Raising Another Eater

While chopping veggies for a brown rice salad I was making for Matt's lunch the next day (after all the abuse I heap on him here - I must say that I'm occasionally kind to him) I wasn't paying attention to the tops of the little sweet peppers I'd been chopping. Why would you? It's not like they add anything to the dinner party conversation. Not to mention, they're notoriously shallow. Anyway, I'd lopped off the little yellow top and left it at my elbow near the edge of the counter - also known as, within reach. Moments later, while mixing and congratulating myself over the vinagrette, I heard a munching, kind of chomping sound coming from the edge of the room. There was my Minneapple, light of my life, pooper of the century, chowing down on a pepper. Raw pepper. The little bugger went and grew two new teeth while I was out of town this weekend and now he was putting them to good use.

I've heard all kinds of advice on how to avoid raising a picky eater. One, is not to be one yourself - I've got that covered (now. God help you if you served me PB&J with grape jelly - or worse - CRUST when I was younger.) I've been consciously trying to keep his diet as varied as possible so that, hopefully, when his appetite calms down, he'll still be open to a couple of these less common foods.

One baby food book that I have goes so far as to say that it's basically lazy parenting that leads to a picky eater. I'm going to call B.S. on that one. Still, I'm wary of giving up on this introducing new food things.

I'm finding, though, like all things in motherhood, there's just no telling what my boy is going to do from one moment to the next. (Like yanking up my shirt in public and sticking his finger in my belly button.) I'm guessing with this one, I'm not going to have to worry so much. He loves spicy food. It's crazy. I was eating some Indian food yesterday - spicy chicken with curry, yogurt sauce and jasmine rice. He loved the chicken and the sauce. Loved it. Wanted it more than his perfectly respectable banana, yogurt, raspberry mixture I'd made for him.

Like most things, I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm going to keep trying. In the meantime, here's a quick recipe for that brown rice salad I mentioned above (see how it all comes full circle? Just like Lost.)

Sweet n' Cool Brown Rice Salad
1 package of microwavable brown rice (I use Trader Joe's frozen brand.)
1/4 English cucumber, cubed
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 tart apple, diced
1/4 cup of craisins (dried blueberries would be good, too.)
1/8 cup chopped walnuts
2 green onions sliced
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon coarse ground mustard
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon garlic chili paste
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2-3 dashes sesame oil (optional)

Cook rice according to package directions. Place in a large mixing bowl and cool in the refrigerator or freezer while you dice up the veggies. Mix vinaigrette ingredients soy sauce through sesame oil. Toss everything together. Taste, adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve, or place in refrigerator overnight. The flavors taste even better the next day.