Going for Green

The Olympians are not the only ones celebrating victory this week.

Instead of gold, I won green. Unfortunately, no, not the kind of green that I could put in my savings account or use to buy something nice. My green victory is better than that and has been nine years in the making....

Imagine if you will, a young, twenty-something Homeschool Dawn seated near her darling Wilbur. He is a little-bitty baby, seated in his high chair, completely unaware of the new experience coming his way... his first taste of baby food.

Because HSD is a good mommy and loves her little boy, she is starting him out with peas- a green vegetable, of course, so he will not develop a taste for the sweeter fruits and veggies of other colors. She took this route with Orville only one year earlier, and it worked. As soon as the spoon of green mush touched his tongue, he said, "Mmmm... doh". Which was his way of saying, "Thanks, Mom, that was great. I appreciate that you are instilling healthy eating habits in me. Could I have some more, please?"

Strong in her conviction that introducing greens first produces a healthy eater, HSD scoops up a bite of peas, sings a little song about eating, and flies the spoon to Wilbur's mouth.

Wilbur's reaction?

Thwwwwpppp! (Which was his way of saying, "Thanks, Mom, for looking out for my nutritional needs, but yuck!")

Determined not to give in, HSD sings another eating song and "feeds" her little darling another bite.

Thwwwpppp!!

This went on until the jar was empty, HSD was covered in green spittle, and the kitchen was colored green from floor to ceiling. Yes, it was even on the ceiling. It was like a St. Patrick's Day celebration gone bad.

Well, I am a determined woman and have not given up the battle for the green. Tonight, I brought out my secret weapon.

And what, pray tell, is my secret weapon?

Ham pie.

I should have thought of this sooner. I never got Baby Wilbur to eat peas, green beans, or anything else green. But when I whipped open I jar of ham dinner... let's just say it was a good thing for me that he didn't have teeth yet. I might be missing a finger or two.

But back to my weapon....

I mixed together cubes of ham, swiss cheese, a little light mayo, carrots, onion, lemon juice, ground mustard, and CELERY! I poured it into a pie crust and baked it up. When I served it, Wilbur heard the words "ham", "cheese" and "pie" and inhaled it so quickly that our community tornado sirens sounded.

It wasn't until his tenth bite that he noticed the little green slivers within his slice of the yummy pie. He thought they were pickles, and I was not inclined to say differently.

Until dinner was over, that is.

Hee, hee.

Once his plate was clean, I told him exactly what he had eaten. His eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Hey! Celery is pretty good!"

He has promised that tomorrow night he will try....

Are you sitting down?

Zucchini!!

Touchdown!!!

Now, how can get him to turn off a light when he leaves a room?