Not everyone likes trying new foods. It’s funny that while my husband and I will be adventurous about our eating out and about and restaurants, we often exchange nervous looks when our CSA serves up a vegetable that neither of us are used to using.
Enter the red cabbage.
Nothing scary here
It’s actually quite beautiful when you look at it up close. I did a tiny bit of reading and found a simple recipe that I could make without too many opportunities for mistakes. For me, trying new foods needs to be simple.
A work of food art
The recipe is simple. Chop the cabbage. Add some lemon juice and warm up some chicken or vegetable broth. Cover and steam the cabbage for about 5 minutes. When it’s done you can add garlic, salt and pepper, ginger, sesame…all kinds of flavors. So easy my three year old helped me cook it.
The color of this cabbage was exciting for my son.
If you’re looking for ways to add color to dinner and interested in trying new foods, this isn’t a bad choice. The flavor is mild and it’s not too hard to clean or chop. Apparently the lemon juice keeps the cabbage from turning blue while cooking.
Trying new foods – Some like it hot!
The Taste Test
The real test came when the steamed cabbage appeared on the dinner table. We don’t pretend to our kids that we like every food we serve for dinner. We think it’s important that they see us actually trying new foods. We want them to know we understand how they feel when they’re encountering something new and that’s it’s tricky for us, too.
Trying new foods is easy for some people
We had salmon, pasta and sauce and red cabbage for dinner tonight. My three year old eagerly scooped some on his plate because he helped cook the cabbage. My husband and I tried it and found it to be mild and possibly improved by the addition of some zinger flavors like ginger or even soy sauce. My picky eater chose not to try it today (but that doesn’t mean he won’t later). My oldest took a tiny taste then grabbed a bigger bowl to enjoy a larger portion!