Who knew that the answer was chopsticks?

My kids are so picky. It drives me up the wall and into depression. It is absolutely NO fun to try new foods on them, but I know I have to because they are truly not getting the nutrients they need.

So, I've been borrowing kid cookbooks from the library to show the kids, to see if they could find something they'd be willing to try. Usually, I chicken out ( you would too if they looked at your loving efforts and proclaimed "This looks disgusting!") However, on Saturday morning, with Cam about to go grocery shopping, I had them sit down with two different books: Bryce was excited by each and every page of the World cookbook (he being the least of the picky eaters) and chose pork shish kabob. Since the kids like pork anyway, I think they can deal with a vegetable touching it, right? Okay, good.

Dane and Ella take forever, carefully weighing the ickiness of each item. Then Dane asks me "Mom, what is teriyaki?" He was looking at a teriyaki noodle bowl. I told him about what he was seeing, what it would be like and then *bing* inspiration hit and I said "We'll get chopsticks to eat it with."

"Really? Okay! This is what I want to try!"

Ella then chose vegetable fried rice, which I thought was perfect.

On Monday, I decided to serve Ella's and Dane's choices together. Dane was dismayed to learn he'd have to eat what Ella chose as well, but I shrugged it off and kept my cool.

Right before dinner I prayed, asking Heavenly Father to please help this to be a good experience for the kids and that they might feel comfortable with the new foods.

Before the prayer, I gave everyone chopstick lessons. That got them very excited.

I tried hard not to damage my cheek muscles from smiling at my kids eating and eating and eating their food. Understand that my kids have never had anything on their broccoli besides butter and salt and here it was in a teriyaki flavored soup. Ella ate the match-stick carrots. Dane ate the ramen noodles in the soup hungrily. They ate the chunks of chicken (even though they "don't like chicken that's been in soup") Dinner was a lot longer than usual as the kids tried to perfect their chopstick handling. The water chestnuts didn't kill them. It nearly killed them to have to use a fork on the fried rice, but Dane (the one who has never liked rice EVER) said that he really liked it (as he shoveled it into his mouth).

Sigh...

This dinner was big for me (it was also yummy). Too bad their aren't any other odd eating utensils out there. Maybe we should try crab so they can crack open the legs.

And since you were probably wondering...I chose the Tandoori Chicken Legs for my choice.