The more extravagant the meal, the less likely my kids will eat it. (And that's okay.)

The following post was sponsored by Blue Apron. Thanks, Blue Apron! 

For this month's Blue Apron meals, I took a risk and... well... with great risks come great rewards.

And also... utter failures.

But that's okay because it's FOOD and they're KIDS and it has been said that a child must try something seven times before he/she learns to like it. Or something. In the case of January's meals, one out of four of my kids ate one out of two of the meals I prepared. Yes, we had leftovers. And yes, they were eaten... just not by the kids.

When I was a little girl, chicken pot pies were MY ALLTIME FAVORITE FAVORITE so when looking for a meal the whole family might enjoy, (besides me who doesn't eat chicken) I went for the pot pie looking Chicken & Drop Biscuit Caserole. 

photo via: Blue Apron recipe

I guess in retrospect, I should have asked THEM to help me choose the week's recipes, but in the past I have been really good at selecting recipes (mostly) the whole family will enjoy. This time (spoiler alert!) I missed the mark by, like, A LOT. 

And yet! AND YET! A for effort in making a meal that turned out almost EXACTLY like it looked in the photo. (High five!) 

ED: This was the first time in my life I ever poached chicken and now I feel like I can make my own chicken tacos instead of buying shredded chicken breast from the store. I mean, THAT is how idiotic I am when it comes to cooking. My mind was literally blown that raw chicken can go into a pot and be boiled to perfection. (One of the reasons Blue Apron is so awesome is that it forces people who hate cooking (me) to learn how to cook. Fist to the chest, Blue.)

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looking good, right? 
just like the picture?
(Hal's dinner/lunch for three straight days.)

Two nights later, I decided to take my chances again and prepare the Catfish and Collared Greens.

My kids have recently REALLY gotten into fish and catfish is always a good one. (Fish tacos are a weekly staple in our house. They are the new macaroni and cheese and one of the few things that EVERYBODY eats and loves. I think pizza is the only other thing on that list, which... )

Anyway...

Catfish and collard greens. I thought FOR SURE this one would be a smash. And it was for Archer who ate his fish AS WELL as his sisters' fish. All of it. Which, welcome to tween boy-dinner-land. The kid is a bottomless pit these days and if I don't have snacks with me at school pick-up, he's like OH MY GOD, MOM I'M GOING TO DIE MAYBE! I AM SO HUNGRY I CAN'T EVEN SEE WHAT IS THIS LIFE."

Seriously. He is eating. Always. And he loved the catfish so, hooray! Hooray. (We actually didn't have any leftovers at all of this meal because between Hal, me and Archer... there wasn't a green or a smidge of sweet potato or a corner of fish flesh left behind. And the girls? I whipped up some quesadillas with cucumbers and shrugged the whole thing off because IF YOU DON'T TRY IT, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW.

...Which is a great MO to have when it comes to serving a child AND being one.

"If you don't try this, how do you know if you won't love it?" I always ask them.

And I'm learning to ask myself the same thing.

Even though it sucks a little bit to prepare something and watch your kids call it disgusting WHEN IT IS SO NOT DISGUSTING I MEAN LOOK AT THIS FEAST ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

!!!!!!!!!

The truth is, if we don't introduce our kids to new foods and new experiences and make them feel uncomfortable sometimes with NEW things that they may or may not like, we are NOT parenting. We are not raising. We are simply status-quo-don't-rock-the-boat(ing) which is EASIER for sure, but not ideal in the long run. 

Comfort zones are to be tampered with, kids. Sorry not sorry. 

That said, next time, I'm going for the Tuscan Ribolita soup because IF MY KIDS WON'T EAT IT I WILL AND I WILL EAT IT ALLLLLLL...

And for them, the catfish fish tacos because my kids are obsessed with fish tacos and they won't know the difference between the catfish and what we usually serve... cod.

And speaking of cod, I also really want (all of us) to try the tamarind glazed cod, the rice noodles and coconut-match broth (I mean) and the cripsy tofu drunken noodles. (And, like, forty other things. You can check out all of the meals, here.)

For those looking to give Blue Apron a spin, you can click here. (First 50 readers will receive their first two meals free.) Blue Apron has two different plans, one for parties of two and another for families. They have also recently started recycling all packaging. You can click here for more information on that! (Go, team!) Thanks again to Blue Apron for supporting GGC and sponsoring this post. I love you. Even when my kids are, like, eh. 

GGC