Seriously?

Last night, my very picky eater came up with what she thought was a perfectly brilliant idea:

"Mommy, can I please pack a lunch for Thanksgiving dinner?  I could bring a Lunchable!"

Oh yes.  Yes she did.

So, let me get this straight.  She wants to bring a Lunchable, with cheese, crackers and TURKEY to Thanksgiving dinner at my SIL's, where dinner will include -- TURKEY.  DD's response to that was that she liked her turkey cold, and cut into small squares.  With a side of preservatives please, I guess.

I completely shut that idea down, though I could see she was a bit upset about it.  When I thought about the completely normal dinner we'd planned, and compared it to the list of things that DD will eat at the present time, my guess is that she would likely eat nothing, or perhaps a bite of a roll and a few pieces of corn (she only likes freeze dried corn, which will not be served).  And, stubborn child that she is, she would rather starve than eat something that she doesn't like.  (We are actually trying to bribe her into trying new things by getting her a Webkinz every time she tries ten new foods.  So far, she's tried two new things and has hated them both.  Even with a prize like a Webkinz, very near and dear to her heart, she just hates trying new food.)  Frankly, I'm kind of p*ssed about this whole picky eater thing, because I would really like my restaurant choices to expand to those that don't serve chicken fingers.

I softened a bit at the end of the day after asking some other moms (who had done the same thing, but on the sly).  I told DD that after she ate a few pieces of regular turkey tomorrow, she could eat a packed lunch.  She wasn't happy with that, but too bad.  She used to love regular turkey when she was 1-2 years old and now has decided that it is one of the hated foods.  I refuse to do what my mom did, which was to make me sit at the dinner table until I ate my dinner or bedtime came, whichever was first.  I don't want to make food a battleground, because I worry that DD will take away some unhealthy eating ideas if I do that.  (Like I have, perhaps from all that food detention I served.  I didn't eat meat loaf or squash voluntarily until I was in my 30's as a result, and I still refuse to eat Spanish rice or stuffed peppers, because?  No.  Just no.  They are evil.)  We've talked with her doctor about the limited food repertoire, and she is not concerned, so I try not to be concerned.

Ugh.  My daughter.  The one with the lunch sack.  At Thanksgiving. 

(And everything is fine with the cycle.  The nurse said that it is really hard to screw up a pill cycle.  Even for me.)

Comments

[Bee Cee]

Such lovely stories about DD, always make me smile. Happy Thanksgiving from over the pond.

[After Words]

You know, I never much cared for Thanksgiving food myself. I take enough turkey, sweet potatoes, and stuffing to be polite, but I'd probably be happier with a Lunchable myself! This year I'm packing pasta for the kids and hoping they'll want to at least try the other food, but I'm not holding my breath. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Paz]

I don't really dig turkey much either. We are going to family for the day and I am bringing brussel sprouts – a truly remarkable recipe. But brussel sprouts are The food from my childhood that had me at the table for hours until I finished them. I finally realized that I could slip them into the shelf that held the table leaves. So no more long food fights – slip, and off I went. It never occurred to me to retrieve the food at a later date. I recall quite clearly the day they were found. The scream. Then the screaming words, which befuddled me. 'Mice! We have mice.' Slowly I walked over to the incriminating evidence. Hmmm, I wondered, what are those teeny, shriveled raisin-like things? I was never caught because no one would ever identify them as brussel sprouts.

Food fights are not worth it.(easy for me to say, my son eats almost everything. but he is starting to get picky, more about his clothes [too tight, too tight] than food, but food preferences are becoming quite clear.)

Good luck with figuring out how to handle the food issue.

[Paz]

and Happy Tday!

[Jennie]

I have always hated the Thanksgiving meal because of the sit-until-your-plate-is-clean thing. To this day, I push food around until the pumpkin pie is served.

I also hate all formal dinners and all regular dinner food because of the force fed thing growing up.

We often eat 3 separate meals at our home for the 3 of us, but we're all happy with what we eat and we eat it together at the dinner table.