The Power of Pizza

 Picky Eating, Pizza to the Rescue

James and his sister were picky eaters as kids. Both of them eschew sauces, condiments, and mixing of anything except milk with ice cream - with super powers that always detected instantly any added powders or pureed vegetables. James went through a period of refusing to eat. 

For many years, he enjoyed a fairly stable palate of pancakes, blueberry muffins, or waffles for breakfast. Lunch was typically a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread. Dinner: chicken nuggets, with apple slices and fries. He ate simple animal cookies and yogurt squeeze-ups for snacks. Occasionally I could get him to eat a banana or pizza. He drank water, milk, and apple juice. There were occasions where we got him to nibble on a carrot or broccoli. 

The life changed, and kept changing ... and not in a good way. By the time we entered lockdown, James was down to cinnamon bread and milk for breakfast and pizza for everything else. He still drank milk and water, and a little apple juice. Then he got picky about pizza - luckily preferring items with low sodium, seasonings, and processing.

In less than 4 years he grew a good 7 inches. Thank goodness for pizza. I was able to get him back to eating blueberry waffles and croissants. He developed a taste for garlic cheese bread. We are working on adding quesadillas with whole wheat, carb-savvy tortillas, pear slices, and some peanut butter on whole wheat bread or apples.

Despite good intentions, often I am exhausted at the end of the day. It is good to have a somewhat healthy option that I know will work. Fast, packable for lunches and trips, and easily found - pizza is our dietary go-to.