Shamrock Shenanigans

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

One of my biggest struggles as a parent is a common one -- making sure my children are eating well.  My firstborn, Toad, is very picky, and while Birdy eats the veggies on her plate first, she can also get in a rut.  Last night, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I would add a tiny bit of Irish flare to Taco Tuesday -- green peppers shaped liked shamrocks.

A little history here: for the first three years of his life, Toad had a mild allergy to milk protein (casein), which is in just about everything in one form or another.  He ate a lot of vegan items and we developed the unfortunate habit of the parents and child eating different meals.  He has outgrown this allergy for the most part, although he still drinks soy milk (only chocolate). 

We did things a bit differently with Birdy.  For one, I was able to breastfeed her for a longer period of time, and I put off feeding her solid foods.  I made 75% of her baby food.  She was in a child care setting with home-cooked meals and got used to trying new things every week.  She's definitely the better eater, although now that she is (almost) three she is giving us a lot of attitude about anything new.

They have their "kid-food" favorites -- convenience foods that busy parents often fall back on: chicken nuggets, "tiny" pizzas (Red Baron singles), pbj's, hot dogs (every now and then) and of course, McDonald's Happy Meals. 

And they like tacos, although I should clarify with a definition.  Tacos, to Toad and Birdy, are shells (or chips), ground turkey taco meat, and ketchup.  No cheese.  No beans.  No salsa, veggies, sour cream, guacamole.  Just ketchup, and for Birdy, a side of black olives.

I used a little cookie cutter to cut Shamrocks from the green pepper and placed one on each plate.  Drama ensued.

Toad: "Do I have to eat the whole thing?"
Birdy: "I don't like it!" (without even trying it.)
Toad: "Can I take just a nibble?"
Hammer Guy: "How did this end up on my plate?" (my husband, who was sitting next to Birdy.)
Toad: "The meat always falls out of the shell!" (with much whining.)

Finally, I bargained.  I know you're not supposed to bargain at the dinner table.  I've read all the books.  I know that I am partly to blame for our dinnertime battles.

Sometimes, though, it works.  I told them that if they didn't eat their green pepper shamrocks, they couldn't have a treat.

Toad put his shamrock on a tortilla chip and took two minuscule bites, sobbing and nearly gagging on the thing.  Birdy insisted that she would not eat it until she saw Toad with his half of the ice cream sandwich.  She then crawled on my lap and said, "Feed me."  She took a bite, said, "Oh, I like it!" and proceeded to devour it.

Toad later told me that he tasted that green pepper all night long.  "I tasted it at 6 o'clock.  I tasted it at 7 o'clock.  I tasted it at 8 o'clock."

I'm hoping for a little less drama tonight.