Until this year when her older sister started learning about the food groups in school and thank goodness the teacher was pushing vegetables and fruits on them. My daughter came home one day from school and said "Daddy we should be eating FIVE servings of fruits and vegetables every day! I want to do that." OK, I said. Well, which fruits and vegetables do you like to eat? Lets name five in each group at least and I will make sure you have those vegetables and fruits to eat as many days as possible.
Finding enough fruits she liked was easy. Sort of. She loves grapefruits and she will eat apples, so it is no problem most days to at least have apples at home. And I try to keep grapefruits on stock for their extended growing season. They do have a long season and they come in in the winter when most other things are out.
But the real problem was naming enough vegetables.
"OK, so name five vegetables you like and will eat," I said.
"Um... carrots, corn.... um.... peas...."
"You really like peas? Are you sure? I don't know if you like them so much?"
"I do I do," she, said. "Its my sister who wont eat peas, but maybe wait and see if we have enough others to put them in, maybe I don't have to eat them. Lets see what else?"
A minute or two pause at this point. "Um.... carrots, peas, corn. Um olives, I like olives, green olives. And also beans, but only those red beans, I think. And pickles too. How many is that? carrots one, peas two, corn three, beans four, olives five. Five and then also pickles. That is a lot already. More than five," she said satisfied.
My wife came into the room and had heard and said, "corn isn't a vegetable. Its a cereal." Oh. Both my daughter`s and my jaw dropped a little in sadness.
"Oh and I really like corn too. Cant it be a vegetable? Maybe in the summertime anyway? I eat it everyday in the summer," my daughter asked. But no, the powers that be already designated corn as a cereal. harumph.
"And olives are not a vegetable. They grow on trees," my wife continued.
"Well, then they are a fruit," I said.
"Nope, not either. They are ... like an oil. Beans are a legume. Not a vegetable either. And actually peas are either legumes or fruits, but more likely legumes. Legumes are not so good because your body has trouble digesting the whole thing. Like the skin of corn, you cant digest it, break it down. So it just goes through you. Peas too. There is some controversy now whether legumes are good or bad. But mostly it seems like some book sellers say they are bad in order to sell you their book and or diet. Though Legumes DO have an upside and downside. " (Here is a fair article on the subject)
"Um.... What about the green ness of peas. It must be worth something.?"
"They just aren`t vegetables. But...They are very good. Look at this."
So what was left on our list?
"Oh, pickles are a fruit too. But they are sterilized, so even though they are still good, they aren't as good as say cucumbers, but which are still..... fruits. But they aren't bad. You shouldn't bug out on pickled foods (though sometimes Daddy does in fact do just this with his pickles and pickled beets)"
"Fruits?"
"Yes, fruits. Seeds inside, make them a fruit. Same as tomatoes, eggplant and avocados."
This was getting very difficult. This left us with...... carrots. One vegetable my daughter liked. But actually there is controversy whether olive is a fruit or that oil thinger, but it is not a vegetable, but maybe we could count it as a fruit anyway.
"Don't you like any other VEGETABLES?", I asked my daughter. "Cauliflowers? Broccoli? Beets? Spinach?"
"No, no, no and big very big no to spinach." ..............
Carrots.
"I like peppers too. But only the yellow peppers. I don't like the green peppers."
"Well, this is fine," said my wife, "but technically peppers are fruits too. "
We were stumped.
Carrots.
"Well carrots are very very good for you. And you can get them year round as they are root vegetables. So, lets have a carrot party every day," I offered.
My daughter looked, sad, dejected and skeptical.
"OK, lets throw in the peppers as vegetables too."
Well, technicalities aside, my daughter IS eating healthier. We have vitamin bedtime snack where she eats a grapefruit or, a carrot. My other daughter eats a banana or apple. She too has become a bit, a little bit more of a healthier eater. But I really wanted my older daughter to get more veggies as typically the fruits have more of the natural sugars and vegetables are pure wholesome goodness (unless you boil them which zaps their nutrients out), but I guess until her taste buds open up a bit more and accept cabbage, broccoli and ugh.. spinach, we have a lopsided fruit and vegetable menu with more fruits and um, carrots for the vegetable.
Well, as long as she doesn't start turning orange, I guess we are heading in the right direction. I don't know why I still feel dejected myself. I guess I thought vegetables were the holy grail of healthy eating and my daughter still is not eating so many of them.
But only technically. Lets just call pickles, peppers and olives vegetables for argument and good health`s sake. That is at least four vegetables she can eat during the day.
Thank you.
(a good simple article on what is a fruit and what is a vegetable. But peas and olives are often put in another group, although they are called fruits in this article)
