Food Fight

Tommy has officially developed an attitude. When someone asks him a question and he's in a sour mood, his answer is usually an emphatic "No-uh!" and I swear there's even a little eye roll in there. Food is the biggest struggle for us now. Not that he won't eat it. No, he eats us out of house and home. However, he's crazy about carbs. Bread, in particular. And until I get my wheat mill, what he's eating isn't going to be very good for him.

The other night we went with MeMe, BeBe (grandparents), Uncle Todd, and Sarah out to eat after church. We just went to One Fresh Stir Fry and I ordered him a bowl with brown rice, chicken, broccoli, spinach, and mushroms. A lofty pursuit, I know, but I figured now's as good a time as any to get him to eat this stuff. Well, he just picked at it and complained while we all ate and thoroughly enjoyed ours. Since it was my inlaws anniversary, they brought out a piece of oreo ice cream cake after dinner and six forks for us all to share. Of course, Tommy was all ready to eat the cake but I had to be tough mom and tell him absolutely not until he ate some of his food. Just a bite. And he finally did take a bite, but after he chewed it, he spit it out and gently placed it in my empty bowl. Then reached for the orea cake. And again I had to tell him no way until he ate a bite of food. At this point, I'm thinking all hope is lost because the rest of us are enjoying our cake and he's now starting to throw a massive fit. In the restaurant. But I held firm. And he ate a bite! Swallowed and all. So he got a bite of the oreo cake and was happy. But should it really be this hard?? I mean, we even watch Sesame Street where they sing about eating the colors of the rainbow (which always makes me hungry, by the way). Even Cookie Monster talks about eating Carrots and Cauliflower, which also begin with the letter C, instead of just cookies. Surely that would influence him. Not yet, though.

However, I do have some help. My family and I are all on JuicePlus , which is roughly the equivalent of 6 pounds of raw fruits and veggies in each serving. Just empty a capsule in his food, stir it in, and watch him get his daily dose of kale, carrots, tomatoes, barley, parsley, cabbage, beets, rice bran, and oat bran. And that's just for the veggie capsules. I believe that whole fruits and veggies are better, but when you have a child like mine who absolutely refuses and is as stubborn as a mule when he wants to be, you gotta do what you can.