I wanted to try a recipe for Cuban Beans and Rice. I had some tomatoes and lettuce from our turkey curry the night before so I thought I'd do burritos. The beans were pretty good, I added 1/2 Knorr chicken cube during cooking and probably would do a whole one next time, and maybe add the garlic closer to the end of cooking? It was a little bland (might be good for little ones though.)
I had avocado, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, beans, rice, chicken (just sauteed it with oil, salt and pepper) fresh cilantro and yellow heirloom tomatoes. My husband and I were in heaven. They were SOO good, but big and messy with our overload of fillings...
M, who is almost 5, and normally a very adventurous eater, only ate the white rice.... (I am not going to debate if white rice is the new devil, even though a nutritionist recently told me she would only feed it to her dog, and even then only if he had diarrhea...)
It was annoying, and frustrating. I get how hard it must be for parents with children who are picky to watch a child only eat rice or pasta or bread when an incredible meal is on the table, that took some effort to prepare. I can see why it would be easy, and even intuitive on some level to actively try to get the child to eat more variety. One of my first clients was a nutritionist who loved to cook, and her then almost 3 year old little girl pretty much only ate plain rice and pasta...
But, I stuck to the principles and didn't beg or cajole, or even offer more than a few times :)
I said, "well, everything is on the table, if you can't reach something you want, let me know." She didn't.
It's tough not to reason and pressure. It doesn't help to reason and pressure and it might hurt, but it's hard not to.
I'll keep you posted!
That's an interesting recipe! I cook my black beans with onion, garlic, a generous splash of olive oil, a couple bay leaves, parsley and paprika. I use a pressure cooker and I add the salt at the end so the beans cook faster.
ReplyDeleteWow, those are some harsh words for white rice! I know it's not as nutritious as brown, but is it really so bad that only dogs should eat it?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this will make you feel better, but my daughter (also 4.5 years old) ate only popcorn for dinner last night. We went to a movie, and she absolutely refused to eat a sandwich before we left the house, and then absolutely refused to eat the hot dog I got for her at the concession stand.
Do you think movie popcorn is more or less nutritious than white rice?
-Michellers
That sounds incredibly frustrating. I'm glad you and your husband enjoyed the meal at least.
ReplyDeleteOh...it occurs to me to wonder if M wasn't feeling well. An upset tummy might make nice bland white rice sound really good and everything else seem less appetizing.
ReplyDeleteKellyK, GREAT POINT! This has happened often in the past where the marked drop in appetite was followed a few days later by illness. Always made me so grateful to have the trust model so I didn't have to wonder about pushing her or feel guilty if I pushed and she puked...
ReplyDeleteI am also hearing more comments from her when she approaches new foods, like "yuck, that doesn't taste good." for things I know she has never tried. I hear there is a second "picky phase" in this age group, I hope not, but at least I know how to get through it!
I don't know about white rice. Sure it's not perfect, but as my good Vietnamese friend likes to say "my people have been eating that for generations and we're doing just fine". I think this is a little 'evil! evil!' overreach--is it the new fat?
ReplyDeleteI am hearing alot in the nutrition world about white rice and the evils of refined foods. It seems to me like it's the 'new fat...'
ReplyDeletevariety! Alas, M doesn't like brown rice very much, and does whine for white when I make brown. (I make brown about 1/3 of the time with more stewy foods...)