The Mysteries of Food

Ah, the mysteries of food.  It's quite a complicated subject.  You can fill a whole room floor to ceiling with books on the subject, I'm sure.  And when it comes to kids, it gets even more complicated.  When you're the nanny and you're making dinner, you can either be a hero (Yes!  I love this! Thank you!!) or a flop (Ugh!  Gag!  I hate that!!).  One boy will inhale it (almost literally) while the other barely picks at it. Even with the twin girls, one likes it while the other doesn't.  Then there's the all-too-common --

"I'm too full to eat this."
- "Okay, let me take your plate."
"Can I have dessert now?"
- "Umm ... no."

And try convincing kids there aren't "dinner" portions and "dessert" portions of their stomachs. :)

Here is a sampling of other food truths I've experienced:

* Kids who say "I'm not hungry" at snack time will have a complete meltdown if they can't have snack an hour later at bedtime. 

* For dinner, beans and melted cheese on tortilla CHIPS is entirely different and SO much better tasting than beans and melted cheese on tortilla SHELLS. 

*A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better if you take it apart and eat the piece with jelly on it, THEN the piece with peanut butter on it. 

*It's really difficult trying to please three brothers with dinner when one is practically a vegetarian (but will eat just about anything if it's smothered in melted cheese), another wants steak and mashed potatoes, and the third just wants hot dogs. 

And, just to finish up -- here's an interesting quote I overheard at the snack table.  A 7-yr-old boy who has been playing "army" is now eating his toast with butter and honey on it, and the honey has started oozing off the toast and onto the plate.
 
-- "You, honey!  You're trying to betray me! I'm going to cut off your escape route!"