Quit your whining and just make dinner
Dear Dinner Diva,
My children are so picky! All they'll eat is chicken nuggets, hamburgers and mac and cheese! Picky, picky, picky!! They wouldn't know a green vegetable if it went up and introduced itself. I don't know what to do; they are so PICKY!!! I'm tired of their pickiness. Please help.
Distraught in Detroit
Dear Distraught,
Seems to me that the reason your children only eat that stuff is because that's what you serve them. Remember who the parent is here! You choose their food (make sure you have at least one healthy thing on the plate that they like), you cook their food (you're not a short order cook!) and you serve them the same stuff with the rest of the family. It will take work and perseverance, but it can all be done with a pleasant attitude. Train your children to eat better and be a sterling example of eating well, too. If you pig out on Hagen Daas regularly in front of the tube and feed your children tofutti, they will notice and be more than a little miffed.
I went by your website and noticed you had menus for low -carb and regular menus. I am a low-carbing vegan vegetarian and don't like tree nuts, peanuts, any kind of nuts, soy, corn, wheat, beans, vegetables, fruits — well, basically everything except oatmeal and prunes. Can you help me make menus? Also, my husband doesn't like prunes. I forgot to tell you that.
Meal-less in Miami
Dear Meal-less,
"Please sir, can I have some more?" That famous sentence is in a scene in Oliver Twist and by the looks of things, that is the condition of your sad diet. While it may seem rather grueling, I'm sorry, but I don't have much to offer. Check out the Quaker Oats website.
Dear Dinner Diva,
I just don't have time! I work every day, commute, pick kids up from day-care and by the time I get home, I'm tired. I can't afford to eat drive -through every night and I feel guilty that I am not giving my children a better dinner. But I just don't have TIME! Please help me have time. I love your menus, but I don't have time! Do you make house calls?
Hungry in Houston
Dear Hungry,
Two words: Crock-Pot. Buy one.
Leanne again: Well, that's all I have scouted so far. One thing I noticed big time that there was common thread to all these letters to the Dinner Diva. Do you see it? Do you know what it is?
Yep, it's Whining, capital W. No one likes listening to a whiner (or reading one either!). This week we're remembering one of the great FlyLady principles: Thou Shall Not Whine. I have this plaque in my house and it's a terrific reminder for both me and the kids. Let's NOT go there!
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