Dinners, Individualized

Some of them groaned, no more vegetable fried rice but, instead of a compromise, Luke had a giant portion of rice chock full of vegetables and the girls opted for corn thins with black bean spread, avocado and mango salsa which I had given Susannah for lunch. So, I guess I can please everyone. But should I?

Part of family dinner is the idea of everyone sitting together enjoying a meal. Usually, the same meal. But for tired, hard to please youngsters who are begging for what is essentially a nourishing fresh alternative, I think it is OK to indulge them once in a while. How often? Well, let's just say there is no way I would make two or three dinners every night. We do have in our repertoire dinners that suit individual tastes through an array of add it yourself toppings and spices. On other days, if I have already mixed the whole shebang together, I do occasionally bark out, just pick it out if you don't like it. I have also learned some hard lessons. Like celery is a deal breaker for Lizzie and if I have added to any dish she will boycott the whole thing claiming it all tastes like celery. And Perry says if I put asparagus in anything she won't eat it, but I question the truth of this. Luke can be quoted as saying he does not eat vegetables but once you remind him spinach, onions, leeks and cabbage are vegetables, he quiets down on this issue...and Susannah the salad monster, well, she is always full before dinner so I never care whether she eats it or not. She had salad and a black bean hummus sandwich with cucumbers and radishes as a snack at 3:30 today...so she just had an apple and a spoon of peanut butter and a cracker or two. So, family dinner gets complicated at times; we try to keep it simple and delicious, but mostly, we try to eat it as a family.