The Thanksgiving meal through a child's eyes

Ok, one thing I always keep in mind when dealing with a picky eater is that I was there once, too. I remember really disliking foods that people seemed to want me to eat when I was a young one and I absolutely hated when my foods ran together. I didn't want anything to touch. If beet juice ran into my mashed potatoes, I was in tears. Yeah, I was kind of a nightmare at the dinner table.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving today with a huge feast, I will enjoy eating just about everything on the table, with the exception of sweet potatoes, which I've never liked. And cranberry sauce. I've never been fond of it. But...load me up with the turkey and carbs. :) I can't get enough of the egg noodles in gravy that are part of our Thanksgiving meal and I could eat mounds of stuffing. Mom's recipe includes lots of celery, including the leaves, which I love.

But there was a time not long ago, when I didn't see a whole lot of appeal in those traditional dishes. My kids are 17, 12, 10, 8 and 6. And when I was the age of my younger set, I probably would have looked at the food and had the following thoughts (I didn't say it out loud, of course, but I was thinking it):

1) Turkey. Ok I can do that, but only the white meat. Who wants to eat meat off an icky bone?
2) Potatoes. I like those, but only if there's not butter on top. I like them plain.
3) Gray. Ewwww....do you know what that looks like?
4) Stuffing. I don't think so. What's that green stuff in there?
5) Hawiian salad. Oh, this looks good. Marshmallows. Oranges. Why did they have to go and ruin it with coconut?
6) Waldorf salad. I like apples. But nuts? Yuk! Who put nuts in there?
7) Sweet potatoes. No, thanks. I'll take the regular ones...and I like them plain.
8) Cranberry sauce. That was in a can? Ick. I don't want that slimy stuff that was in a can.
9) Green bean casserole. Green beans are bad enough. Why would someone make it worse by adding mushrooms and onions. Eating that is torture.
10) Corn. Ok, corn is good. As long as there's no butter or pepper on it. Pepper looks like dirt.
11) Jell-o. You can't go wrong with Jell-o. Wait. What the heck are those chunks in there?
12) Cornbread. Ok, maybe, but why does the corn always get stuck in teeth?
13) Biscuits. Ok, best thing so far.
14) Pumpkin pie. You've got to be kidding me. Pumpkin? Blah!!!

So, I likely would have had a sliver or white meat, a scoop of plain potatoes and a biscuit on my plate. I know that's how at least one of my kids' plates will look today. But, I won't bug them to eat the vegetables. Not today. That leaves more for me. :)