I hate kid food.

Well, I don't hate all kid food.

I LOVE mac & cheese, I just know

better then to eat it, much.  

Truthfully, I steal several bites when I make it. 

(those calories don't count right?)

I shouldn't even be making mac & cheese.

It's not good for them!

Just because I pair it with peas & applesauce 

doesn't make it healthy.

I really struggle with kid dinners.

I know, as the mom, we are supposed

to encourage our children to eat the meals 

we cook.

This is something I just plain suck at.

It's not because I have something against 

forcing them to eat something they are not

thrilled about.

In fact, I will admit it, I take a tiny amount 

of joy knowing Ava won't eat something,

but making her sit there for years on end 

anyway, while she plays her little game. 

It keeps her out of my hair for a long 

period of time and I'm just mean like that.

But the only reason I am mean about THAT

is that I barely EVER make her eat anything

she doesn't love because I never cater the

meals I'm cooking to our kids.

I don't want to eat kid food for dinner.

I want flavorful, exciting meals that make 

us excited about eating them.

We love food.

I basically only cook things I think John and 

I will love. 

I don't even consider the kids in our meal planning.

I hate boring, tasteless food and they hate super

flavorful awesome food.

Ugh.

Generally it's really spicy too and that just 

doesn't seem fair to make them eat.  

I think I need to get past this, I need to phase 

them into our meals without losing out on what

we want to eat.

I do a decent job of adapting our food for them,

 make pizza & only put toppings on their part they like
or pasta without the sauce, just noodles & cheese.
  Tonight I made baked chicken chimichangas and
Ava ended up with a bean & cheese wrap
that she protested for hours.

I should make a cook book that focuses on a 

step by step meal planning that results in great 

flavorful spicy meals but pulls out a bland, kid

friendly meal from the same ingredients half way 

through. I could make millions!!

The thing that has been really killing me in the 

kitchen recently is that Ava has all of a sudden 

been super allergic to onions, not eating them,

but me cutting them or cooking them.  It's crazy!!

She gets swollen, weepy eyes for a least 24 hours

after merely walking anywhere near the kitchen 

while I am cooking or preparing dinner,

 and I put onions in EVERYTHING.

 Poor baby.  This is a picture I took of her the next 

morning after I had sauteed some onions & I had

even made a point to keep her out of the kitchen.

CRAZY.

I'm hoping this is just some weird fluke and she only

reacts to this particular batch of onions.  I have never

seen her have this kind of reaction before and I have

cooked them most nights her entire life.  

So my question to you, do you make dinner focusing 

on things your kids will like or do you make them a 

separate meal?  

Do you think I am ruining them forever and they will 

never eat what I cook? 

I feel bad for posting that awful picture of her, here is 

a better one to leave you with : )

My beautiful girl deserves happy eyes!

But sadly I can't give up onions, 

good thing the weather is improving, 

I guess I will just send her outside 

(to eat her mac & cheese)!

: )