Do You Want Some Cheese On It?

"Just two more bites"
"If you eat it all gone, you can have a cookie"

These and even more ridiculous statements might be heard around our dinner table on an everyday occasional basis. If meal time is one of the most important things to do together as a family, why is it often such a battle and the hardest part of the day?

Some parents like to enlist the help of some tricks to get their kids to eat their vegetables. Anyone read Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld? Or they might try dressing up the vegetables by making little shapes/creatures/faces with them. Or dipping sauces, anything is better dipped right?

So knowing this, and having lived this battle for a few years now; I thought I was being a great mother by buying some frozen broccoli that came with cheese on it. Mmmm cheese.

I scoop some of this delicious cheesy broccoli on each child's plate and then the chorus of praises for being a wonderful mother begin!

Oh wait, back up.. that was my delusion. What did I hear?
"I don't like broccoli with cheese. It smells. I want plain broccoli."

It's just a battle I can't win.

{image found here}