Picky Picky

Rebecca's last post scared me. It never ever occurred to me that some day my kids might eat dinner at someone else's house and the thought horrified me as all of their friends eat "real" food. You know, roast chicken, lasagna, tacos, rice and beans. And my children used to, they really did. But somehow over the last year they have moved from "adventurous eaters extraordinaire" (Empanadas? Bring em on. Sesame Thai tofu? You betcha.) to children who eat the same five or six foods day in and day out. Our list is fairly similar to Julia's, except we do have chicken (nuggets only) and quiche. Sometimes tofu.

So, in a massive panic that C might soon be asked to dinner at someone's house and my children's lack of dinner repertoire might be found out, tonight I braved the introduction of a new food, "Pizza Chicken Nuggets." Known to the rest of the world as Chicken Parmesan. As a side I served sweet potato "fries," as the bane of Nana's existence is that my children have lost their taste for sweet potato.

After the initial temper tantrums subsided, there was much interest in the concept of "Pizza Chicken Nuggets." Everyone oohhed and ahhed when it arrived on their plates, and a few bites were even consumed. Following Susan's advice, I studiously ignored their interest in the food, and occupied myself with cleaning under my fingernails. Which were astonishingly gross. I must remember to clean them on the days I manage to catch a shower....but I digress.

At the end of the meal, C had consumed all of his sweet potato fries and asked for more, and (maybe) a few bites of "Pizza Chicken." A consumed one bite of "Pizza Chicken" and one bite of sweet potato fry. She deemed the chicken "Yummy" and the sweet potato fry "not so yummy." Which kills me because the other day she ate my entire sweet potato off of my plate. It remains to be seen whether a sudden hunger develops right before bed, but I would consider this meal to be moderately successful. At least everyone tried something, and no one left the table upset.

Any suggestions regarding what I should try next? What would you serve a visiting child for dinner?