playing with your food

they say the best way to get your kids to eat healthy is to eat healthy yourself. and that has been a challenge for my choco-cheese-aholic self. i usually manage to just not eat in front of them.  between running kids to the potty, repeatedly asking them to sit on their bums & cleaning up spilt milk, i don't usually have a free hand or mouth to eat anyways.

i'm not sure if it's the different stages they are at currently but dinnertime is fight. they're not usually big evening eaters anyhow but lately just getting the two-bite minimum has been a challenge. and so i have resorted to playing with our food. i know, not the best table manners but when a spear of asparagus suddenly into junior the asparagus, an entire bunch of asparagus vanishes! or when a pomegranate transforms into ruby pirate treasure & daddy-pirate wants his treasure back, suddenly all the rubies are safely hidden in their tummies. and when daddy-bear smells that they've been eating salmon, well, a bear chases almost always ensues. :)

i think dinnertime, for us anyways, has been a challenge for more than just the 'what's-for-dinner' reason. i think we're all tired. all ready for bed & hungry to boot. the kids have been busy. we've been busy all day & then we all come home & collide for dinner. so when dinnertime becomes playtime, we all have a much more peaceful, fun-filled evening. it gives the kids the nutrition they need to stay healthy & the much needed time with mum & dad & each other.  i am shocked at some of the things they've tried 'accidentally' while playing & have now grown to love & demand at dinnertime.

and even the mummy occasionally gets drawn into eating my veggies too.