To say Im enjoying my stint as a recipe reviewer over at Ready Set Eat would be akin to saying I enjoy beef jerky or have a unique fondness for Dr. Seuss.
Simultaneously an understatement and a re-statement of the obvious.
Lately nary a meal is prepared without my checking their site for suggestions, recipes or what’s on sale.
And, while Im sure Ren Man is sorely tempted to mock me, he’s enjoying the cooking too much to say a word.
The Tornado is another story.
This has been quite the opportunity for us to spend time together in the grocery/kitchen and quite the revelation of how few culinary skills Ive taught her to this point.
In addition to the lack of culinary skills, thanks to this experience I learned my child had zero clue what spinach was.
I announced to her we were making orange spinach salad with chicken and anticipated moans & groans & whines about the ickynessment (technical term) of spinach.
Nothing.
I brought her to the grocery, placed her in front of the spinach bundles and her reaction was not at all what I expected.
Did she whine she didnt like the taste?
Did she proclaim she’d never ever eat the green?
No.
My princess-loving, happily ever after obsessed five year old picked up a bunch and announced it reminded her of, well, you can hear her tell you in the 20 second video clip below:
Yes I laughed.
Yes I wondered where on earth she gets this fascination.
Yes I proceeded to make her let me inquire lovingly about preparing dinner with her pretend wedding accessory.
The wedding accessory? About 10 leaves were consumed by the child (also a raging success).
*I did snicker she thought it was her first time experiencing spinach. Some day she wont be five and will realize her Shrek Shakes arent green by virtue of magic & fairy dust.
I was hired by Ready Set Eat to review recipes. The cooking mishaps, spinach-bouquet discussions and recipe reactions are all my own.
Joob says
February 28, 2011 at 4:05 amI LOVELOVELOVER spinach. I have no idea why but I have been absolutely obsessed with it lately. I can go through 2 lbs of spinach in a few days like it’s nobody’s business. There are worse things to consume in large amounts though, right?!
Aubry says
February 28, 2011 at 4:41 amLove the video.
Your girl is indeed obsessed 🙂
Kim says
February 28, 2011 at 4:53 amI’ve meant to email you that I checked the site out after you wrote about it and love it!
Helen says
February 28, 2011 at 5:15 amYou have me convinced.
If you like a COOKING site I’m intrigued 🙂
How was your photo-shoot??
Natalia says
February 28, 2011 at 5:17 amWe make Shrek smoothies too! 🙂
What a cutie. J likes helping in the kitchen too, I let him, in hopes that he’ll eat what he prepares…yeah, not so much. He’s pretty picky.
But it’s still fun time to spend together.
Joanna Sutter says
February 28, 2011 at 5:30 amWhat a cutie pie…and dang that salad sounds good!
Jia says
February 28, 2011 at 5:36 amI found you through google and love your blog.
That’s a really cool site, too.
Thanks for the information, MizFit.
Erica says
February 28, 2011 at 6:15 amOh no! I can’t see the video 🙁 I’m guessing she said it was a bouquet though- which is so adorable! Love it and glad you’re enjoying the recipe testing- sounds like fun to me!
Carrie says
February 28, 2011 at 6:22 amIf it gets you cooking I need it too 😉
Kerri O says
February 28, 2011 at 6:31 amAwwwwww, love.
Hanlie says
February 28, 2011 at 7:24 amSoooo cute! They are all obsessed with brides and princesses at that age. Wait till she sees the Royal Wedding!
Love the Shrek smoothies!
Jody - Fit at 53 says
February 28, 2011 at 7:41 amLOVE!!!!!!!!!!!! Just like I wrote about you – teach by example! You did not make a big deal, just that you were cooking this dish & since you did make make it sound like a bad thing as some parents unfortunately do with veggies & such, she had no preconceived notions of it.
She is the cutest little one!
Karen says
February 28, 2011 at 8:03 amWow. Clearly she is a product of her environment. Lucky girl:) I would absolutely go back and change how I fed my boys if I could. Sigh. Now I guess it will be up to them and their future wives.
No Popeye anymore? I guess I am dating myself.
Helen DoingA180 says
February 28, 2011 at 8:23 amOne of the best gifts a parent can give their child is unabashed, unbiased chances at every food. I truly believe too many kids refuse to eat because they’ve heard their own parents say “yuk.”
suzanne says
February 28, 2011 at 9:04 amWhat a wonderful way to introduce the Tornado to spinach.
I had a laugh last year as I introduced my daughter, who just happens to be 23, to the green monster smoothie. When she found out there was spinach in it she scrunched up her nose etc. Now she loves them 🙂
tj says
February 28, 2011 at 9:41 amluv it!! But I must confess…I’ve never bought a bouquet of spinach like that. I am a bag girl. lol
sanap says
February 28, 2011 at 10:00 amLove the video. My daughter doesn’t eat spinach, but these days i’ve done her a turnaround. Thank you for your video.
workout says
February 28, 2011 at 10:02 amYour girl is a bundle of joy. Love her!
debby says
February 28, 2011 at 10:08 amThanks for another review of this site. I loved the last recipe you reviewed, and I am going to try this one plus another one I saw over there. I love how simple (and healthy) their recipes are, and how the calories are reasonable.
Kelly Happy Texan says
February 28, 2011 at 10:13 amWedding bouquet: priceless.
I tell mine to pretend they’re giants eating a forest when we have broccoli. Eat all the trees!
Jeremy Logsdon says
February 28, 2011 at 10:17 amRaw spinach is my favorite way to go. And I LOVE that you call her smoothies Shrek Shakes. I am so stealing that. 🙂
Lisa says
February 28, 2011 at 10:18 amso sweet 🙂
Cynthia (It All Changes) says
February 28, 2011 at 11:10 amShe’s adorable. Also I love that she’s been eating spinach all along and didn’t know it.
My cousins “hate” tomatoes but if I take them out of a can and make pasta or egg scrambles they are shocked!
messymimi says
February 28, 2011 at 11:21 amA spinach and banana smoothie a day keeps my anemia at bay. That i love them, too, is just an added bonus.
Michelle Smiles says
February 28, 2011 at 12:05 pmYay E for the open mind! Sabrina would not be that adventurous. And she is getting so big!
biobabbler says
February 28, 2011 at 1:24 pmOne of my favorite things my mom ever made when I was a kid (I’d request it) was spinach salad: the kind with bits of bacon and I think the dressing was warm? OMG, SO good. Was my #1 fav. salad as child, and I’d even order it in restaurants, SO excited about it. =)
charlotte says
February 28, 2011 at 2:47 pmHee – we do “shrek smoothies” too! It’s the only way I can get my 4-yr-old to eat any type of fresh produce. And I can’t believe how much the Tornado has grown! I think she’s aged a year since your last video! Adorable!!
Kimberley says
February 28, 2011 at 5:12 pmHeeheehee! A wedding bouquet…absolutely priceless.
Glad she enjoyed her “first” taste of spinach.
I love it!!! Had it for lunch today in the soup I made yesterday. Can’t get enough!
Janell says
February 28, 2011 at 6:57 pmI was going to say..shrek shakes. Not to mention bright green pancakes.
http://spabettie.com/2011/01/21/spinach-pancakes/
Shelley B says
February 28, 2011 at 11:01 pmWhat a fun video – love that you share your cute girl with us!
renny says
March 1, 2011 at 10:16 amWhat exactly goes into a Shrek Smoothie?
Miz says
March 1, 2011 at 10:32 amI start with yogurt (plain) and fresh fruit and cram in everything I can find 😉 from flax seed (ground) to spinach….
Pippa says
March 1, 2011 at 3:42 pmAwwwwwww!
Count your blessings, though, Click. My kid got it in his head (at a very early age) that he can’t eat anything green, and I mean ANYTHING. He even refused to touch the green jello at school.
He’s 14 now and to my utter surprise he’s been experimenting with keeping the lettuce on his burger, imagine that! =)
Pippa says
March 1, 2011 at 9:02 pmYup, there it is, DANG! I think I’m just gonna trade in this brain, Miz … sorry.
Pippa says
March 1, 2011 at 3:45 pmDang, it’s almost midnight, and I can’t see my comment, but I’m pretty sure I made a BIG NAME BOO-BOO! Dang, dang, dang, A THOUSAND HUMBLE APOLOGIES, Carla. It’s definitely time to recharge the brain cells now.
(dang!)
FatFighterTV says
March 1, 2011 at 9:33 pmI love the spinach bouquet! And I am laughing about the Shrek shakes – you are a clever mama. 😉
Marcie says
March 4, 2011 at 1:51 pmHave to let you know that I now keep spinach and cans of Hunt’s diced tomatoes on hand for a quick and easy meal. Thanks for introducing us to Ready, Set, Eat