandwich (dry, with nothing on it) and Nicky would take either a salami sandwich or roast beef and Havarti w/ dill sandwich (dry, with nothing on it.)  I know, you must be wondering how this picky kid came to like Havarti with dill, but all I can say is that he uncharacteristically tried it once at Michelle M's and liked it; so since it's something that he enjoys, I'm more than happy to buy a couple of slices a week for him.

Now that summer's here, the kids would prefer not to eat a sandwich everyday, so I suggested that one day we could make macaroni and cheese and perhaps another, grilled cheese and the kids happily agreed.  The first day that I was going to make mac-n-cheese, Nicky offered to cook it if I instructed him, and I took him up on his proposal.  Nicky carefully followed my directions, and made one gosh darn good batch of mac-n-cheese.  He was SO proud of himself, that I couldn't wait to have him cook again; and I think that he's made it at least one more time since.

I didn't make it to Fry's to buy deli meat yesterday, so I asked the kids if they'd like to have grilled cheese and Lyndzi then asked if I would teach her to make it.  Lyndzi has helped me cook before, so I decided to let her have a go at it; and I have to say that she did a great job.  She followed my instructions, she was careful and only burned one piece of bread, which was probably my fault.  When the piece of toast burnt, she remained calm and went with the flow, which I think is an important requirement in cooking.  Lyndzi made sandwiches for Nicky and Kelsie before cooking her own; and she too was SO proud of herself. 

I think that having my kid's learn to cook is a super, summer activity.  It builds their confidence, it adds to their list of things that they know how to do, they can become more self-sufficient, they can help me AND it's something that we can do together.  Lyndzi felt so good about cooking lunch that she asked if she could help me with dinner, and although I only gave her small jobs, she was a big help. 

It's great to see kids feeling successful, and I think we should give them as many opportunities as possible to do so.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING