Eating Fresh!

I have to admit some not-great habits I have fallen into lately. One of those is letting Hailey eat and snack on whatever she wants. This includes an insane amount of Ritz crackers, cereal, "paasdta" = pasta, string cheese and an occasional banana. That may not sound so bad, but it's starchy carbs and no vegetables at ALL! I am embarrassed to say that I literally cannot remember the last time Hailey ate a veggie. She is pretty good with fruits, but most days I am too tired to fight with her and usually give into her begging me for another cracker.

I want my little girl to be a good healthy eater. We all need to eat more veggies anyway, so I am ready to start new with my family's eating habits.

When I went to the doctor at Hailey's 18-month checkup I complained that Hailey wasn't eating any kind of vegetables. The only way we get any in her is through spaghetti sauce and watered down V8 juice. The doctor told me that children will refuse food several times before they will give in and try it. So I made a plan to cook 1 vegetable everyday for a week straight, and offer it first at each mealtime with Hailey. Hopefully, one out of those seven days she will actually eat some of it. Each week will be a new veggie and fruit.

This week is Apples and Carrots. Hailey already eats apples very well, I just want to help make it a daily habit for her!

And of course, we are taking baby steps. She won't eat the apple unless the skin is peeled off. The skins of these dark red apples are very bitter, so I'm not going to complain!

Carrots were next. I sliced some raw, and cooked others. I actually really like cooked carrots.

When I handed her a raw carrot to try she just sucked on it like a Popsicle!

At dinnertime I was more adamant, I cut the pieces up small and encouraged Hailey to use her fork. She loves using her utensils now.

And GUESS WHAT! She ate every carrot off her plate! Success!!


Next week....Cantaloupe & Cauliflower