Jaimie Etkin: The Devil Wore Manolos
The Drevitches, Week 28: Can We Make Home Cooking as Appealing as Take-Out?
Filed under: Healthy Families Challenge
The kids and their favorite dinner ingredients. Credit: Gary Drevitch
Our kids are funny eaters.They refuse to eat most home-cooked vegetables (and nearly all fruits), but they will happily scarf down Vietnamese vegetable dumplings, broccoli in Chinese brown sauce and Indian samosas filled with veggies. Their philosophy is: If it's ordered in, it's got to be good.
We have a trio of Manhattan kids -- Benjamin, 10; Natalie, 8; and Adam, 4 -- for whom take-out is not a privilege. It's a right.
And their favorite order is Indian. They love chicken tikka masala and lamb saag -- made with, respectively, tomatoes and spinach, two things the kids would never touch if they found them sitting by themselves on the edge of a dinner plate. And, of course, they love rice, heaping piles of rice, preferably drenched with lots of tikka masala sauce, and nan bread, preferably served the same way.
My wife, Lynn, and I also love Indian food. It's a go-to choice for us when we're making dinner reservations for an evening out. But we're aware that, in the restaurant or arriving via bike delivery, it's not always the lightest fare.
How is the Drevitch family doing? Check in on their progress!
As part of our Healthy Families Challenge goals, we want the kids to start eating healthier. One approach embraced by nutritionists and other experts is to make more home-cooked meals, eat together as a family, and get children more involved in preparing food themselves. Our progress in this direction has been a bit hit-or-miss -- the kids do mostly eat home-prepared meals, but their parents' schedules make evenings with all five of us at the table at the same time an unusual occurrence.
That said, we have been doing more cooking with the kids. Benjamin and Natalie make their own eggs on the weekends, and some of their own sandwiches. They help me make pancakes and pasta dishes, and assist Lynn in making banana bread and other treats.
To push the envelope, Lynn recently took a full-afternoon Indian cooking class at the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan to gain insight both into making Indian food that is healthier than what restaurants offer, and getting the kids involved in the process.
Here's her report:
"Our instructor, chef Linda Lantos, taught us how to cook a veritable feast of Indian dishes, including chana masala -- chickpeas in a tomato masala sauce -- which I hope to adapt at home as a chicken recipe, to imitate the tikka masala the kids like so much, with less fat than the takeout version. (The other core ingredients are onion, garlic and ginger.)
"We started our afternoon by crafting our own spice blend. When he tried the samples I brought home, Gary was a big fan of a rice dish called kichari, which can include mung beans (or red lentils), mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, cardamom and, Linda said, whatever vegetables you happen to have at home.
"I also liked meen molee, a fish curry in a fragrant coconut sauce. We made it with haddock in class, but at home, I'll probably try it with tilapia, the kids' favorite. And we made mattar paneer, or peas with traditional Indian cheese cubes, as well as kadduki sabji, a fantastic pumpkin curry.
"At home later in the week, I attempted to replicate the chana masala. And I could! It was easy, quick and delicious, and -- I could not get the kids to try it. We did, however, serve it to some visiting vegetarian relatives who said it was fabulous.
"But I remain hopeful. Next time I make the dish, I plan to serve it to the kids with chicken breast and rice. If they won't eat my homemade chicken tikka masala, I don't know what I will do."
I'll just add that our kids are a stubborn lot. I know that they will see Lynn's homemade Indian dishes as a plot to deny them their God-given right to take-out. They also have an annoying habit of praising other people's homemade food while ignoring the truly delicious meals they are offered at home. We know that, in some ways, it has always been thus with children.
But it seems time they got with the program, don't you think?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
4-23-2011 @ 9:08AM
Kurt said..."Can we make home cooking as appealing as take-out"...I do not know any kids who would choose Indian food as take-out, let alone LOVE Indian food. Im sure there are some, and this is not in any way to take away from the delicious food of that culture, I just dont feel it applies to the majority of famillies trying to replicate take-out food to appease their children....Comes down to this...if you want to have your children enjoy your food, step 1: Learn to cook.
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4-23-2011 @ 6:13PM
Al Schrader said...Almost any local community college offers hospitality/cooking courses. Take the course. If your family thinks take-out India style food is better than your meals, you need to brush-up on your culinary skills.... Alfie
4-23-2011 @ 10:03AM
shelly said...Oh for pete's sake .... Indian food? Give me a break. It all comes down to this: STOP ordering out for dinner. Learn to cook and serve the food to your children. If they don't eat it, don't force them. Also, do not offer any alternatives. You'll find that they will eventually get the message and start eating what is prepared. And no, they will not starve. Our grandparents grew up during the Great Depression and when I was a kid, we ate whatever was placed on the table and no, it was not chicken nuggets and fries. Parents have only themselves to blame for their kids' poor eating habits. If they are placed in a Daycare where lunch is peanut butter sandwiches and Kool Aide, what do you think they will prefer? If you pick up fast food crap from the drive thru window, what do you think they will prefer? Serve healthy food, cooked at home from the beginning and do not introduce your kids to edible garbage and you will not have issue with their nutrition.
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4-23-2011 @ 10:21AM
xuqtpie said...Um...and I don't have any children so my "opinion" may not be worth much but I was a child once with a mother who didn't take a lot of nonsense from me or any other child. What the heck is all this conversation about what the kids won't eat? All these options?? They pay no bills...nor do they buy groceries...why so many "rights" when it's time to eat? My mother, aunts,uncles, grandmother (especially) rarely if ever asked us kids what we wanted to eat unless it was a special occasion like a birthday or something. It was either eat this or don't eat. Period. If the $$ isn't there for takeout...will your kids be able to convince you to go rob a bank because they won't eat partake in what you lovingly prepared at home?! Be for real! Everything is not a democracy and in a situation such as this where the children have nothing to offer outside of an opinion...womp womp...they'll learn quickly that is isn't about what they want. Some conversations don't need to be had...
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4-23-2011 @ 7:45PM
pennie said...ggtod for u
4-23-2011 @ 11:08AM
Angiebaby said...Sounds like somebody got with the program, but it wasn't the kids. They've got you trained, dumbass. If you make a great meal you KNOW this kids eat everywhere but home, expect them to eat it or go without. If you are of the mind that allowing a child to opt out of eating is child abuse, then have two simple rules: If you don't eat what's on the table, you can make a PB&J sandwich for yourself and don't forget to clean up the countertop afterward. And no comments from the peanut gallery. Meaning? If you choose not to eat what's on the table, fine, but don't whine & complain about it.
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4-23-2011 @ 3:23PM
Katie said...I can't believe the kids are running this family! The kids demand take-out. They refuse to eat the food mom makes. These kids are growing up with a sense of entitlement that will not serve them--or anyone else--as they grow up. It is time to teach them how to be members of a family, who are thoughtful of the finances of the family and don't expect to be catered to. There will be much more serious problems in the future if this parenting problem is not addressed now. I recommend the parents take parenting classes and learn how to bring up the kind of children they can be proud of, who will contribute to society and not expect to be treated little princes and princesses.
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4-23-2011 @ 11:09AM
suz said...Geez, what a bunch of brats. Stories like this make me cringe. No wonder we have such skewed attitudes today, a right to order take out. Get a job or eat what there or starve.
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4-23-2011 @ 2:39PM
MoM said...Oh boy, these are the same spoiled adults that reserve rental properties from us, and bring their spoiled kids who are going to grow up just like them..rude and never satisfied. You provide for your children..You aren't running a restaurant! Life is not a bowl of "What would you like to eat today"???? They are never going to appreciate what life has to offer. This article really got to me, and I appreciate the way my mom and dad raised me. We never questioned what was put on the table!!!!!!!!
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4-23-2011 @ 2:16PM
Outspoken said...Kids need to learn to eat whats in front of them. If they refuse to eat then NO food till next meal. Kids need to learn whos in charge and its NOT the child.
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4-23-2011 @ 2:17PM
tcorchid said...We are lucky to have the money for made at home meals. Let alone any takeout. Perhaps volunteering at a Soup Kitchen would change the families' attitude about catering to their kids. Otherwise they will surely grow up over protected, over indulged and overrated.
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4-23-2011 @ 2:32PM
Riognach said...I never caved to my kids whining "I don't like that". They had the "God-given" right to sit at the table until they did. They had to eat one tablespoon of everything served to them, and I didn't care if they got it down with water or milk, but down it had to go. They were taught early that learning to eat even thngs they did not particularly care for meant that they would never be rude guests, embarrass themseves or insult their hosts when they were in others' homes for a meal. I made dinner and the kitchen was closed for the night. They ate what was put before them or nothing at all. I'll be this woman lets them have soup and sandwiches or take-out if they turn up their noses at what she makes. Who's the parent here? "No" is not a dirty word. Hold the line and let them learn to eat what you put before them. Stubborn? A couple of nights of being hungry will take care of that quick enough, and it will not kill the precious little darlings. For God's sake woman, take control of your family or they will continue to be bratty, snotty, entitled people who believe the world owes them whatever they want. Because I held my ground, my son is now a professional chef and my daughter loves to cook and experiment with all kinds of foods.
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4-23-2011 @ 2:36PM
Jennie Bartlett said...Rule - this is dinner. You do not have to eat it. However, there will be no food consumed until the next meal. Repeat as often as necessary, do not listen to wails and moans, realize you are the parent and as long as someone is going to be unhappy, it might just as well be the kids.
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4-23-2011 @ 5:18PM
LES HENDRICKSON said...The best way to not order out is to lose your job. It's a guaranteed way to lose weight also. Oh, and if you don't get a job soon, then you'll lose your house and then you'll be forced to eat out every day. It's a catch 22. I am on a limited budget and cannot eat out as often as I would like to. Maybe once a month I can go to Burger King and get a whopper, sometimes every two months. But don't cry for me, there are alot of other folks out there worse off than me.
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4-23-2011 @ 4:53PM
Jaguar8450 said...Family of 6 from the early 50's. The four of us ate what my mother made for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even when she became a "working mom" long before it was the "norm." Stop coddling these two spoiled brats. Cook the dinner with them and serve it, period. Even if they do not want to eat it, make them sit with you at the table while your are both eating it. If they do not open up to the idea of sharing homecooked meals with their parents, they will be sorry when they are older. They will not only be missing it dearly, they will miss learning your recipes and the way you made something special. Even if it is a simple type of food and your style of cooking, too.
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4-23-2011 @ 7:04PM
Chetta said...Bravo to all of the above comments. I think someone needs parenting classes not cooking class.
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4-23-2011 @ 8:21PM
David said...Wow!! What a revelation! To get your family to eat less take out, cook at home more. I never would have thought of that.
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4-23-2011 @ 9:08PM
Renee' said...Eat what is in front of you, stay at the table until you finish. No television until you do. I did not suffer any ill health when my Mom told me that. Mom's and Dad's need to look at the long term health of their children if they DO NOT get their kids to eat vegetables and fruits. I just cannot even picture a child turning down sweet and juicy strawberries, peaches, apples, blueberries, cherries, apricots, plums, bananas, mangoes, and papayas sprinkled with freshly shredded coconut, and drizzled with a little honey. The promise of that for dessert was enough to make me eat all of my vegetables.
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