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www.FredericksburgParent.NET 9 From Custom Painting – interior & Exterior – to a Complete Home Makeover "WE MAKE YOUR HOUSE THE HOME OF YOUR DREAMS." HARVEST PAINTING REMODELING & 10% DISCOUNT FOR FIRST-TIME CUSTOMERS C a l l u s f o r FREE E s t i m a t e : 540-645-9405 HarvestPainting@usa.com From Custom Painting – interior & Exterior – & 540-645-9405 RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL • COOK ONE MEAL BUT OFFER DIFFERENT PROTEINS I'm no monster—I love tofu but I'm not going to try to convince my son to enjoy it for dinner! I will often prepare one recipe but provide a choice of protein for everyone in my family. With my husband being a vegetarian, me avoiding red meat, and my son being a picky carnivore, this is what I have to do to make dinner a success most nights. You never want to be a short-order cook, but it's OK to offer a few different choices based on need and preferences, especially for proteins. As much as I prefer my child tries black beans on top of his Santa Fe salad, the world won't end if I throw a few chicken nuggets in the oven for him to go with it, too. Flexibility goes both ways. • DON'T LABEL FOOD HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY If you want to cook and eat healthily but fear your kids (and maybe spouse) are onto you, don't waste time verbalizing it, just make it part of your life and hope for the best! I think it's a big deterrent when we talk about how healthy a certain food or meal is, and it turns picky eaters away. Cook and eat the way you want to feed your family, make sure there are a few "safe" or "fun" items incorporated as well, and normalize eating this way without lots of fanfare or conversation about it. Finally, it's important to find balance and make sure that if you are the main shopper and cook for the household, you are also providing lots of opportunities for occasional indulgences, treats and meals that are always diverse. When it's my son's turn to cook dinner, I don't require him to include a vegetable or healthy side dish, because it's his night to decide! If I am making a healthy, meatless salad for dinner one night, I may make sure the following evening is something a little more fun, like quesa- dillas and chips. Overall, the more you make healthy cooking a normal part of your everyday life while also providing options, choice, and variety, chances are your family members may come around to enjoying more food items than you ever thought pos- sible. Good luck!