12.11.2008

the not-so culinary wonder & a giveaway too

Every now and then, my culinary skills surprise even myself. After tucking my children into bed the other night, I began to clean the kitchen. (I never finished, mind you. I began.) As I cleared the dinner dishes I reveled in the triumph of serving my children a healthy dinner that they actually ate. I made a stew of sorts: chopped up misc. veggies, threw in odds & ends of dry pasta, experimented with seasonings. It was fabulous. For dessert, they engulfed home-canned peaches. All I needed was an apron and a house dress to be the picture of proper mothering. Then the clock ticked and my moment of ego-centric satisfaction came to a screeching halt. It was then that I started also putting away the Fruity Pebbles from breakfast and tried to remember if I had actually fed the kids lunch or not.

My children happen to be allergic to milk. I allow this little kink in kitchen creation to be an excuse to not cook a lot of variety or force them to eat many veggies. If I couldn't slather mine with ranch dressing & melted cheese, I wouldn't eat it either.

Luckily my son has decided that broccoli is at least edible with barbecue sauce for dip. Gag. The only time I have ever thrown up while pregnant don't hate me was the day I tried to convince him that broccoli was really good and took a bite myself. Double gag.

A solution for the broccoli gag:


Cute right?
This lovely little book will be signed by the author herself, wrapped and stashed snugly underneath our Christmas tree. Page after page of amazing images that call-me-a-convert actually make veggies look appetizing and fun.

My obsessed with lions-tigers-ligers-and-all-things-that-roar son will be thrilled to learn that the hungry noises in his hungry tummy (when his tired mommy is sleeping in bed instead of making him breakfast), are actually zoo animals growling for food. It might just even buy me an extra 5 minutes of sleep each morning.



Want one to stash under your tree too? We (Dr. Magoomagraf & I) are giving one away. Dr. Magoomagraf will even sign it for you. Go ahead, ooooo and ahhhhh.



The down low, 411, fine print, rules & regs:



1 entry: leave a comment telling your favorite and least favorite fruit/veggie.
extra entry: go to the Zoo in My Belly site and come back & tell us all what you love.
5 extra entries, (just to add a little spice): email me OR post on your own blog a picture of you or your child eating a fruit or veggie
5 MORE extra entries: blog or email all your friends about the contest


Contest ends Sunday, 11:59 pm, MST.



The good Dr. Magoomagraf is also hosting a fun contest here.
See you at the zoo.

43 comments:

  1. I might be weird but I love all veggies - as I sit here I cant think of one veggie I don't like (I eat raw carrots but not cooked carrots - that would be my only aversion). The book looks really great for my three kiddos who like their father have an aversion to veggies unless they are drowning in butter, cheese and ranch dressing. I think my favorite is the monkey, giraffe and zebra - those are the three animals we connect to the most in this house. And, Please go check out my blog I have a post about this great giveaway!

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  2. P.S. Blog post was edited to add picture. Thanks!

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  3. My favorite veggie is broccoli - oh how I love it. Let me count the ways... or not. Lol. My least favorite fruit is strawberries. I don't know why they just are. Maybe it's the weird texture.

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  4. http://redknowshow.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/213/

    That's my Wordless Wednesday featuring my daughters favorite veggie. lol.

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  5. I have never been a big fan of Peas. eewwww!

    ajcmeyer AT go DOT com

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  6. Brussel Sprouts! I hate 'em! My favorite is probably peas, actually. I really love peas! LOL!
    jinglesells at gmail dot com

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  7. My favorite Veggie is corn. I can not stand the taste and texture of peas. They are so gross. Laugh.

    Thanks for the great giveaway! I hope I win. My daughter loves reading new books.

    I blogged about your giveaway on my blog too!

    Jennifer (Crooked-Needle Primitives)

    primitive.zoey@yahoo.com

    http://crookedneedleprimitives.blogspot.com/

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  8. I love asparagus and hate peas.

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  9. From their site...I love the zoo in my belly fabric. It's so bright and cute.

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  10. I posted a picture of my child eating peas at justformeandyou2.blogspot.com

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  11. I am not a fan of peas! For veggies I like, broccoli, carrots, corn! Thanks for such a great giveaway!

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  12. If its a veggie cooked the only ones I will eat are asparagus, green beans, or corn. I will eat almost any veggie raw dipped in the oh so yummy ranch dressing. I at least still get the benefits from the veggie right?

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  13. I love most of them, but sweet corn is my favorite. Lima beans are my least favorite. Thanks.

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  14. I cannot stand broccoli and cauliflower is pretty disgusting. But I love red peppers and peaches!

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  15. I love the giraffe (even though it is with the *gag* broccoli.)

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  16. My favorite veggies are carrots. I also like broccoli and cauliflower. I hate hate hate peas and lima beans. UGH! I love pretty much all fruits.

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  17. I love green beans! My least favorite veggie is cauliflower. My mom used to make steamed cauliflower all the time when I was younger. The smell of it is repulsive to me!

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  18. I love the animal fabric on the Zoo in my Belly site! I would love to make a blanket for my son with this!

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  19. I eat some veggies but I'm allergic to most all fruits. My kids all eat different veggies better than others which can be a pain at meal times. That book is a super cute idea!

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  20. Love it! I LOVE cucumbers and mostly all veggies and fruit. Im not a fan of... I think its papaya. It taste like (or at least what I would think) a dirty diaper tastes like. Yuck! I will be sending a picture. Cute give-a-way! I hope I win!

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  21. My favorite fruit is watermelon and my least favorite is cantalope, however it's spelled! rebolsen at gmail dot com

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  22. I'm 25 and I just barely started trying veggies. Where were my parents, I'm wondering?!?! I'm still not a fan, but there are a surprising amount I can stomach! I absolutely hate corn, however. No matter how it's prepared.

    I love fruits though- clementines are my current favorite, but when summer comes around I have a whole new list!

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  23. my favorite veggie is broccoli. My least favorite is any kind of pepper.

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  24. Ok, I am a veggie lover and always thought I was really rather un-picky when it came to veggies (I even add the sliced beets to my salad! My mom would be proud) but I have realized that I am not a fan of broccoli anymore. I like to think that I've reached my "threshold" (a term one woman told me happens sometimes. She can't eat watermelon anymore). Also, I adore peas except for when I make them. I never can get them cooked right and they are grody to the max.

    My favorite veggies: carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, spinach (raw's best), potatoes (hey, I'm from Idaho!), peas (like I said, when someone else makes them) and green beans.

    I looooove apples, strawberries, raspberries (red and golden), pineapple (so heavenly), etc.

    Not a fan of maraschino cherries.

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  25. My favorite fruits are apples, concord grapes, kiwi and strawberries. My favorite veggies are carrots and celery. My least favorite fruit is mango and my least favorite veggie is peas. Thanks!

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  26. Favorite fruit:Strawberry
    Favorite Veggie: Squash (or is that considered a fruit because it has seeds?)

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  27. Okay, I went to the website for an extra entry and I love the Koala book with the Raspberry. I like the color of the book and I love Koalas.

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  28. i don't like beets but i love asparagus!!

    jayme[dot]bouwens@yahoo[dot]com

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  29. I love sweet potatoes but am NOT a fan of lima beans...at.all.

    KristalsBlog @ yahoo . com

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  30. I like most veggies and fruit...I like raw brocolli the least. I liked the monkey the most but I really like the idea of the book. It could help my kids eat better!

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  31. My favorite vegetable is carrots. My least favorite vegetable is eggplant.

    rsgrandinetti@yahoo.com

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  32. I love brocolli so much! and tomatoes! :)

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  33. my favorite veggie is spinach and my least favorite is peas!

    this book looks adorable!
    hcsteffen@gmail.com

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  34. i love the little 'meet the animals' section on the website! that's so creative and can really get the kids involved in the book.

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  35. I threw up just smelling broccoli one time. I walked into a room where someone had just warmed up a big bowl of it and I went straight to the bathroom to barf. Lovely. My kids (and I) would love this book!

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  36. love strawberries,
    cannot stomach cauliflower.

    it looks like sheep brains.

    zoology lab flashback--eeewwwww . . .

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  37. Love squash! Detest peas!

    Elaine R
    emrosser@shaw.ca

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  38. Hate broccoli...actually most green veggies are not popular! Love almost all fruit...I think watermelon is probably my favorite, though!

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  39. I love the monkey, but I'm sure my 1 year old would love the tiger....rrraaaarrr!

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  40. I didn't even answer the first question... my favorite fruit is strawberries, fav veggie is corn on the cob! Least favorite fruit, honeydew, least fav veggie peas!

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  41. My Favorite Veggie is Cucumbers, and my LEAST favorite veggie is Brussels Sprouts...cute book!!

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  42. favorite - brocoli
    least favorite - beets!

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  43. I thought I did this but can't find my answer!!

    So if this is a double or even a totally different answer, just count it as one! :)

    Favorite veggie: potatoes..fried, french fried, mashed, dried, roasted...love it all
    Least veggie: beets....sooooooo gross!

    Fave Fruit: Strawberries
    Least Canalope or melon...not a fan.

    PS Did you want to play in my pay it forward? You didn't say if you wanted to play or not. I would love to make you something. I'm just saying!

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