Day One Hundred Eighty Seven: Fraternizing with the Vegetables

Other than sweets, desserts or candy, there are a few things my children will eat without comment or complaint:  chicken, pasta, corn, fruit, broccoli, rice, yogurt, cheese and bread.  If served on a plate, however,  each food must be treated like a prison visitation:  no touching.  No mingling.

But when I saw Martha's recipe for Orzo with Chicken, Corn and Green Beans, I thought I would give it a try.  The kids love these things separately.  Would I be able promote some food fraternization?  That was the question.

This recipe was super easy to make.  I used a grocery-cooked rotisserie chicken, so I didn't even have to cook the chicken beforehand.  It only took about 20 minutes to make and here's what it looked like:

When presented with this bowl, my kids initially started to complain:  Yuck!  It's all mixed up!  My daughter actually started to separate the food into little groups. I oh-so-sweetly reminded them that they liked everything in the bowl.  That didn't help.  Then I oh-so-impatiently informed them that the food gets all mixed up in your tummy anyway.  My son was amused by the thought and quickly got over his issues.  Seeing that her brother had broken rank and abandoned her, my daughter grudgingly proceeded to eat...but only one group at a time: first she ate all the chicken, then the corn, then the orzo.

Divide and conquer. It works with your children too.