Harvest Fresh

[Victoria Pich]

On the topic of education - I really appreciate Mr Bronson's rule about organic only on the premises. It has become an opportunity for education. I sometimes shop at Harvest Fresh for organic veggies in a pinch, and I asked the man behind the deli if the deli food is organic. Not only is it NOT organic, it is made by Cosco foods, one of those centralized and highly processed operations. We aren't eating any of that anymore. I find their inventory overpriced, anyway, but now I feel that their marketing is very deceptive. I grow a lot of our food, but their are some times when a store is convenient.
So the search continues for things my daughter will eat. The list of all foods she will eat still fit on one hand, and fresh veggies of any kind are not on that list. So far, she will still eat bananas... Any suggestions are appreciated. I need to have something for her to eat after her class/during mine.

[suzanne sanders]

Hi Victoria, 

How old is your daughter?  My rule in our house has always been (even when I did daycare) you have to taste it.  Sometimes is was one bite rule or two bite rule.  If they did not like it they did not have to eat any more of that veggie for that night.  When I served the veggie again the following week, even though they did not like it the last time, they had to try it again.  One itsy, bitsy bite.  Two weeks later if I served the same veggie again they had to take a itsy bitsy bite.   One child left at home and she is 15 she still has to try whatever it is, but by now she is willing and likes to try new things.  I have been very strict, and it as worked.  All my children eat veggies.  They are not damaged from me making them take itsy bitsy bites for the whole time they lived here.

This applied to all the foods not just veggies.  

I also am a sneaky cook.   When you make soups you can puree the veggies and add them to the soup.  They wont see the chunks or feel the texture in their mouth.  You can puree different veggies for pot pies, pasta recipes and baked dishes.  Mix some light colored veggies in with mashed potatoes.   Muffins with grinded up seeds and nuts added to them.   You also could  add purred fruit, squash or carrots to the muffins, with the addition of the grinded up nuts and seeds.  That way she will not know they are there.  If there is just a tiny bit of organic chocolate chips in the muffins she might not realize there are other things. 

Bake your own seeds with olive oil and  sea salt.  Eventually you could add more spices. 

Another thing I did was teach them  to cook.  You  could get a fun basket and go to the Saturday Public Market to buy your produce.  It is yummy and fresh.  The intention when you go to the market is to only buy produce.  No goodies.  

Go to the used book store with the intention of buy cookbooks together.     

Teach her to read labels and look up what the ingredients mean.  What do they do to your health.  

Teach about seasonal food

Organic  veggie produce from the store is hard to like.  I will go without salad if I do not get it from the local farmers.  I can stand the taste of store produce.  Again a good way to start would be fresh veggies for the local farmers, they just taste way better.  

Again, If you can get her to be involved with the shopping and  cooking this could help.

Just think sneaky,  puree and grind away 

I hope this helps