Picky eaters...

I have always lived in awe of mother's whose children 'eat everything'.  Always. Are there really children who eat everything, always?  Gosh, I had four and not one of them ate everything.  Ever.

We're not going to get into the allergy side of things.  That was another whole experience.  I'm talking only about my 'picky eaters' today. 

Gosh, they're all grown up today and having the family around to dinner is quite an experience.  Let me share a list of (some) of what they do not eat:

• potatoes (truly!)
• onions (understandable, they can cause a lot of discomfort)
• mushrooms 
• peas
• cauliflower, brocolli
• tomatoes - raw or cooked
• squash of any sort including zucchini and butter nut
• rice (allergy, so maybe shouldn't be on this list)
• butter, margarine
• white bread of any kind - so no sour dough
• soy and linseed bread, bread with too many 'bits' in it of any kind
• lamb shanks; lamb neck; kidneys, liver, tripe; fatty meat of any kind
• fish
• shellfish
• baked beans, canneloni beans, red beans, broad beans, lentils, chick peas
• feta cheese, blue cheese, brie, camembert
• eggs
• honey, jam, syrup
• raisins, currants, sultanas, oh heck... just about every dried fruit
• fruit cake
• fruit salad
• fruit, especially bananas
• cake with jam in the middle
• icecream
• cream
• yoghurt

Cooking for a family gathering has become an artform. The simplest way to please everyone is to make a BBQ or a roast. Chicken or turkey are my best choice. Red meat roasts pose a small problem too... everybody likes to have their meat cooked differently.  My husband's 'raw' is everyone elses 'medium'.

My green salad's have become a joke!  The best way to dish them up is to serve sliced/diced components on separate plates.  That way everyone can make up their own without 'contaminating' anything.  Nothing gets dressed.  I put a variety of oil/vinegar/lemon/bought dressing on the table.  Those that want add, those that like 'plain' salad are happy.

By the time I've taken all my families 'fimmies' into account I've quite lost interest in trying anything new.  Which is why it's always good to find out about new ways to 'hide' vegies.

I watched a great class on the latest Masterchef series here.  Gary talked about his 'picky' children and gave us a wonderful recipe for home made (obviously) sausage rolls with hidden vegies.  Follow this link and you'll be able to watch him make them and/or download the recipe.

If you have children that eat everything, always... let me know how you managed to get it right.  I'd love to hear. I'd also like to hear about those of you with husbands that eat everything.  Counts you out automatically Arabella :)

April Blackbird