RFS Board Member Helen Bow is passionate about healthy eating and exercise. With one son who's an adventurous eater (Greyson) and one who's a selective eater (Miles), it is always a challenge to please everyone at the dinner table. Often, it requires a little creativity.
My 13-year-old son Miles has been selective about what he consumes from the get-go. When he was old enough to start drinking milk from a cup, he refused to do so. The kiddo hasn't had a full serving of milk in 12 years. I'm not kidding. That includes ice cream. Yes, that's right. My son will not even eat ice cream; and yet will opt for sorbet or gelato. To make sure he's getting the nutrients that milk provides, I've learned to compensate, offering him lots of cheese or sneaking milk or cream into mashed potatoes or mac and cheese.
Oddly, Miles loves onions and will eat them raw and cut up like an apple. I'm always at a loss on what to cook to please the kiddo, to get him to eat healthy foods. Last weekend, I decided to capitalize on the fact that he loves onions and drew inspiration from a recent trip to Benihana, famous for its teppanyaki-style cuisine. Miles loves the place and gobbles up the soup, chicken fried rice, shrimp and beef. So at home, I decided to make him chicken fried rice and included onions, carrots, peas and red and green bell peppers--and he loved it! I also boiled carrots, onions and green bell peppers, cayenne pepper with soy sauce in organic chicken broth to create my own version of the Benihana soup and he devoured it, veggies and all.
What's more, the leftovers were plentiful so we could enjoy it for a few more days. Thank you--or arigatou--for the inspiration Benihana!
Have you ever re-created one of your children's favorite dining experiences at home? Tell us in the comments! Or try this healthy stir-fry that uses a surprising technique!
