Breakfast Again

As I mentioned last time, waffles and pancakes are frequent breakfast offerings at the Everage household. We usually have one or the other on the weekend, and make an extra batch to freeze for eating throughout the week. Aside from pancakes and waffles, we often make oatmeal or cereal.
Our cereal choices – which usually number four – include bulk granola purchased at Whole Foods, along with Cascadian Farms, 365 Brand, Barbara’s Bakery, and the like . . . never Cocoa Puffs, Frosted Flakes or some other sugary concoction that I so much enjoyed myself as a child. I figured, as long as they don’t know what sugar-laden or character-promoted cereal they were missing, they would never whine for it if we were at the grocery store. How wrong I was.
The other day while fixing up a bowl of cereal for Grayson, he turned to me and said,
“Mom, I saw this cereal, little squares with cinnamon on them. They look like toast.”
Nicole chimed in with a twinkle in her eye, “And, they’re sparkly!!!”
Yikes, during commercial time of some PBS show they were watching, they were exposed to the marketing machine of cereal manufacturers.
I launched into an explanation, that as I was saying it, knew it was going nowhere with them. I said something like, “well, you know, some cereals are not made of things that are good for the body. The cereals we eat . ..” I then drifted onto some healthy food lecture that went right over his head. When I was finished, he innocently looked at me and said, “But they said it is good for you!”
I had to chuckle, as I could almost hear the commercial saying, “Cinnamon Toast Crunch offers whole grain goodness in every bite. It’s good for you.”
I decided to search the web for more information on this good-for-you cereal.
Aside from perusing the long ingredient list filled with things I wasn’t sure what they were, I was entertained by the wording found on the box, “Whole grain guaranteed in every box,” and then, “Real cinnamon and sugar in every bite.”
Hmm, so I’d have to eat the entire box before I can be guaranteed I’d get some of the whole grain goodness promised, but all I would have to do is take one bite to be sure that I’d get some sugar.
It is amazing how breakfast cereals have turned into these ‘monsters’ purporting to be good for you. I dread the day my kids beg for Oreo O’s cereal from Post, with their great Oreo cookie crunch and creamy tasting marshmallows – even though they’re made with “wholesome oat, corn and wheat.” Perhaps I can follow that up with the Oreo Cookie Dessert Pizza Dominoes recently had on their menu.
At least I can be sure that I’m safe in the cereal aisle for now. My kids don’t know what an Oreo is.

DADDY PANCAKES
I’ve been trying to tiptoe in the kitchen lately, as the kids are constantly getting under foot when I’m trying to fix a meal. Problem is: the kitchen and the dining area is truly the heart of the house. We spend most of our time together here, and it is hard to extract the kids from there when we need to get some meal-making done in a flash.
That’s what happened to me yesterday morning. Grayson and I were the first ones upstairs on Saturday, and he requested pancakes for breakfast. We usually have pancakes on the weekend, but making them is Greg’s domain – mine is waffles. Since Greg was enjoying a few last minutes in bed, I thought, why not get started so the pancakes could be ready when the rest of the crew made their way to the breakfast table.
I opened my trusty The Joy of Cooking and started to make the batter – with Grayson’s help of course. Through every step of the way, he let me know how Daddy did things. I was quite impressed that he knew all the steps, all the ingredients, and even that there were two bowls - one for measuring wet ingredients, the other for dry.
As we started to heat the pan for the ‘cakes, Nicole came up, “I want to help.” So she dragged over here chair, the three of us standing in front of the stove, each holding a spatula, or, as Nicole calls it, the ‘flat thing.’
“When the two pancakes touch each other,” said Grayson, “Daddy uses the edge of the spatula to cut them apart.”
“Oh,” I said. “Mommy and Daddy do things differently in the kitchen.”
I was getting a bit annoyed. All I wanted to do was to get the pancakes made, without getting a play-by-play of the way someone else makes it – and without the constant requests for “I want to flip it.”
What monsters we have created. Two little kids hankering to get into the kitchen to cook. Kids that are learning the techniques of pancake making, and explaining those techniques to someone else. Kids who are more than willing to set the table as quickly as possible so they could eat their creations. Happy kids. I guess if that is the result of our efforts to get the kids more involved in meal making, then I’ll gladly put up with the peanut gallery comments when my technique is a bit different from Daddy’s – although I still may be gritting my teeth.

A recent posting from a mom on my local mother’s club group asked for advice on which cookbook was better for getting kids to eat their veggies - Deceptively Delicious or The Sneaky Chef.
I just couldn’t let this one go by.
I wrote, and rewrote my response, as I didn’t want to offend anyone, since I knew that these cookbooks have been saviors for many moms.
I don’t have either cookbook, and that is not to say that I haven’t opted to hide a bit of carrots, onions or peppers in a tomato sauce before, but I really have a problem with the whole concept of ‘deception’ when it comes to eating. When it comes to children, we’re trying to introduce them to a variety of foods. If we hid them in foods, they have no idea what it is they are eating. What happens when you’ve been hiding carrots in muffins, cauliflower in mac and cheese or carrots in meatloaf, and the time comes when you finally put a carrot (raw or steamed) on the plate. Do you tell them they’ve been eating carrots for years hidden in lots of food, and they should eat it?
It is my belief that the entire family – from babies to adults – must connect with the foods they eat and learn to enjoy a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and even different spices. If we become dependent upon using recipes that hide grains, vegetables, etc. in certain foods, our family will not have the opportunity to make a connection with that food, to learn about the various ways it can be prepared, and to truly make their own decision on whether it is something they like or don’t.

Last year, when Nicole was 2, I was extremely frustrated with her eating patterns. She wanted bread, crackers and pasta. I couldn’t get her to eat a vegetable, even with a bribe. She used to eat celery, peas, corn, broccoli, carrots, etc. without a problem, but now, nothing, not even a bite could get past her clenched teeth. It just so happened I was at the pediatrician’s office, and asked him about it. He confirmed that all was OK. She was not deprived of food, and she was a growing girl. And growing girls (and boys) need carbs. She was asking for what she needed. He assured me that when she needed a veggie, she would gravitate back to them, so I should simply continue to offer them to her – without forcing her to eat them. She left them on the plate time and again, but eventually she began to eat them again.

There are a lot of baby, toddler and kids food cookbooks out there, and I have several in my repertoire. But the cookbooks I use more frequently are actually the ones I have always used – The Joy of Cooking, Williams-Sonoma Chicken, Everyday Epicurean, and the pile of recipes I have pulled from Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and Gourmet through the years. Sure, they eat peanut Butter Sandwiches, or hot dogs for lunch, on occasion (OK, Nicole gets PB&J quite frequently), but when it comes to dinner, our kids get what we get. We want the entire family to eat one meal, not separate meals for each of us.
They dip their bread in olive oil, scoop up rissotto with chicken and peas, partake in steamed broccoli and roasted brussel sprouts, or devour a white bean and kale soup with sausage.
Some days, they don’t like what we’ve offered (and let us know vehemently), but we use our nightly dinner experiences as a learning experience. The kids are offered a healthful range of foods, and they pick and choose what they feel like eating. We make note of meals the kids have enjoyed, as well as those that have totally bombed. Although, we do venture back to the bombed meals at a later date, to see if they’re more appealing the second, or third time around.
Get a variety of foods in front of the family – in their whole form. Prepare it differently from time to time – a different dipping sauce, grill the veggies rather than steaming them . . . and if you need to disguise it on occasion, let them know, that it is a carrot muffin they’re eating.

My Mantra – don’t deceive – delight!