Butterfly Oatmeal

Good morning! *stretch*



As I puttered around this morning, opening up the house and doing my morning routines, I was thinking about what I would cook this morning for breakfast. I am striving to feed my family better, and provide more cooked meals on a regular basis. Once, a bowl of sugary cereal and possibly a banana was the standard~ now it is just the back up plan.



I think it all started when I was thinking out loud about making some cookies, Dd chirped up that she wanted me to make Butterfly Oatmeal. Really? Ok :) I can do that.



While DH and the kids were watching Lazy Town in the bedroom, I was poking around the kitchen, measuring this, calculating that. (I really enjoy how quiet the kitchen is, before the kids discover me in there) I drifted into thought as I cooked. I remembered back 10 years ago, when my oldest was a todder and the story of Butterfly Oatmeal began...



Anne-Marie was about a year old, and already was developing into a wannabe picky eater. I had to find creative ways to introduce new foods. Her vocabulary was pretty big for her age, understanding much more then she could repeat. She used both sign and spoken words to communicate her needs, and to our suprise, her wants. One of her newest words was butterfly, and she loved seeing them in her shows and outside.



I was out of oatmeal, and had some Cream of Wheat on hand. I was skeptical about getting her to try it, especially since it was one of those foods that I struggle to eat. We would take a bite, testing the temperature and showing her how tasty something was. It was a fun game... as long as I ALSO liked the item.



She started to refuse her bowl, when I creativly told her it was Butterfly Oatmeal! Her big eyes looked up at me, "Fuf-fly O-meel?" Her high pitched little voice echoed.



"Yup! Sure is!! Mmmmm See? It's sooo tiny, even a butterfly can eat it!" Those magic words held all the information she needed. Butterfly Oatmeal was forever stuck in her mind as the bestest stuff in the whole wide world.



Basically, all it is, is Cream of Wheat, seasoned with brown sugar and butter. Sometimes, I add raisens when I add in the dry CoW, other times I use syrup instead of sugars, and still others I use milk instead of water.



Today, I used sugar and butter, and then added in some red and green sprinkles. "Oh Yes! The color is what attracts the butterflies!! You don't see grey flowers calling all those pretty butterflies do you?" I tell Kayleigh, as we introduce Butterfly oatmeal to the littles this morning. Her eyes get big as they look up at me, "Buf-fye O-meal?" I smile and nod knowingly at her, as she digs in; my latest wannabe picky girl.



And of course, Kayleigh had to have seconds of that yummy Butterfly Oatmeal... Everyone else was full at the end of their own bowls, including Jacob~ :~)