The picky thing, it gets worse.
I suspect Harry’s getting bored with his extremely limited list of acceptable foods, because lately he’s balking at some of the most basic gimmes I’ve got. Trader Joe’s yogurt and frozen meatballs: gone. Three out of four acceptable flavors of Wallaby yogurt: nixed. Plain pasta and rice: nu-uh. Cheese sticks: get outta here. Cream cheese sandwiches: yuk. You get the idea.
Currently only five meals make him flat-out happy: hot dogs, pizza with black olives, breakfast for dinner, plain roast chicken, and chicken noodle soup (hold the vegs).
Maybe this is us hitting bottom. If it’s not—if Harry’s list can still get shorter—I may run out of the kitchen screaming, never to return. In the meanwhile, though, I continue to just cook. I try to make sure something on the table will please him, but as his list dwindles that becomes ever more challenging. The last two nights, Harry went to bed hungry. Stephen and I made no comment.
Among my few recent successes were these mini-pot pies. By using ramekins instead of one big casserole dish, I was able to fill each of our pies with exactly the options we liked. Mine’s at top left, the one with peas, carrots, butternut squash, Yukon gold potatoes, and chicken. Stephen hates peas so he’s got everything-but in his two. And Harry? I’ll let you guess which one is his.
I used my old standard, a dairy-free, relatively diet-friendly chicken pot pie recipe, and just portioned out the ingredients carefully. It took a few minutes more on the prep side, but the delight on Harry’s face—such a rarity at the table these days—was well worth it. Plus the smaller pies bake more quickly (about 25 minutes), so these wound up taking less time overall.
Friends, please pray for me. I’m not sure how many workarounds like this I can find.