What's on My Plate? Episode 1: Quinoa pronounced (keen-wa)

Change is something a lot of people shy away from. Once they do something one way for so long, they tend to be very hesitant about trying something new. I would have to say I'm somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Granted picking up and moving half way around the world would not suit me very well, but rearranging my furniture and house every week just because, now that I can do! My poor husband. I've had to put labels all over my house because I move stuff around so often, he has no idea where anything is. One day we kept count of how many times he went to the wrong place because I had moved the trash can into a different spot. Thirteen was the final number. I blamed it on the lack of sleep from coming off night shift, he blamed it on my undeniable craziness. We will just agree to disagree on that one. I tell him all the time,"If you let me move stuff around it's like I have a whole new house and I don't feel the urge to go out and buy anything." It's like Christmas every time I come home. I walk in my house and it's like SURPRISE!! You have a new house!!  It saves us money, so he only complains a little bit.

About a week ago I embarked on a new adventure to bring about change in our household. It involved dinner time. Matt has recently given up certain types of foods in an effort to continue to rehabilitate his shoulder.  He has had issues with it for a while and he most recently found out what you eat can trigger inflammation. So he decided to try getting rid of artificial ingredients and other unhealthy things.  If you have ever tried to give up anything, you know it's easier to do it with a partner.

Let's just get this out in the open from the get go. I didn't want to be his partner and he didn't necessarily ask for me to be.  But I am the one who plans the meals and buys the groceries, so ultimately I had to make a choice. Make two different meal plans or just suck it up and follow him on this journey.  I decided the most supportive thing to do as a wife would be to help him by eating what he eats. Isn't it true that one bad decision leads to another? Because if that is the case, it would explain what happened to me. I had what I thought was another brilliant idea!Why not get everyone on board and include the girls in this new healthy lifestyle! Yes that would be a fantastic idea, and it should be easy enough. So where do I turn to get any and all of my inspiration? Pinterest, of course! I found something to follow and oh boy, let me tell you, what fun it has been! (If anyone is guessing, that is sarcasm that I'm using.)

Anyone who has had kids probably understands that dinner or anytime that involves eating can be a struggle. If you have had the kid that eats everything you fix without making a peep then count your blessings, name them one by one because what I wouldn't give for that around my house.  It has been a struggle to say the least, but I must share one night that was so ridiculous, it was hilarious.

*Let me first make this disclaimer, when I made this decision, the weekly menu had already been planned and groceries bought. It was not necessarily kid-friendly. This week I tried to make my menu a little better. * 

I believe it was Monday night and it was like day 3 of our new little adventure.  Emry had already made it completely clear that she did not approve of these new rules after the first day.  Matt had helped me finish up dinner that night because I had to run to Walmart to get some more baby food.  When I got back, the stuffed cheese-steak peppers were just coming out of the oven.  I thanked Matt for his help and then asked if he could do me one more favor. I explained that when I went grocery shopping the last time I saw that the Success brand had come out with a Quinoa Boil-in-a-Bag. On a side note, I do not use anything other than boil-in-a-bag rice. I can do a lot of things but cooking rice is not one of them. My brother-in-law and sister who have spent half their adult life in Japan and are experts at it tried to teach me, but even with a rice cooker I failed.

Anyways, back to the quinoa.

I explained to him that I had seen people posting about this stuff and using it in the place of rice and since he was trying to be healthier I thought we would try it.  He said, "Okay," with an uneasy grin on his face. So ten minutes later the boil-in-a-bag quinoa was done and I fixed everyone's plate.  Emry had already walked by the kitchen numerous times holding her nose. We all sat down to the table and Isla and Emry both had a look of disdain on their face.

Here is a play by play of what went down at the dinner table that night:

Emry: "Mom, why do we have to have these new rules? I don't like this."

Isla: Looks at her plate as I am setting it down, "No way, No way, No way Jose. I'm not eating that."

Me: I had a little bit of leverage that day because it was dessert day. "Fine, don't eat it, but remember today is dessert day. But if you don't try your food and eat a little bit, you won't get any dessert."

Both girls sigh and nod their head. YES!

Emry: Mom what's this brown stuff on my plate?"

Me: "Oh it's like rice, you'll like it."

So we start trying our food and the girls are moaning and complaining about how yucky it looks, tastes, and how it's not good, and on and on and on. 

Me (after hearing all I could take):  "Girls, the people from back in Bible times only had one thing to eat in the desert." They complained and complained about it because it was the same thing over and over again, they said if we could just have meat!"  Aren't you glad you don't have to do that, that you have meat to eat?! (Not sure if this was taken somewhat out of context but I was desperate so I tried to repeat the story from memory.)

Emry: rolls eyes and sighs

Isla: just stares

I eventually get everyone to at least try some of it 

Isla:  Manages to get down the last bit of quinoa that's on her plate. "Mom, that rice is not good, it don't taste like the rice I like."

All the while, Matt has been quiet. I realize this and so I turn and look at him. He doesn't realize I'm watching and and I see why his side of the table has been completely silent. He takes a bite of quinoa, then takes a big gulp of water, swishes it around in his mouth, then makes a choking noise after he swallows. I thought I was watching Chevy Chase from Christmas Vacation when the turkey is overcooked. I just shook my head and said,"Really?" Needless to say, I was not approached by any of my family members for quite sometime after this debacle. We made it through the rest of the dinner and everyone survived, despite what they might tell you.

Good news though, the rest of the week has gone somewhat better and we have stuck to the rules.  Hopefully it will bring about a change for the better in all of our eating habits. I would love to hear about some recipes you have that are kid friendly but not "kid-food" like pizza, chicken nuggets, etc. Share them in a comment with me!  By the way, I have two bags of quinoa left if anyone wants them because I am forbidden to ever cook it in my house again.

Tune in for the next episode of What's on my Plate? and I'll tell about the time I tried to feed them veggie tots and pass them off as tater tots.

With Love,
Tori