Since I cooked the red beets last time (a mystery food failure), I thought I’d try the kids with golden beets. And this time, I’d be a little more strategic and make them into something that’s a little more familiar…chips. The kids love kale chips, so I figured this wouldn’t be too far removed. Their response was lukewarm – initially positive, then we trended hard and fast to the dreaded no way, no how, never again territory. Fortunately peas came to the rescue.
ME: Hey guys, guess what I made?
LAUREN: Beets.
ME: Yeah. They’re chips I made with beets.
LAUREN: Ok.
ME: Do you want to try them? Because you didn’t love beets last time, but maybe you’ll like beets this time if they’re in a chip form. So Lauren’s eating the golden beets.
SAM: Me, too.
ME: Yeah, I’m going to have one, too.
[tasting the chips]
ME: What do you guys think?
LAUREN: Yummy.
SAM: Yummy.
ME: Yummy? No, way!
SAM: It tastes like real chips.
ME: It tastes like real chips? Pretty awesome, right? And, they’re made from beets. Emma, do you want to try?
LAUREN: I like the red one more (I threw in a few red ones for comparison).
ME: Yeah? The golden ones are bigger so they’re a little chewier on the inside, but they’re pretty good right? Would you eat a whole bowl of those?
LAUREN: Of the red ones.
ME: Of the red ones? Guess how many beets are in this.
SAM: Eleven.
ME: It actually took three beets to make these chips. You want to try, Emma? These are beet chips.
[Emma trying one]
ME: What do you think? You like them? Lauren likes the red ones more than the yellow ones. What do you think?
EMMA: I don’t like the yellow one.
ME: You want to try a red one to compare? You seem iffy on the golden beet. The red ones were smaller so they got a little crunchier.
EMMA: I don’t want to eat it.
ME: That’s fine. Lauren can eat all of them.
LAUREN: Un-Huh. Wait, no!
ME: Do you want more Sam?
SAM: I want peas.
EMMA: Peas.
ME: OK, that’s a fair trade.
