It’s Recipe Psychology!

The past couple nights dinner has been an absolute joy. My son has eaten two meals that normally he would not touch. Not only eaten, but sat right down and tried the foods without the usual whining and 5-minute inspection to make sure nothing looks “yucky.”

But I don’t think it’s so much the food as it is the psychology behind allowing him to choose and cook a meal.

He didn’t actually eat all that much of the food - he normally eats like a bird - but he did rave about how good everything was. We’ll have to see if it’s still good the next time we make it, when the novelty has worn off.

Here are my reviews of the two meals we made from Rachael Ray’s Top 30 30-Minute Meals Kid Food:

Weeknight Spaghetti & Meatballs
Time to prep: It took us 40 minutes. We could probably do it in 30 once we’re more familiar with the recipe.
Taste: L ate 2 meatballs. This is unheard of. Then he floored us by asking for some SALAD. OK, so he only ate about 3 bites, but, people, he ASKED FOR SALAD! PHAT Daddy & I prefer my meatball recipe to Rachael’s. I cook my sauce and meatballs for hours, then freeze them into meal-size portions — and it’s even better when it’s re-heated and cooked more. L, however, says he prefers Rachael’s recipe. Again, I think the psychology played a big part here. Next time, we’re going to try to “morph” my recipe and Rachael’s. And, of course, L will have a say in how that’s done.

Making meatballs:

Enjoying dinner:

C could eat Parmesan cheese by the bowlful:

Hot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Super Stuffed Potatoes
Time to prep: 28 minutes
Taste: This is AWESOME. We all loved it, although I had to leave some chicken sans hot sauce because it was too spicy for C. It was super-easy to prepare, too. Here’s the recipe, as we prepared it:

• Wash two potatoes, pierce them with a fork and microwave them (covered with a wet paper towel) on high for 10 minutes, or until they are soft when pierced with a fork.
• Put four boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a bowl and have your child sprinkle on salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. (You can put the spices in a small bowl first and let the kids “bam” the seasoning on like Emeril!)
• Drizzle a little extra-virgin olive oil over the chicken and place the chicken in a pre-heated non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes per side.
• While the chicken is cooking, let your child measure and mix together the topping for the stuffed potatoes: 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 2 scallions that you have finely chopped, a few slices of crumbled bacon (you can fry it with the chicken, cook it in the microwave or just use store-bought bacon bits), and a dash of salt & pepper. (Note: L and PHAT Daddy do not go for sour cream and cheese on potatoes - I know, insanity - so we left the bacon separate.) Rachael’s recipe calls for scooping out some potato and mixing it with the above ingredients, then putting the potatoes under the broiler to get a little browned and crunchy. We skipped that step and just put our chosen toppings on our respective potatoes.
• When the chicken is done, have your child measure 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of hot sauce (like Frank’s Red Hot). Microwave the butter to melt it, then mix in the hot sauce. Coat the chicken breasts in this mixture, then put them on crusty rolls and top with lettuce.
• Rachael included a sour cream/blue cheese mixture to put on top of the chicken, but we skipped this also since none of us like blue cheese.
• Serve the chicken sandwiches and potatoes with carrot and celery sticks. And if your child is old enough to carry a dinner plate, be sure to let him “serve” the meal to you!

So far, this experiment has been a big success. It may be a little more work to let your kids help in the kitchen, but asking them for input with meal planning, looking through cookbooks, and allowing them to be very involved in preparing the meal could be just enough to peak their interest in at least trying something new.