I know that eating too much meat is not good either for our health or the planet, and I have tried to cut down our intake before, an effort which was met with some dismay by my carnivorous sons. But after watching the documentary, I thought I'd have another go, and make an effort to buy more humanely-produced meat when I do buy it (where from however is another matter!).
Then I thought about the practicalities and what my boys will eat, refuse to touch with a bargepole, and are merely highly unenthusiastic about eating. The first list is quite short, the second pretty long, and the third limited to a short list of carrots, spinach, squash, and leek.
On the first list are: tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, onion, potato, broccoli, peas, beans, corn, asparagus, parsnip (my youngest), beetroot (I think, but I don't like it), bean-sprouts.
On the second list are: mushrooms, courgettes, aubergines, peppers of all colours, celery, cabbage, swede, turnip, avocado, cauliflower, celeriac, fennel, parsnip (my eldest), sweet potato, chicory, okra.
They won't eat cheese either. You can see my problem. Recipes on local cuisine are full of aubergine, peppers and courgettes. I like Mediterranean food but I eat it alone which is not really the point. Luckily they will eat pulses of all sorts so all is not lost, but it would be a boring diet if we stuck to a boy-friendly list of veg.
I also eat French-produced veg in season as much as possible which adds to the fun of limiting the selection. Bugger it, just pass me a chop...
I think I watched the same documentary as you...I have revamped my no meat efforts too.
ReplyDeleteAre you also restricted to a limited list of veg your kids will eat?
DeleteLast night I cooked some green lentils in a veg stock cube, fried up some courgette until it became unrecognisable, some onion and tomato with lots of garlic, and mixed them into the lentils. It was quite nice, but it turned out I was the only one to eat it as the boys were out. *sigh*
We definitely eat more veg in the summer months (thank you Papa's garden!), and have a couple of meat-free nights a week... Monday was ratatouille and baguette (I make a big ol' ratatouille sandwich) and tonight is tomato bruschetta :)
ReplyDeleteIt's good to have a garden and handy gardener who can give you produce. :)
DeleteThanks to our car's latest endeavors to empty our bank account, we are all on a pasta, rice, potatoes and veg diet, with the odd bit of meat thrown in for a treat from time to time. The rule of thumb in my house is that if you don't like it, you go hungry. It appears to work fine.
ReplyDeleteI quite agree, but I do buy food that I know they'll eat, otherwise it's asking for trouble! I'm having a lovely time right now eating exactly as I please as they are now at their dad's and I'm free to eat mushrooms, aubergine etc. It's wonderful! :)
DeleteOurs eats just about every veggie on the planet. The boy loves cucumbers and will eat them whole, peel and all, if given the chance.
ReplyDeleteBut I love my pork and won't give it up, even in places where it's not readily available or illegal. (wink wink!)
I love pork too. :)
DeleteTastes change so I'm hoping the boys will eat more veg as they grow up!