Max is so full of spaghetti right now, it's a wonder his hair hasn't turned into pasta strands. He's had it for lunch and dinner every single day of our vacation. He'd have it for breakfast, too, if we let him. Not a bad food, in the scheme of things, though I wish more restaurants had the wheat kind. In Max's book, any sort of pasta qualifies as spaghetti—rigatoni, penne, macaroni, whatever, so we can always find it on the menu unless we're at a Wendy's or something, in which case he's forced to have a burger. Tragic, I know.
Max's word for spaghetti is kinda hard to understand ("eh-eh-eeeee") but I always make him tell the waiter what he wants, and then I translate. "Add butter," I'll add in a whisper, because we're still trying to fatten skinny Max up but he's a purist—he doesn't want any butter. Not even one lousy meatball. Just spaghetti, thankyouverymuch, with a side of marinara sauce. Eaten with a spoon. Stirred, not shaken.
One of these days, I need to dye some pasta purple with food coloring. It would be worth it just to hear his squeals. If any of you happen to know where to get some online, do tell.
Which food is your kid loving right now?
Photo/fotoparatas
Purple pasta - now that sounds fun! Monkey has always been an adventurous eater; the only food he won't eat is red onion. One of his favorite foods is sushi. In fact, his PT always cracks up when he begs me to take him out for sushi after he has a good session.
ReplyDeleteSurely there is a health food store out there that has some made with beet juice?
ReplyDeleteGood luck! :)
Steph
Twiggy Sticks are the latest obsession at my house - I'll be glad when they run out!!!
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I am slightly obsessed with Avacaodo myself so I'm not the best example!
You must dye Max's pasta purple and put a video up - It would be priceless!!!
did a quick google search (didn't even click on anything) and saw something about cooking pasta in wine. Cook it in grape juice? Hum... Let me know how that goes...
ReplyDeleteI wish my daughter was loving ANY kind of food at this point! She loves her formula (she is 22 months) and she definitely likes a McDonald's french fries or chicken mcnuggets here and there. But, other than that, she just isn't that interested. She eats a bite of something and it takes her forever to chew it up and sometimes she will spit it out...its getting old. But, I'm afraid to take her bottle away because she can't afford to lose any calories...she likes some pasta here and there, but I haven't tried plain pasta yet - I will give it a try! interested to hear if you figure out how to color pasta!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely roast beef. Anything orange: sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, or yellow. She loves the color yellow, so she adores butternut squash. Chocolate is a big hit too! She asks for cake often.
ReplyDeleteAt the chain store called "world market" they have striped pasta that might come close. You can also make your own pasta which is pretty easy but you might not have time for that. There is also this kind: http://www.flickr.com/photos/reid-bee/3172012091/
ReplyDeleteEllen, it's really idiot-easy to make purple pasta if you have a juicer. Juice some beets and cook the pasta in the beet juice. If you can get beet juice at a health food store that would probably work, too. I'd recommend getting a "crappy" (white as opposed to the darker wheat) pasta so that the color will "stick" to the spaghetti. You'll get a great color, too--you can do this with rice as well.
ReplyDeleteNote--be prepared for some stains! Beet juice can be that way!
At school Mikey eats pretty well but at home it's weetabix, toast, yogurt and crisps. We're seeing his birth family tomorrow and will be going to mcdonalds... Classy eh?!
ReplyDeleteSounds like your holiday is working out well for everyone! Xxx
I wouldn't bother juicing beets or even cooking them. Just buy a can or two of beets and pour off the liquid. That'll dye anything purple, all right.
ReplyDeleteHey Ellen, the reason I didn't answer your food question is because it's easier to ask "What food is your kid HATING?" and even at that I'd be hard pressed to find something the little piglets won't inhale! Mind you, I'm not complaining--and it's nice to have one "non-issue" in the pile, frankly. Sweet, spicy, tart, bland, hot, cold, warmed over, they don't care, if it's food, they'll eat it.
ReplyDeleteI can pretty much eat anything too (and the size of my ass is testimony to that statement), though I wouldn't necessarily go for really strange stuff like chocolate ants or snake or scorpions...but the popular menu items across assorted cultures available in the USA? Sure--I'm game! The apple does not fall far from the tree!
Purple spaghetti?! If the day ever comes, make sure you take a picture because I will DEFINITELY want to see that! :)
ReplyDeleteTell Max that I think spaghetti is great, too, by the way. Though I'm perfectly happy with a meatball or two on top... ;)
pizza...or anything yellow.
ReplyDeleteI have pasta that is mixed veggie corkscrew pasta that has some purple in the mix, made with beet juice.
Can you not just put the pasta in a baggie with blue and red food coloring and shake? Or does it come right off? hmm...perhaps I will make pasta tomorrow. :)
ReplyDeleteGiven that I am the world's laziest cook, I am first going to try tesyaa's idea of just spilling in beet juice straight from the can. I will graduate to the other idiot-proof ideas here if that doesn't work, but it sounds very purple and very promising.
ReplyDeleteThe beet juice sounds like a really good idea.
ReplyDeleteIf it's any help to get him to try something else, every time I make a pot of black beans, they turn purple. The onions in it turn purple too - the garlic cloves, not so much... But it's purple, and nutritious, and really nice for winter. Plus you can toss it all in a slow cooker for over-nite cooking, no fuss, no muss.
Hey all! Hodgson Mill sells multi-colored pasta, one of which is purple beet pasta!!!! :) I put a link on the FB page.
ReplyDeleteSteph
My kids love their pasta. They also love some ricotta cheese on top, which is good because its loaded with protein and the kids don't love meat.
ReplyDeleteDoes Max like gooey food, because you could make him a carbonarra sauce, but leave out the bacon if you are not into it and just have an eggy cheesy sauce that you can dye purple.
Carbonara sauce is a good idea, because anything thick is easier for him to eat. Wonder if beet juice would work on that too? I am all about beet juice.
ReplyDelete