Hi everyone. My family went to visit some friends this weekend, my husband’s childhood friend, his wife and two kids. We were treated like royalty with all the delicious food served. I so appreciated the time and energy it must have taken to prepare not only our tasty lasagna but a meal for the kids and a great dessert. And, she is pregnant!
We ended up talking about her son and how he ate almost nothing. She is a very devoted mother, so intent on getting vegetables into him, that she spoonfeeds this 4 year old in the bathtub to make sure he gets his nourishment. This system has been working because it is a contained environment, he cannot escape, is distracted by the bath toys and the water, and he allows her to feed him with easy clean up since they are already in the bath.
She knows it is not ideal and wants to work on a plan to get him to eat at the table.
We talked about how having family meals can help kids eat a larger variety of foods or just eat more and she has committed to trying it. We wish her luck!
She gave me her Mom’s recipe for the apple cake we ate and I will share it with you. I made it a tad healthier by replacing one cup of flour with whole wheat pastry flour, took out the nuts and raisins since my daughter won’t eat them, and I exchanged one cup of white sugar for brown sugar-if it looks darker, it makes me feel it is healthier. Whatever works…
Diane’s AppleSauce Cake
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 cups of Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Cloves
1/2 tsp AllSpice
1 1/2 cups AppleSauce
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Butter
2 Eggs
1 cup Raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Method:
Mix ingredients well with a wooden spoon (Do Not use a Mixer) . Grease and Flour a 10 inch tube pan or Bundt Cake Pan (I used a round 8″pyrex pie plate). Grease and Flour pan very generously. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes! Enjoy!!
One Response
I can relate to your friend about the veggies in the bathtub. Up until about a month ago, I couldn’t get anything green past Mia’s lips. I would bribe, lie, negotiate but she is very stubborn. It was my biggest source of frustration and one of the few things Tony and I clashed on. The doctor always said she’d eat better in time and was OK as long as Mia got protein. Tony is very laid back about Mia’s eating habits because he can eat anything and not gain an ounce. He’s a sugar junkie and Mia has inherited his sweet tooth. I bought Jessica Seinfeld’s book and was somewhat successful with hiding fruits and veggies. Then all of a sudden, a month ago Mia started to eat much better. She asked for peppers, cukes, beans, oranges. I thought she was possessed. I’m relieved and thrilled that she is becoming experimental and will try just about anything. As long as she tries, even if she doesn’t like something, I’m satisfied with the effort.
I guess my story is very common and my struggles have been experienced by parents since the beginning of time.