Happy first day of summer!

We have been blessed with two sons and two daughters, half of whom still live at home, Hannah, 14, and Isaac, 5.  Our two older children have always been adventurous at eating most foods, and Hannah is perhaps the least picky eater of them all. Isaac, on the other hand, is extremely stubborn and often refuses to even taste new foods.  

One thing that seems to entice Isaac to eat better is when I offer a variety on a divided or colorful plate in an appealing way.  I usually take pictures of his plates so I can remind myself what I have done and keep changing and coming up with fun, healthy and delicious meals for him.

I will be adding those kid-friendly ideas here in its own category called Isaac’s Picnic. When he was younger, I discovered that he loved the idea of a food picnic, that he would pronounce as “pick-a-nick.” I never want to forget that and hope that Isaac’s lunch plates may be a source of creativity to awaken tastebuds of your loved ones who may need visual coaxing to expand their horizons at mealtime.

This plate has baby dill pickles, green grapes and banana slices, a peanut butter flying saucer sandwich made with two slices of soft bread pressed together using a cut-and-seal tool, blue corn tortilla chips, carrots sliced with a food processor and Kellogg’s Corn Pops cereal for dessert.

(Original artwork above was painted by Seattle area artist Tina Oldenburg.)