Teriyaki Lima Beans

I had an Iron Chef moment today. Gusi woke up from his nap and was, of course, hungry. I swiftly, but gently, put him in his chair and proceeded to throw open the refrigerator doors. Defrosted chicken was available as was teriyaki sauce, but what about those 6 to 8 servings of fruits and vegetables he needs? Or is it 6 to 8 oz? Or perhaps 6.8 oz? In any case, the boy needs his veggies. I scanned the freezer in search of the "Asian Veg Medley" that I thought was there. Instead I found a partially used bag of "Mixed Veggies" which would have to do. I threw some cereal puffs his way to warm up the jaw muscles and began the show. I could feel the clock ticking to the time of the crunching puffs. As I poured in the frozen veggies I noticed that in addition to peas, carrots and corn there were lima beans in the mix. Ugh. How would that go over with the bottled teriyaki sauce? I just couldn't see myself at a restaurant asking the waiter: "Do you recommend the teriyaki lima beans? They look very appetizing." But then again, Gusi doesn't have the pleasure of having had teriyaki before and he did like the lima beans last time he had them.

When I finally plated up his lunch special he was starving. We started with the chicken--something he knows and likes--then moved our way to the peas, corn, carrots and finally lima beans. Not a wince from the child, not one. Was he so hungry that he could care less or did he really like Mama's impromptu preparations? Maybe both. He did chow down for quite a while and even though he would do a double take at the lima beans, he ate every one I gave him. Eventually I knew that things were coming to an end when he would just suck the teriyaki juice off of the veggies and then spit them out. He ended up eating more chicken though...probably because it held the teriyaki sauce better than the veggies.

Dessert was a peach with the skin peeled off. Now Gusi prefers to use the six teeth that God gave him to bite on the fruit instead of being given little pieces. He busily chomped away on the half I was holding for him with much content. I read in one of those books that you're not supposed to give an infant any solid food that is larger than the size of their fingernail. Uh-huh, sure. I understand the need to be careful so they don't choke, but a screaming child who is hungry and refuses the mini morsels you have cut up is not one for dialogue. I figure the important part is to get healthy food in him without trauma, so I consider the meal a success on those standards.

Perhaps we'll have something simpler tomorrow...like a grilled cheese...with some tomatoes, even though they are technically a fruit. Hmm...perhaps lima beans go well with grilled cheese too.