What Picky Eaters Eat and those who love them!

     My first born was not always a picky eater, but as time went on and we realized what a quirky kid he was becoming (which includes declaring he's a vegetarian at 3 1/2) his eating habits also changed.  He's  a kid who will eat the same kind of sandwich everyday and be upset if you change any part of it.  This sandwich is a peanut butter (smooth kind) and Nutella sandwich on "circle" bread. (The kind that is thin and round and whole wheat) That's it. With a big glass of milk and an apple if I'm lucky.  I do have to admit they are delish, but I don't want them everyday!  Anyway, dinner can be an exhaustive challenge and I almost always have plain rice or plain noodles so the child won't starve.  Oh yeah, and he also likes seaweed.  Yes, the sheets.  Of nori.  To eat right out of the package.  I just go with it and I just found out that seaweed  actually has more vitamin C than oranges!  So.  Tonight I made hand rolls for the kids with edame (or biggy peas as we call them) and carrot sticks on the side with their big glasses of milk.  Huge success!  This was sooo easy and can easily be eaten for lunch or even as a snack.  You can add all kinds of yummy foods to it as well.  I am not going to give you a whole recipe because it doesn't need one, but I will give you a list of things that can be added.

The hand roll has 2 basic ingredients:  RICE & NORI sheets.
STEP 1: Cook up your white jasmine rice in the usual way.  I always rinse first and drain and then add the water. Usually 2 cups rice to about 3 to 3 1/2 cups water.  Less water tends to make it stickier, especially if you've rinsed first.  If you do the rice this way you can just put some in the nori without having to make it "sushi style."
STEP 2: Cut the nori sheets in half.  My kids ate 2 hand rolls easily and this equals 1 whole sheet.
STEP 3:  Once rice is cooked scoop about 1/4 cup (more or less) of rice and pack it onto one end of the seaweed sheet.
STEP 4: Roll up nori so that it creates a cone of rice and has a point on the end.  Mine were not perfect and I could easily turn up the bottom once it was a bit soft.  I added a link to a video that shows how to do all this.  making the cones.
STEP 5: Once it is rolled up put a dab of rice on the flap end and stick it down so it does not unroll.


That's it folks!  Pretty dang easy.  The picky eater will only eat his plain this way but you can easily add up to 3 of the following ingredients or come up with your own.  Let me know your favorites!


Hand Roll Fillings:
carrots sticks, thin
Cucumber sticks, thin
avocado
proteins like chicken, shredded pork, beef strips, and shrimp or other seafood
apple sticks
asparagus spears
jicama
parsnip sticks
sweet potato sticks


Be creative!  Add 1 protein and 2 veggies.  Thin crunchy veggie sticks work best.  Grilled chicken strips or BBQ shredded pork would be yummy too!


Happy Eating!