HOW TO...

Get your kids to eat Brown Rice and Black Beans...
So tonight for dinner I made rice and beans. This is a dish that I would never have eaten as a child. My mom would occasionally make beans and cornbread. I fondly refer to this as the NASTY BEANS recipe. I don't think my mom used any sort of seasonings on the beans. She may have and my child memories just only remember them as NASTY. Anyway... I have recently acquired a taste for beans. I like white beans, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, and garbanzo beans. I have a good recipe called Cuban Black Beans that you make in the crock pot. I really like it, Chad likes and Phoebe LOVES them. Jacob and Lia Belle need more convincing. THey have had this dish a number of times in the last year and so it is not new. However, kids being kids, will get distracted and say they don't want to eat just to be difficult. Tonight I was in no mood to threaten, yell or nag my children to eat their dinner. So in a moment of inspiration I remembered a game from a box of "Dinner Games" that we got at Christmas. This is a tin box with cards on it that suggest games and conversation starters for little kids. Take it to restaraunts or play at home. Well this game WORKED! Here's the game:
On the count of three every family member puts their hand toward the middle of the table with either a thumb up or a thumb down. The ONE person who is the odd man out LOSES and can NOT take a bite of their food that round, everyone else GETS to take a bite of food.

I wasn't sure if my kids would like this game, but they surprised me and in no time Jacob and Lia Belle ate ALL of their dinner with Nary a Nag to be heard!
I was so happy! I didn't not have to spoon feed my three year old or five year old. Even Phoebe ate her food by herself (Making a big mess).

Good Luck! I hope it works for you as well as it worked for us!