my fickle pickle

Sarah is alive today due to Rice Krispies. She eats them faithfully. Other things, not so much. As a child, she would eat anything, and it was glorious. About a year or two ago, however, she began being more selective in her diet. Things she used to love are now on the taboo food list. Every kid eats, loves, lives for noodles of any variety. Not Sarah. She currently despises macaroni and cheese. Rigatoni is disgusting. Spaghetti will be tolerated if she is in the mood. On more than one occasion, she has had rice krispies for breakfast and snack and lunch and snack and dinner. The peanut butter and honey sandwiches that were a staple for ages slowly transformed into honey and butter sandwiches. Then just honey sandwiches. Occasionally now she'll eat bread--if there is nothing else. And preferably toasted.

This diet history leads me to the happenings of the last few weeks. We had sloppy joes several weeks ago, and to my amazement, Sarah ate the whole sloppy joe. Astounded even. Upon her completion of the joe, she exclaimed, "Mom, we should have sloppy joes every Monday night. Let's make it sloppy joe night."

Fast forward to last night where we are again having sloppy joes. Sarah walks by just as I am pouring the tomato sauce into the pan. She asks me what I am putting into the pan. Like an idiot I reply that it is tomato sauce. And I know that it is an omen of the way the evening will unfold. Dinner comes and goes. When I go to clear the table, Sarah's entire sloppy joe awaits me on her plate. Of course. I tell her to sit down and eat her sloppy joe. She asks for rice pudding. I tell her she has to eat her entire sloppy joe to get any rice pudding. She whines and moans and tells me sloppy joes are disgusting. Why? Because, as she now knows, they have tomatoes in them. Somehow she was able to gag it down and received her rice pudding to cleanse her palate.

Tonight we'll likely be back to rice krispies. Or pickles. I think she still likes those. But please don't tell her they are made of cucumbers.