So, 30 days later, am I any closer to 4,500, or even 45? Not really. But I've started a new list:
Things my kids eat now that they didn't eat 30 days ago
- Soba noodles
- Fish tacos
- Lamb burgers
- Swedish meatballs
- Fish soup
- Biscuits
- Trout
- Sweet potatoes
It's not so much a list as the promise—no, more than that, the proof—that dinner is back.
How to bust a family-dinner rut
Deconstruct It
Pick meals that can be broken down to things your kids like. I always start a meal by putting all four plates on my counter. For backup, before I sauce or season an item in a potentially offensive way, I extract a plain piece and assign it to its appropriate plate.
Tweak Technique
Sometimes the newness factor can be technique-driven. Slicing sweet potatoes into chiplike slivers on a mandoline was what got the girls to try a bite. Another night, we panfried a pizza on the stovetop instead of baking it in the oven.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
If we made a switch that wasn't visibly detectable in a meal (i.e., lamb burgers instead of hamburgers), we often didn't point it out to the kids. This way, they weren't predisposed to dislike something new.
Do Some Advanced Searching
The best tool out there for busy cooks is the "Quick and Easy" button on the archives at Epicurious.com—just type in a single ingredient and select the filter. The search will produce a well-edited list of options for you. If it's still too large, you can filter further by season.
Don't Go It Alone
Enlist your spouse in the project—for the planning, if not the cooking. I wouldn't have been able to do this by myself.
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