Jackson Free Press

"Momma, what's for dinner?"

It's a question heard around the world. The houses may be different, the languages vary, the children represent every shade of the rainbow, but the effect is the same. Parents shudder and hear the theme song to "Jaws" playing in their heads. Panic ensues and thoughts run wild. "What are we having for dinner? Did I remember to thaw out the chicken? Do we even have any chicken? Do I have the time, energy and wherewithal to cook the chicken?"

I have a picky eater at my house, and unless everybody is eating French fries, Easy-Mac, chicken nuggets and Oreos for dinner at least one of us won't be happy. My goal is for my children to be well fed and eating well-balanced meals of their own volition. I have no desire to have a "Supernanny" Jo Frost showdown at the kitchen table every time we sit down to eat. I would rather let my children try something new and say, "No thank you, I don't care for that," than have to listen to them sit at the table and cry until they finish their carrots.

For some reason, my children feel the same way about broccoli that Forrest Gump's friend Bubba felt about shrimp. They'll eat it steamed, baked, fried or raw. (I'm not sure Bubba could even say that.) Any way I can think to serve it, they will eat it. So broccoli has become as much of a staple around my house as ketchup—which, in case you didn't know, counts as a vegetable in some school lunches.

I would also like to make it crystal clear that I am in no way taking responsibility for my children's love of broccoli. I have no explanation for this phenomenon, and sadly, no tricks up my sleeve to share with you on how to get your little ones to eat their veggies.

As a matter of fact, I almost shoved my foot in my mouth when my oldest daughter was 2 years old and in preschool for the first time. We were having a Christmas party for their class, and one of the moms brought a vegetable tray. Nothing screams "party time" to a room full of toddlers like raw broccoli and cherry tomatoes. I say if we're going to call it a party, give 'em pizza and cupcakes, but nobody asked me.

One little boy chowed down on raw broccoli, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. I was in awe of this unprecedented toddler behavior. I leaned over and asked his mother, "How do you get him to eat vegetables?"

I knew I had asked the wrong woman before the words were out of my mouth. Her face lit up. She all but had a sign on her forehead declaring, "I knew I was a better mother than you!" But it was too late. I asked, and now I had to listen to what she had to say.

"I tell him the cucumber slices are wagon wheels and the broccoli is little trees. He even eats green beans! I tell him they are green French fries and he dips them in ketchup!" She said, smiling proudly.

There are a lot of things you can make your children do, but putting food in their mouths and forcing them to chew and swallow are not on that list, as evidenced by The Sunday Soup Standoff of 2008. Aubrey, my oldest child, and my husband went head to head in a battle of wills over a bowl of homemade vegetable soup. Aubrey chose to sit in time-out for two hours as opposed to taking one bite of soup. And what could my husband do? Kids: 1 Adults: 0.

The Green Bean Incident of 1989, when Linda Murphy, our next-door neighbor and surrogate mother, tried to make my sister Blair eat one green bean, further proves my point. Blair tried without success to convince Linda she did not like green beans. Linda would not be dissuaded and kept on until Blair finally relented, chewing and swallowing a single green bean. But my baby sister firmly proved her point by promptly throwing up all over the kitchen table. Kids: 2 Adults: 0.

I've seen the scorecard, and I realize odds, are this is a battle I'm not going to win. I'll take a "No thank you," over puking at the dinner table any day. But that's just me.

Sunday Standoff Vegetable Beef Soup
(My oldest still won't eat it, but the other two love it.)

2 boxes of beef broth
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 onion chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can of Veg-All, drained
1 cup of frozen corn
1 cup of frozen butter beans
1 can of green beans, drained
2 red potatoes, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon chopped, dried parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 pound of lean ground beef, cooked and drained (optional)

You can dump all of the ingredients into a crock pot, turn it on high and walk away.

If you don't want to wait all day for it to cook, follow these directions:

In a large pot, sauté celery, onion and carrots until tender. Add everything except the frozen vegetables and bring to a simmer. Allow soup to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes to allow potatoes to cook. Add frozen veggies and continue to simmer until potatoes and frozen vegetables are tender.

Soup freezes well in storage bags.