Feeding the Children What They'll Eat

Watching an anesthetized-looking toddler suck on a Dora Go-gurt in her stroller at the mall reminded me of all the years I spent feeding my children organic whole foods. Here's what I thought then and what I still believe now: if you feed kids food that looks like food - not like a Disney character or a crayon - they will eat it if you have set the expectation from the start that food looks like food not toys. Picking a strawberry from the garden and eating it in the warm sun, inhaling its fragrance and tasting the sweetness is a vivid experience that sets the expectation that eating is satisfying and healthful.

When my children were small, I obsessively fed them only whole, organic, naturally sweetened foods. No white sugar allowed! I made them Popsicles from yogurt and fresh fruit. A store-bought cookie rarely crossed the threshold. I was too hardcore sometimes, though. When Rachel was in first grade, she went on a field trip with her class to the bank, where each child received a dollar, and then to the store to spend it. There was a lesson somewhere in being a good consumer that was lost in day-glo blue lik-m-stik powder. Rachel proudly showed me the candy she had selected: Swee-tarts. I tried to be gentle as I explained to her that she couldn't have them because they weren't good for her and then confiscated them. It was a bad mommy moment and she has reminded me of it often over the years.

Finding the balance still takes effort. We have relaxed a bit over the years. Sam and Sophie were certainly not subject to the rigorous food controls that Rachel endured. Nevertheless processed food is an exception here. Dinners are usually vegetarian. In the summer, all our veggies, and quite a bit of fruit comes from our garden.

Sam loves his protein. Though he happily eats beans and rice, he really loves meat and always has. When he walked into the kitchen the other day and spied a pan full of ground beef his exclamation of "Meat! Good!" reminded me both of a caveman and the time in preschool at a Mother's Day tea when he noticed a huge plate of pink ham chunks and said (loudly) "Look, Mama! Meat," and gobbled down large handfuls.

The ground beef in the pan was part of one of the dinners I make sometimes that tries to please everyone. Ken gets fried eggplant baked in marinara sauce (no meat, no dairy - delicious). The kids get a giant pan of baked pasta with ground beef and smoked mozzarella. It's pretty healthy, it's homemade, and they'll eat it all by lunch the next day.

I make this all at the same time. I bread and fry the eggplant while the pasta water comes to a boil, and grate the cheese and brown the meat while the pasta is cooking. The sauce needs no cooking. I mix both cans at once.

For the baked pasta:
1 pound pasta shapes
1/2 pound smoked or regular mozzarella, or a mixture
1 pound super lean ground beef or ground bison
1 large can Muir Glen tomato puree
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp fennel seed
salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain. Toss with butter or olive oil and put in a large casserole. Brown the meat. Drain. Add 1 clove of garlic - pressed, and some salt and pepper. Spread over the pasta. Press the other clove of garlic into the can of puree. Add the rest of the spices. Pour over meat and pasta. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake for 1/2 an hour at 350 until browned. Serve with a salad or green veggie.

Eggplant Unparm

1 large eggplant
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1 cup matzoh or cracker meal
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt
pepper
1 can Muir Glen tomato puree
1 clove garlic
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp fennel
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the eggplant and cut it into 1/4" slices. Mix the matzoh meal with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Put the flour and egg in separate bowls. Heat the oil in a skillet. Dip the eggplant in the flour, then egg, then meal. Fry in a single layer until brown on each side. Put the fried eggplant into a baking dish. Press the garlic into the can of tomato puree. Add the other spices. Mix and pour over the eggplant. Bake at 350 until heated through - about 1/2 hour.

Enjoy!