Ask my little girl Isabella what she wants to eat and it’s either a. grilled cheese sandwich or b. peanut butter and jelly. Suggest that she should eat her spinach, broccoli or brussels sprouts first and you get an encyclopedic explanation of why she can’t eat it–it doesn’t taste good, it’s too hot, you have to chew it too much, etc etc etc.
But the other weekend we stayed with our friends Rachel and Steffen Schneider at Hawthorne Valley Farm (from which we buy our produce as part of local eating). Rachel took Isabella out into the field to harvest a squash and then they cooked it together. Isabella wolfed it down.
The picture above shows Isabella with a squash she picked out of our own community garden today. We also harvested some lettuce. Isabella can’t wait to eat them both.
So, if your child is anything like mine, here is what you have to do to get your child to eat just about any vegetable: let them grow it for themselves!