{Photo By: Maria Alexandra Photography}

I'm not a picky eater... really... I'll eat just about anything you put in front of me and go back for seconds. One time while I was living in Chile, we were camping in the foothills of the Andes ... and not wanting to be seen as the wimpy "gringa" I ate the coagulated sheep's blood with lemon and cilantro (a chilean delicacy I guess or... a cruel joke to initiate the naive foreigner:):) ) Anyway, I sucked that blood jiggler down with pride... consequently I also spent the following 3 months knowing what it actually feels like to have your guts turned inside out ... it wasn't pretty... at all! While I lost a ton of weight, it's definitely not a diet plan approved by the FDA, and proof that you shouldn't just eat anything someone puts in front of you.



My boys... (including my husband)... are just the opposite. Picky isn't even a strong enough word to describe whatever it is they are. Sawyer has to sniff everything and has turned down cakes, and cookies and candy many times because he's not sure about how it feels on his fingers. I realize autism has a huge role to play in the pickiness of two of my men... but what's my hubby's excuse? And why in the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks won't my youngest eat anything but fruit roll ups and pretzels? That's rhetorical... I don't really want your advice:) I know what you're thinking... be the boss!!! make him!!! But I'm lazy and don't want a fight and have about 15 other excuses if you want to check back with me later:):)



Here's the thing, along with loving a hot loaf of "fresh at 5" from safeway, or anything with butter or heavy whipping cream in it... I do in fact also LOVE veggies.. I love salads and chicken and beats and chard and leeks and so many other really heathy foods... BUT... I HATE ... I mean I HATE(!!!) making them just for myself. My husband won't eat green and never has to my knowledge. Sawyer has actually thrown up just from seeing peas in a bowl by his plate (not even joking)... the little boys are just stubborn ... and I am the worst of all... I am the L word... L-A-Z-Y!!





I can admit it... I start the day off with great intentions... and so many times the only things I eat until 5 pm are bites I steal from the boys. They are scarred by their thieving mother's attempts to help them "finish" and all to often ask me to stay away from their food... poor kids:):) AND it's not because I'm soo crazy busy I just don't have time to eat a real meal... but because mama's too lazy to go throw some pre-washed lettuce in a bowl or slap a piece of turkey on some bread. It's that bad. If I'm hungry I grab whatever's fastest and easiest... which translates into "CRAP" off of my kids plates, and then I like to gorge myself with dinner because I realize I am freeken starving...

I still vividly remember the day Gena and I were walking the hills in her neighborhood gossiping having a deep conversation ... It was in our annoying pre-kid days,  and we were talking about all of the "NEVERS" and "Can you believe so and so let's their kids..." The victim of our rants was a "friend" who actually made her kids a separate meal of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese because they didn't want to eat what she and her husband were eating. The nerve! Can you believe it??? Right then and there we swore we would NEVER make a second dinner for our kids and certainly NEVER hot dogs or mac and cheese. Five years later I have one thing to say about that discussion.... Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha.... Sorry, but I was an idiot.



Of course Gena's children followed her annoyingly perfect little plan, but thankfully for our friendship, they give her loads of grief in other areas... (so you don't have to hate her either:))  My children on the other hand have MAJOR sensory issues and will only eat a very few things. My oldest has actually thrown up at the dinner table just from looking at green peas in a bowl next to his plate.  I cook 6 meals a day, in an attempt to get my kids to eat something... anything besides chips and pretzels... and while autism and sensory issues play a HUGE roll in their pickiness... I know there are other families out there blessed with kids that simply refuse to eat because they are just plain picky. On a side note, if you don't have a picky eater, please keep all of your "helpful tips" to get kids to eat to yourself... unsolicited advice in this area on the wrong day could lead to a nasty cat fight:)

Proof that mealtime at the McPhails is an actual war zone!

Meal time is a source of constant anxiety for me. One... because I am a horrible cook and can't follow a recipe to save my life and two... because it is almost impossible to get any nutrients into my boys  because they will only eat about 4 different meals.  On top of everything else... my kids are on a gluten, casein, dairy and soy free diet, this equals a huge pain in my butt and a grocery bill that is more than our house payment each month.

Do fried green snap peas count as a veggie??

While I'm not huge fan of New Year's resolutions I know that getting my family healthy is a MUST... so I am making the "Un-Resolution" (because I'm a rebel and don't want to admit to making a real resolution) of sneaking veggies and nutrition into their diets... even if it means I have to lie and cheat and sneak... conveniently my conscience has no qualms with this.



So here are just two small changes I'm going to make to ensure my children don't get scurvy this year or become morbidly obese before the age of 6.

Jessica's first cookbook

1) Deceptively Delicious and Double Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld will become my bibles in the kitchen... Most of you have probably heard of her... she is oh so sneaky and even more fabulous in the kitchen than she is deceptive. While most of my meals would only pass as "deceptively edible" I have been using her recipes and sneaky tactics to trick my kids for the past couple of weeks... and it's actually working!!! (and I should add learning to follow recipes actually does make food taste better, who da thunk it!) Even me, the "anti-martha" can have success in the kitchen when enticed by deceptive trickery:) Some of our faves are her pancakes, spaghetti, and hamburgers and I am trying to add new things like quesadillas and mac and cheese to our short list of approved meals. (She also has a "Do It Delicious" blog with great ideas and recipes.)

Picture "borrowed" from Bay Area Bites

2) I am also going to do MENU PLANNING to save at the grocery store and to make sure I am only buying what I need and using what I already have. When my hubby and I sat down to do our budget a couple of weeks ago I laughed at the thought of carving our grocery bill down from $1,500 to $1000 a month. Seriously I didn't think there was anyway this could be done. So, skeptically I decided to plan out our meals for a week, and make my grocery list off of that menu (this includes all snacks too.) I almost fell over dead when I saw that we spent $175 for the entire week and had everything we needed!!! I am not a planner and organization is NOT my strong suite... but it really wasn't that hard, so when I say if I can do it, anyone can do it... I really do mean a monkey could do it!! (Here's a great site to help with menu planning: orgjunkie.com)



So, whether you have a picky eater or just like tricking your family (or both... like me:) Check out the sites above and let us know what you think! We also want to know what your "Un-Resolution" is for 2011!