Brussels Sprouts

My kids (students) tried Brussels sprouts today. It wasn't a planned thing- not part of an organized theme on nutrition. I often get the Trader Joe's Brussels sprouts and when I've been lazy and haven't felt like making an involved lunch for myself, I grab the bag from my fridge in the morning along with other random foods that are laying about and shove them into my tote. When the kids go out to recess, I pop them into the microwave (the beauty of some TJ veggies is that they are microwaveable!), and have them as a warm mid-morning snack. I admit that having them plain can be kind of wretched or unappealing to others... especially since they smell mildly of farts, but the taste has grown on me and I tell myself they're good for me, like the nagging mother I never had. Sometimes they smell up a good chunk of the pod and I try to diffuse commentary of my embarrassing eating habits, by fessing up to being the source of the smell and making a joke about it.

Needless to say, my kids have grown curious. When they have their mid-morning crackers as a snack and see me crunching down on miniature cabbage-looking things, their eyebrows furrow and they ask, "What's that????" or "Is that GOOD??????", not trusting me for one second that it really is. So, I finally asked them if they wanted to try them. Four brave souls raised tentative hands. I cut one Brussels sprout into four pieces, seasoned the pieces with salt and olive oil, and passed them out to the now dubious takers. I have to give them props for popping them into their mouths, because all of the other kids were staring, expecting the worst. T. and A. chewed and swallowed their pieces with no problems. A. told everyone that he wants to be a Nascar driver when he grows up and that he needs to be strong, as an explanation for eating the stinky green thing. J. and T., however, had a much harder time with it. Their reaction was unexpectedly strong. They both started tearing up and looked like they were going to be sick. I told them to just swallow it. J., always the drama queen made a huge scene of it, but finally swallowed it and shoved animal crackers in his mouth to cancel out the taste. He continued to make a contorted face, like a man on his deathbed, until I distracted him by reminding him of the writing piece that he was working on. T., however, took the approach that my sister used to take when she was younger- Stubborn Mule. He sat for minutes with the Brussels sprout in his mouth, looking at me pitifully. Although I was cracking up inside, I tried not to show it. And when he thought I wasn't looking, he grabbed a tissue and spit it out, also quickly shoving animal crackers into his mouth to cover the taste.

After that episode, several of my kids confessed to not eating veggies at home and I thought about the need for perhaps greater exposure to veggies (although in a more appetizing form) and healthy eating habits, and have been playing around with the idea in my head. In retrospect, 2/4 liked them. That's 50%... not too bad!