How to get a picky eater to eat

This day was so exciting, I have to double blog about it. Check out my Son-Rise blog for Ezra's program here. It was the best day ever.
One thing that made this day so awesome was the fact that for the first time Ezra ate all the food I gave him, including chicken, and salad. Ezra is really food defensive. He's so stubborn and inflexible that he would not even tolerate chicken on his side of the table. Today however was different. Why, you can read on the blog. Here however is what I did specifically to get him to eat.

1. Check my attitude: don't care if he eats it or not. If he wants more of his favorites, he has to eat the others first. I'm not going to fight about it or get upset if he doesn't eat or screams at me. He won't starve. He has enough food to sustain him.
2. I bought a darling little tray with kittens on it.
3. I arranged the food in a visually pleasing way, with at least two favorites (potatoes, and oranges)
4. I bought a bowl in the shape of half an apple for his fruits
5. I put salad in a separate little glass bowl on the tray.
6. When he wanted more potatoes I explained that he had to eat everything else first. I explained why protein was good for his body, and what it would help him do (i.e., it builds your muscles, it helps you feel full), and that vegetables are very good for his stomach
7. I celebrated him once for trying new foods, when he nibbled a bite of the chicken, and then completely ignored him and enjoyed my own food.

He ate the whole thing. It was amazing. And did I mention: he's never done that before.

I just added these pictures. This is not the lunch I was talking about, but nonetheless he ate it.

Rice and Beans is one of Ezra's favorites. Healthy, cheap, and easy! Right up my alley! Notice that the salad looks happy in this picture.

 I told Ezra: look the salad is happy. He giggled and turned the carrot around. Ezra: nope, sad salad, mommy! Touche kiddo.

Things you say to get your kids to eat: (very excited) look it's like green, curly spaghetti

Delicious Creme Anglaise - Gluten, Casein Free

I'm so not a food blogger and I don't really aspire to be either. There are too many other people who do that, and do it well. So I don't have lovely pictures to show for this recipe. But it turned out so yummy I thought I'd post it anyway.
I've been wanting to make a nice vanilla cream (or Creme Anglaise) that I could use in my Gluten Free Trifle, and today I found it. (I'll post the trifle recipe later). I just want to be able to celebrate holidays eating the deserts I love, without having to tell my kids: um, sorry, you can't eat this, or the alternative which is making two of every kind. I like food to be delicious, even if it doesn't contain Gluten or Casein. I can't stand recipes that claim they taste just like the "real thing" and then instead of having a yummy, gooey cookie melt on your tongue, you bite into a gluten free, chocolate free/carob substituted wannabe cookie that leaves your mouth feeling like you were just caught in a moldy sandstorm.

This recipe works (although admittedly I use approximates with the sugar, starch, and vanilla). It's delicious. I like having custard with fruit, because fruit is easy, available, quickly cooked, and makes a yummy dessert.

Here it is:


2 cups almond milk (I have tried it with coconut milk, but the coconut flavor was too strong for my taste)
4 egg yolks
2 tsps vanilla essence
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 corn starch

1. Warm the almond milk to hot, but not boiling.
2. In  a separate bowl beat the eggs with the sugar. Either warm the metal bowl on a stove (being careful to make it warm to the touch, not burning hot) or for even better results put the bowl in hot water and mix it up with a hand mixer until the  sugar dissolves and the eggs are frothy, thick and pale yellow.
3. Pour the hot milk into the eggs while continuing to use the hand mixer, and then pour the eggs into the pot. Don't try to do it in reverse (i.e. pour eggs into the milk). 
4. Continuously stir on the stove. You have to stir. 
5. Dissolve cornstarch in a bit of water or almond milk, and add to the mixture. 
6. Key is to keep stirring, keeping it at a low temperature so it goes to almost boiling, but doesn't. 

That makes for a creamy sauce that isn't too thick. Enjoy with some steamed fruit, pour over crumble, or use in a trifle recipe.

Brand new look

I just spent valuable time that could be used elsewhere revamping my blog look. Please do comment, and tell me how you like it. Truth is, I get bored quickly, and love changing things around. That goes for furniture and online profiles, but not for my hair. I play it safe when it comes to my hair.
 Anyway, we're currently living in Holland, so I figured why not use a windmill background? They are all around us. Don't be deceived by the blue sky however. You see that mainly during the summer months. In winter it's gray, gray, and Gray with capital "G". I longed to put up a background of palm trees and beaches, but felt like a total fake.

I need to get some sleep. I have a long day tomorrow. Drop off Micah at playgroup, go to work, come back to pick up Micah and make lunch, train volunteers from 1-5 pm, make Lasagna somewhere in between there for Aaron's birthday dinner with his parents at 5 pm, put the kids to bed, and then hold a group meeting for our Team Ezra from 8-9:30 pm (which I haven't prepared yet).  Oh, and I need to go yell at the morons in our Dutch bank too somewhere in there, because they froze our account for the entire last week, because we deposited 1400 Euros into our account. Yes,  added 1400 Euros not overdrew. The guy who deposited the money bought two iPads from us, and apparently is being watched by the police. Fine, then freeze the deposits, not the entire account. Oh, and we can only complain in writing, which we did, immediately, but to no avail. Aren't they lucky we have an American bank account as well! Otherwise we couldn't even buy food! This is just one more of those Dutch experiences of utter inefficiency and lack of customer service.