How's That Burger, Ev?

It's been a food revolution in our house since the first of the year. John and I are trying to live a more healthful lifestyle, and with that comes diet changes. Of course this was all fueled by my desire to feed Zachy the most wholesome, nutritious way possible. Which got me thinking about what Evan eats. And ultimately what we grown-ups eat as well. My father-in-law has a girlfriend we really like, and she has become a vegetarian. Hearing the impact this has had on her also served as inspiration. Although John and I are too carnivorous to take that plunge just yet, we have decided to skip the red meat as much as possible. And so I--dunh dunh duuuuuunh--bought ground turkey instead of ground beef at the grocery store.

So tonight, John and I worked together to prepare a meal of which I was rather proud. I took the ground turkey and mushed it up with some diced onion, garlic, and a little pepper and made turkey burgers. Served on whole wheat buns, of course. For side dishes, we had fresh corn and fresh green beans. I was amazed at myself. It was all delicious, though the beans.....Well, the beans had a different texture than the sodium-laden, butter-drenched canned ones I normally eat. I liked them, but it will take some getting used to. The burgers were actually really good. Yay, us!

So I hand Evan his plate, fully expecting a meltdown. The brown-ness of the wheat bun alone was enough to induce panic in my eldest child. I mean, we feed him wheat bread, but have to buy the white wheat to trick him. This bun was unabashedly wholesome-looking. And he has been in fear of the ground turkey since I bought it. And then the beans? O.M.G. But I was pleasantly surprised. He picked up the burger and took a bite. Ha. Hahahahaha. It went like this:
"How's that burger, Ev?"
"MMMMMMMM. It's gooooo-ood!"
"Well guess what! It's turkey!"

He started crying. He actually started crying. Suddenly the "Gooooooo-ood" burger was disgusting, vile, the nastiest thing I could possibly have given him to eat. He gagged himself. He started to throw a tantrum. And when I calmly told him that he didn't have to eat it, but that it was dinner for the night and I would not be cooking anything else, I thought he was going to die. Bu then something happened once John and I made it a non-issue. We looked away, and he cleaned his plate. And then asked for seconds. Hmmmmm.

So while all of our palates will have to adjust to the changes we have made, it is now something I think we can do.