Modern Mom: Picky Eaters

I’m not sure why, but I always assumed that as my kids got older, their eating horizons would expand. I thought they’d become a little more adventurous with their food choices, develop more sophisticated palates, and at the very least, tolerate a vegetable every now and then. Instead, it seems like just the opposite is happening. With each passing year, they are becoming pickier and pickier. Case in point: My 6-year-old went from enjoying all pasta to refusing to eat anything other than macaroni and cheese to drawing the line at macaroni and cheese “with white cheese.” My 3-year-old would subsist on a diet of bread and clementines if only I would allow it. My 1-year-old, on the other hand, will eat absolutely anything but I can only assume he’ll follow in the footsteps of his siblings and whittle his food choices down considerably over the next couple of years. What do I do? Everyone tells me to cook a balanced meal and tell them they can eat what I’ve prepared or go to bed hungry. They remind me that I’m not a short-order cook and that my “kitchen should be closed” once we sit down at the table. The only problem is that my kids would be perfectly happy to go to bed without supper if the alternative is eating – heaven forbid – a fish stick or a piece of lasagna. I do insist that they try what I’ve prepared, though that has yet to result in them deciding they actually like it. It seems like a fruitless endeavor (unless of course it includes fruit, which is the one food group they unanimously support). Some people have recommended Jessica Seinfeld’s bestselling cookbook that contains recipes for hiding vegetables in kid-friendly foods but what I really need are some ideas for hiding a nutritious balanced meal in macaroni and (white) cheese, bread, and clementines.