No, really, we're all about variety. I am one of those parents who's working on the theory that if we offer all kinds of foods to our children as they grow and explore, and refuse to fight over any particular food item or taste preference, that they'll grow into good, varied eaters, guided by hunger and need rather than routine.
So far it's working. Bah and the Rabbit will try most new tastes, and eat a good variety. Pants is a little more fussy but at 7.5 years old, he's expanding his boundaries and the Honey Girl is not too far behind him. Boombah, however, is at the very other end of the scale and currently exists on a combination of hot chips, fish fingers, vegemite toast and milk.
And breastmilk.
Gasp.
That's right - he's almost four and still breastfeeding. I'm not sure if it's because he actually likes the milk,or because as a Thomas and Friends obsessed 18 months old he nicknamed my breasts "Thomas" and "Percy" and now has a particularly strong attachment to them both and can't bear to let them go! But whatever his reason, it works for us both. (although I'll readily admit if you'd asked me a few years earlier how I felt breastfeeding a 4 year old I'd have run off muttering about that being too old and how weird it is! Another of my Perfect Parenting Plans bit the dust....) If you've ever lived with an almost 4 year old, you'll know how important it is to have a full and complete understanding of exactly what technique and items are needed to distract and ward off a total tantrum meltdown in 3 seconds whilst juggling an armload of groceries, a sippy cup of water and the baby.
Well let me tell you- nothing beats the Booby Dance! At the first sign of a typical tantrum-inducing situation I've only got to whisper "gulky" (his word for breastmilk since he was very small - I like to think it's a combination of milk + gold!) and artfully arrange myself in a manner which not-so-discreetly thrusts Thomas out to grab his attention (which, given Thomas has long been the favourite and therefore appears to be carrying a significantly heavier load than Percy, isn't hard!) and it's all over. I don't mean I expose myself or flash anyone - for the mental health of my pre-teen I do try to remain covered - but there is a certain knack to holding one breast forward, smiling sweetly with your mouth whilst your eagle eyes are searching for any sign of the impending tantrum being triggered to explode, and kinda jiggling your hips and torso so your gain the attention of a wailing child and maintain it.
Anyway, I digress. Trust me, it's a skill that takes years to refine but is absolutely worth the training!
Back to the diet of the other family members, who aren't quite so impressed with breastmilk! We talk about fruit and vegies and how important they are - and we talk about the ones that are gross and how we'd rather be sick for 8 months than have to eat them!
For sanity's sake, I've come up with this plan to ensure there's plenty of vegetables in the diet, but minimum fuss. And really, when it's carrots, mash and peas & corn every night for 84 meals straight, I get a little desperate to find an alternative. Fortunately my kids love vegetable soup. So once a week (or whenever I'm feeling bad about some dietary neglect!) we enjoy a big pot of soup and I figure I've just watched my kids happily eat 7 or 8 vegetables in one meal.
Which frees us up for Maccas or pancakes or hot chips for another night. Or three. Right?!
Genius, huh?!
And to make it even more fun, while we sip on soup (or drop in bits of bread and watch it go soggy) we play the "Can You Guess What Mum Put in the Soup?" game. It's never quite the same soup, so I tell them how many vegies and they have to guess which ones.
Tonight we had 7 vegies to guess, and they had them all bar one. Potato, carrot, celery, cabbage, pumpkin, zuccini and.......??
They couldn't guess the swede. I described it fresh. I described how it was cut up. And then I said it would now look rather like a potato and that they'd probably eaten some of it already and not known since it looked a lot like the potato pieces in the soup.
By that point Bah! was bouncing in his seat with his hand up, bursting to share his answer. He knew, he KNEW!!! He HAD it! I was pretty impressed -I didn't think any of them would know a swede was called a swede, but Bah! often surprises me with his random knowledge. He likes to read and remembers things.
So everyone had one final guess (with helpful responses like chicken? water? soup? bread, cos I just dropped some bread in it so now it HAS got bread in it Mum!) and we all turned to Bah! to enlighten is. What WAS this mysterious vegetable ingredient that looked like a potato, cooked up like a potato and might well be mistaken for a potato??
Apparently, according to Bah!, it's called a Stealth Potato!!
