a visit to the farmer's market

Matthew Zhao and I are so excited that our local farmer's market is finally open! What started out as a quiet stroll through the fruits and veggies while pushing my little guy in his stroller has evolved into quality Mommy and Matthew time as we walk, chat, and buy our veggies for the week. I just cannot express how very much I look forward to this weekly event!

Last week we bought fresh green beans. Matthew picked them out himself, carefully stuffing them in the bag and then setting them on the scale. He handed over the money and attempted to pocket the change. Now I have read over and over again that if you want your kids to eat vegetables you should include them in the selection and preparation of said vegetables. This has never worked for me. Matthew likes to look at the wide selection of vegetables in the store and he likes to put them in the little bags to carry home. he likes to place them on the hanging scale and see how much each item weighs. What he does not like to do is east any of them. I remember back in China, the one time on the whole trip when he actually ate something other than cheerios, he ate tofu and veggies. Then he came home and somehow we broke him. My little guy wouldn't touch another vegetable.

I have found that the best way to get him to eat his veggies is to show him how physically strong he gets when he eats them. And by "eats" I mean actually chew and swallow them. I show him how he can't lift my arm up at all before he eats the vegetable and then, little by little, the more green beans or peas he eats, the higher he can lift my arm. He loves this game and it often results in him stealing vegetables off my plate just to see if he can lift my arm all the way over my head. It does, however, make for a long dinner time with the constant interruption of my son suddenly standing up on his chair demanding to see how high he can lift my arm, after every bite. So far I have only gotten this trick to work with green beans and peas. He still won't touch a carrot. Literally. He will not touch a carrot.

So maybe the combination of choosing his own veggies from the farmer's market and growing "strong" while eating them will continue to work for a while. But the farmer's market is so much more than a way to get my four year old to eat his vegetables. It is my opportunity to buy local. It offers my family fresh, pesticide free choices. And it gives me yet another chance to hang out with my little boy. They are young but for a minute and so anytime I can combine routine household chores with spending time with my boys we all win. Next week I think I will choose some fruit to try out a few new cobbler and dessert recipes, so stay tuned!

So here's a question for all of you: how do you get your little ones to eat their veggies?