When was the last time you ate an entire plate of raw vegetables? Exactly. It was probably around the same time I did, which was when Zach and Kelly Kapowski were the hottest couple on TV.
Nah, not even then. I take it back. I’m just not a big fan of vegetables.
When I had kids, however, I thought I’d be able to choke down a couple for the team just to keep up appearances, but I struggled. And guess what? My oldest will not eat vegetables. Go figure?
I do recognize, that even though I sometimes loathe the flavor of fresh veggies, they do offer large benefits to my body… blah, blah, blah. So, in light of this, I have tried to get my child to eat fresh greens. And I haven’t done so well.
This is a list of some failed food moments from the past 6 months:
- Bribery: holding a sucker in front of his face saying, “You can have this if you eat one green bean!” He became hysterical, I became furious… and I gave him the sucker.
- Goes to bed hungry when he doesn’t eat the food I serve him and he realizes I won’t make him a last minute “butter” sandwich.
- Refusing to eat for so long, that Nana and Papa get scared and buy him a Big Mac.
- More bribery: “Mommy has cookies! Eat two peas and you can have cookies!” Hysteria. Anger. Cookies given.
- Cutting out all snacks so that he’s starving for dinner, only to serve him veggies, which he won’t eat, so again, he goes to bed hungry. But KNOW he’s hungry, so I guiltily sneak him food… And he wins again.
- Holding out for hours until he knows he’s supposed to get some milk and only eats that…
- Telling him that he’ll be big and strong when he eats them. “Don’t you want to be big and strong?” “Nope.”
What have I learned in all this? I never knew the kind of peace of mind that came with your child eating healthy food, until he didn’t eat it anymore.
By the way, I’d like to make a side note here, that my second child is an absolute garbage can. She eats anything and EVERYTHING I throw at her. And I do throw is at her…no I’m kidding. But it is wonderful and I have peace.
Back on topic, my next attempt at getting my oldest to eat vegetables, and hopefully the last, involves burying them in a luscious dressing… Ranch to be exact. Homemade ranch to be MORE exact.
I know that there are some people who just read that and started judging me. But I’m going to assume you only eat store bought ranch, and don’t understand the depths of the flavors of a homemade ranch. It’s just good. Trust me.
My hope is that it has the power to make my son believe he isn’t eating vegetables at all, but just crunchy sticks of awesome.
Maybe you have a stubborn anti-flora child in your house, or maybe you yourself are a full grown stubborn anti-flora activist like me. Either way, this recipe is going to blow your socks off! Guaranteed!
Just for proof, I literally consumed almost every single vegetable in this picture. Except for a couple broccoli, which truth be told… those are only really served to people doing hard time in the slammer. So on some level, I’ve completed a form of community service. You’re welcome.
I hope you enjoy this ranch dressing as much as I do! And that you or your children eat more vegetables!
Ingredients:
2/3 cup sour cream
2/3 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix (Hidden Valley)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least one hour!
Enjoy!
