A couple of nights ago, I made Sweet and Sour Chicken. My kids don't particularly care for it, but I don't care because they don't particularly care for anything I make lately. When I ask for requests for dinner, all I ever get are suggestions for crud food. So I've stopped asking.
I left some of the chicken out without the sauce, so that they could have it plain. Of course when they saw what was for dinner, they all began complaining, and telling me that they don't like this stuff. Well guess what guys? If I made what you liked all the time, we would be living on pancakes and mac and cheese! Oh yeah, and cookies. Sorry. Big, mean mommy comes out again. After they dished up their plates, and picked through the bowl of Normandy blend vegetables, pulling out only the carrots and leaving the broccoli, squash, zucchini, and cauliflower, we finally began to eat.
I had taken two bites {I'm not kidding. Two bites} when I said something to this effect, "I don't know how you guys don't like Sweet and Sour Chicken. It's so good." To which Spencer replied, "You know how you might think some things are really good, but nobody else thinks so?"
I was shocked. I have been making this meal for years, and he's never said a word except, "Thanks. That was good." And now, he finally tells me that he doesn't like it? At all? I was mad. Mad. Where I was famished 2 minutes before, my appetite was now gone. I couldn't eat anymore. But not him. Nope, he kept on eating the food that he didn't like. That ticked me off even more.
And that is how our dinner went from sweet to sour in 2 minutes flat.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
More sour than sweet
Posted by tharker at 10:07 PM
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21 Thoughts:
Oh! Food fight. Hope the cleanup wasn't to painful.
That's too bad. I'd come eat Sweet and Sour chicken with you anyday! I wish our families realized how hard it is to cook meals that please everyone.
Sweet and sour chicken is Brandon's favorite but he doesn't like many other things because he's so darn picky.
Ethan and Lily basically starved last night because they wouldn't eat what I made...Sweet and Sour Meatballs. I give up.
It's a tough road... that dinner making.
This is a funny story Tiff. I actually made Pineapple Chicken this week, and it was good, but my one kid didn't eat it. Jack liked it, but there have been plenty of times when he'll go out to lunch and then I'll fix the exact same thing. Mexican for Lunch, Burritos for Dinner, Chinese for Lunch, Sweet & Sour for Dinner. I feel the same, I'm always struggling with dinner!
Oh the dinner whoas, have Spencer cook one night, and see how easy it is :)
That would really tick me off, I love your sweet and sour chicken. Lately I feel like if conner even opens his mouth during dinner I am going to scream, he complains about everything I make.
Okay I am totally giggling.. I love sweet and sour chicken.. I totally would have WANTED to kick him in the shins.. but hopefully I would restraing myself. I am sorry.
My Mom made it for my uncle one day he was visiting he hates anything with vinegar so he didn't eat it at all.
I am reading your blog during a conference call and thanks for making me laugh out loud and of course my phone wasn't muted.
Have you ever seen Jon and Kate plus 8? Well, I think that woman is amazing, a little neurotic maybe, but amazing nonetheless. I like her approach to cooking dinner... "you eat what I make for you, and if you don't like it, then too bad. I'm not a short order cook."...lol! I feel like that sometimes. Dinners are so hard to please everyone. I don't blame you for being mad. I would be FURIOUS! I say you make him cook a meal too! :)
I love the dinner time battles. I made something last week and was so frustrated that the kids wouldn't eat it and then Brad piped in with "I don't really like it either!" AGHHHHHHHH!
Oh, I am sorry. I would have been ticked too. That's when you want to start listing off everything that you do that seems to go unappreciated and you just want one thing that you love so much. :) Argh.
If I lived there, I would have come over for dinner and ooohed and awwwhed over it to make you feel better. I am sure it was delish.
Ok, I have had the VERY same thing happen! I was steaming mad and he took that as "well I should tell her if I don't like something." So now he does which also makes smoke come out of my ears! 3 weeks ago I made something and he looked at it, sighed and said "I miss my Mom." CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT! His helping almost ended up on his head! He is worse than my kids! GRRRRR!
GENEIL
Emily,
Yes, I also love Kate's approach to cooking. I have taken on that one too. There are many nights where my kids eat two bites of dinner, and then they say they don't want anymore. So I let them be done. But, they know that they do not get ANYTHING else until breakfast. At first I thought that for sure they would get hungry and come back and eat more dinner, but nope. They are stubborn and don't seem to mind starving all night. Oh well. I am not their personal chef. They eat what I make, or they don't eat.
Karen,
Maybe Spencer and Brad called each other and planned exactly how they could ruin both of our meals!
Elizabeth,
If you are EVER up this way, I will cook for you anytime!!
Geniel,
I CANNOT believe that he said he missed his mom! Yeah, there would have been some fire coming out of these ears too!! Maybe his tactics aren't quite as helpful as he thinks ;)
oh! invite me over next time, I wont complain! James HATES sweet and sour anything so I never get to have it. I would love your recipe though, maybe I could make it for myself :)
Hey, I hate that. Its all so frusterating. You try to be a GOOD mom and make good healthy food for your family. Jacob does that sometimes. He never says he doesn't like something. But, I would rather know the first time before I make it over and over.
This cracked me up. I think we can all relate though! I also use the, "eat this because you won't eat again until breakfast" approach and it seems to work. My kids are atleast consistent with what they won't eat but thankfully they're not too picky. I can handle them saying they don't like something and still eat it but I absolutely love when they go gaga over something I made and just devour it up!
I think Spence deserves a little slack- I mean, he was being really nice for eating it all those times all those years without complaining about it. Isn't that what we teach our kids to do. Eat it, even if you don't like it and don't complain.
maybe you could make up a form to hand out at each meal that would give you feed back. it could have a place to respond how the meal was pre-bite, taste, after bite and overall. this way the would be no more confusion.
p.s. i hope you guys did not fight with each other with your mouths full of sweet and sour,
Well everyone should know by now the non eating woes of my children. The boys don't eat period. Billyis picky but after calling him picky for years he finally decided to eat whatever I put infront of him with a sweet thank you unless I ask for comment. So now I ask whenever I make something new and then I know. Sometimes I still make it again anyway cause I like it but at least I know ahead of time, and he always eats it anyway, :) it's our deal.
I'm sorry you had a ruff night. I truely know how frustrating cooking for picky eaters can be.
I dread dinner time a lot. "I hate this stuff!!!" Is usual uttered quite frequently at my house. My sister's friend was so fed up with complaining at her house that she gathered up worms, dirt, pine cones, rocks, and other stuff. She made stroganoff but when dinner was called she quietly placed the gross stuff on the table as her kids sat down. She said they all started to bawl and asked if they really had to eat it. When she thought they had learned their lesson she brought out the real meal, but sadly the complaints kept coming. Sometimes its a real pain in the neck to make something that everyone loves. I read these
posts and was thankful to know that I'm not the only one that goes CRAZY. I think Jeff and I might start having it out on our blogs too. I'd get a lot more sleep if we did!!!!
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