I’ve written several posts about my children having texture issues after being raised primarily vegan.  Before we switched to a Paleo/Primal diet last year, we ate tons of whole grain pasta and breads and of course some “schmeat” – our word for the fake soy based meat. Carl has been the easiest to transition, I’m sure based more on his age than anything else. Jude is at a really rough age (almost three) and is extremely strong willed; he would rather not eat than try something new half the time.  So, I have been working pretty hard on getting my kids to be able to tolerate (and enjoy) the texture of real meat.  Red meat is still a struggle for the kids, although Carl devours Everyday Paleo Meatloaf with my Meatloaf Topping! We are starting slowly with chicken, and have progressed through a variety of different ways to prepare it.

I have shared two different chicken nugget recipes (here and here), one using cooked, shredded chicken to form patties, and one using ground chicken. About a month ago (in preparation for one of our many road trips), I cubed some chicken breast into teeny pieces (think Chick-Fil-A sized nuggets) and started to experiment. The result is my best chicken nugget recipe yet!

So, in the past thirty days, Jude has taken a liking to super simple cauliflower rice, chicken breast nuggets, and even pineapple! Of course, there are a lot of days where he won’t touch any of the above. Even with all of the travel we have been doing and the unfortunate availability of awful food choices, once we are back on home turf, my kids get back on track with food fairly well. They may ask for the same junk food they saw at our relatives houses, but we don’t have it and no one else is eating it, so they stop asking pretty quickly. Thank goodness! I had to try really hard to follow my own advice and keep my stress level low while on vacation last month. I can actually see my kids behavior start to spiral downhill after a day or two of eating SAD. So, yeah, lets just say I’m actually looking forward to the inclement New York winter weather so we can stay close to home for a while!