Cabbage Patch Kids

About every 3rd day of my life routine I start to feel guilty about my children’s lack of fruits and vegetables, so on that third day I usually prepare some food worthy of them turning their noses up in disgust.  Tonight it was a cabbage/chicken salad and a plate of kiwi fruit.  I’ve found, though it’s only 20% successful, that describing food in other terms helps in the convincing process for getting them to eat.  Tonight it was:  “it’s lettuce,” or “that dressing is a cousin to Ranch,”  “kiwi’s are a combination of bananas and strawberries, ‘strawnanas’ or ‘banerries’”.  Finally it ended with, eat it or you have to go to bed and you won’t get any of the special Pomegranate 7up.  We managed, and at least half of everything was eaten.  While they chewed Chris and I tried to recall the dietary benefits of what they were eating.  This strategy sometimes works, especially with protein when we tell them the meat will give them big muscles.  Turns out cabbage is really quite the healthy vegetable including vitamin c, glutamine (amino acid that acts as an anti-inflammatory), B2, and riboflavin.  FYI.

Finally Douglas could not eat another bite and with great orneriness told us, “I am full, F-O-O-L!”  At that, we had to excuse him and send him on his jester-ing way.  At least for 3 more days I’ll know that my kids intestines are working better and if they should have a peptic ulcer, it will be on its way to healing, and that with the extra boost of Vitamin C, they may avoid the next sickness wave unscathed.  We’ll see what the cabbage does for the adults tonight.