Carnivore

'Do they have hot dogs?' Dylan shouted this out after a solid walkabout among the classroom tables perusing the individually served Thanksgiving meals. No, no hot dogs for this little man which translated to no food. He is in a rut with cuisine selection or maybe I'm the one in a rut. Right now his interests lie in all things white, negative nutrient snacks and meat. Maybe an occasional berry, apple or swig of milk. He's a solid carnivore and squirms with all things green, resists other funky colors like the vibrant orange of a persimmon or the deep reds of a pomegranate. Seriously? It pains me. If I'd allow for it, he'd feast upon cheerios, pancakes and granola bars ALL DAY LONG. Don't get me wrong, he gets his share of the above mentioned favorites, but the deceptive mother in me shows up now more often than not trying to whisk a little extra nutritional love down his throat! I've found that if I rotate the added bang, he won't strike, so the following are my must-haves:

1. Ground Flax Meal-great on anything including salads, muffins, pancakes and panko bread crumbs for homemade chicken nuggets!

2. Green Goddess Juice. I know, juice-it's a curse. I figure since he hardly eats anything green and for some off beat reason he will enjoy a few swigs of this horrifying pulpy mess of a drink, I keep it handy.  Don't think it's a daily indulgence now...he goes back and forth on his Green Goddess strike.

3. Quesadillas. He loves these. With milk being a temperamental interest based upon the mood of the moment, I find great contentment with my attempt to boost his calcium intake even if it means quesadillas every day!

4. Apple Chicken Sausage. Yes, those yummy ones from Costco. He could live off of these. When feeling at a loss for what to cook, I can always count on this sausage to yield a satiated child!

5. Probiotics. I'm starting to add them to his water. I can't imagine what good bacteria could be thriving in his nutrient depleted gut that a few million healthy strains of goodness can't hurt, right?

6. Pureed squash for the pasta sauce! I can't go wrong with this technique!

Now Kaitlyn is the poster child for health in our family right now. Just the other night at Chick-Fil-A she ordered the bowl of chicken noodle soup over the french fries and chicken nuggets as it's now her 'favorite' and it's 'healthy'! She is quick to point out all the colors on a plate being sure to note that she is being healthy and of course quick to point out unhealthy behaviors, too....like the man smoking as we walked by. Yes, that would be my four year old daughter scolding your smoke break! She will eat the salad on her plate first and always snoop on your plate for the off chance you may be eating something different than her and possibly hook her up with a bite!

Needless to say, both children eat. They are not failing in the weight department as both are above the 75th percentile...