Here’s a throwback to when our problems were simpler. I hope it brings you a smile and a chuckle. Some days, we just need to focus on self-care. Do things that make you smile and bring the sunshine into your hearts. Remember, it’s beautiful to be alive. You are absolutely amazing! Look at you still hanging in there, practicing love.
Dripping slops of spinach hung from the wall and my leg. Charlotte’s glass of milk perched precariously near the ledge of her high chair. Deep brown eyes gazed menacingly at me.
“Do you want to go in time-out?” I asked, as if I hadn’t used up my quota of stupid questions this week.
To my surprise, she nodded vigorously. Okay. In the grand priorities of life, spinach is below time-out.
Not to be stumped, I turned to the experts and investigated how others fed their toddlers vegetables without reenacting the Holy Wars. The books I read offered sage advice, such as grating them up and baking a cake with them. I don’t bake. Nor do I feel that surrounding everything with sugar is the best plan.
Another article stated that vegetables are overrated, and you can just give them fruit instead. Nice theory, but not true. So, I concocted seven light-hearted ideas for getting my little darling to gag down the greens.
1. This idea is excellent for picnics and patio snacks. Drop asparagus in the dirt, making certain that the regularly eaten foods remain clean. Your child is certain to prefer dirt-rolled asparagus spears to a perfectly clean peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
2. During dinner, say in a quiet voice, “We have some B-R-O-C-C-O-L-I. I want her to eat her dinner first.” Toss a nondescript nod in the direction of the young one. “We’ll have it in a few minutes. Maybe she won’t be hungry.” Note that this works best if your spouse is in on it. When I tried this, I had no sooner said, “B-R-O,” than my beloved jumped up and delivered the brownies to the table.
3. Find and clean a large medicine bottle with a child-proof cap. Place the spinach in the bottle, secure the lid, and set it on the countertop where your toddler can just reach it from her tippy-toes.
4. Make a nice plate of Brussels sprouts and a hot cup of coffee and carry it quietly to the table. Sit alone, pointedly ignoring everything except life-threatening emergencies while you loudly consume the veggies. To no one in particular, say, “Mmmm. This is sooo good.” If your toddler asks what it is, inform her that you aren’t sure if she’s old enough for it. Excuse yourself to the restroom. Take the coffee with you.
5. Pulverize lima beans and call it dinosaur mash. Feed it to her toy dinosaurs with baby spoons.
6. Place a dish of lightly sautéed snow peas in the cupboard beneath the sink. Or if your toddler is a climber, consider the medicine cabinet instead. Leave the door to the cupboard ajar and walk a few feet away. Make a phone call. The phone call will attract them to the room, and their curiosity takes care of the rest.
7. Dip green beans in chocolate and serve them for dessert. Since chocolate is a bean, it’s a vegetable too.
Keep these in mind for the next time you hear, “Mommy, I don’t need to try a green bean. I already tried one when I was three.”
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22 ESV).
Dear Lord, help me to find joy in the little things of life. Enable me to remember the good times without withering under the pain of current problems. Fill me with your presence, hope, joy, and peace. Thanks be to you for every good gift. Amen.
Photo credit: Adonyi Gábor
