A Breakthrough.

Parker is stubborn when it comes to eating.  He has been pretty much since day one three.

This is nothing new to our family nor does it really bother me.  Frustrate me sometimes?  Yes.  It doesn't bother me (too much) that he mostly enjoys pasta, cereal, and crackers, however it does bother me that while he eats these things that have some sort of texture he won't eat other foods with texture, like say fruits and vegetables.  We still feed him baby food fruits because there is no other way that we've found to get him to eat it, yes this is including bananas.  Vegetables we have a slightly higher success rate if we put them in with his pasta he happens to grab them and shovel them in his mouth along with the noodles.

And unless you count veggie straws as a vegetable (I don't although it's a better option than Ritz) he doesn't eat much of this food group.  I know it's not the flavor of the fruits and vegetables because he always ate the baby food just fine, he even liked a lot of it, so it has to be the texture right? Right!  (That was my attempt at self assurance, ha!)  Another thing Parker will eat is blueberry muffins, banana bread or anything of the like but with his love for all things carbs I try to minimize those also.

Finally yesterday I had a small breakthrough. (Small because the recipe does contain breadcrumbs, but it's a pretty minimal amount).  I made these zucchini bites yesterday, recipe below.  They were super easy to make, I doubled the recipe and did about two thirds zucchini and one third yellow summer squash.  I'm pretty sure that the fact that Parker ate one last night and five, yes you read that right, five this morning before we left the house, made them a hit. (In case you are wondering we leave before 6 a.m. everyday.)  Normally when Parker wakes up he immediately wants to eat something and that something is usually crackers (I know this because he points and screams at the cupboard we keep them in).  I feel like this morning we made a breakthrough.  Although I may not have yummy cheesy delicious zucchini bites for him to eat every morning, it is an option that was quick and easy to make!  

Here is the recipe that I got from The Naptime Chef, the photo is also from that site as my camera has yet to be fixed.  Mom fail for sure!

Summer Zucchini Bites

2 c. grated zucchini
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. sharp cheddar, grated
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. fresh parsley, finely chopped
*salt and pepper

Makes approximately 24 mini-muffin sized bites  (This was accurate which I liked, so many recipes these days say "makes 5 dozen" and you come out with 3)

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Butter a mini-muffin tin, set aside.

2. In a large glass bowl add two eggs and beat lightly with a whisk. Then, add the zucchini, onion, cheddar, bread crumbs and parsley and combine them with a wooden spoon.

3. Using your hands or an ice-cream scoop, fill each muffin cup just to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the top is browned and set.
 
*Salt and pepper were not in the original recipe however after the first batch I decided that it might add to the flavor, they were good without it but great with it. (Shocker, huh?) :)