With six kids in the family I guess it’s inevitable that we would have at least one very fussy eater to contend with.  And The Vegemite Kid (Master 7) fills these shoes very well.  We have seen a glimmer of hope in recent months with the voluntary consumption of a chicken sandwich, several varieties of rice that weren’t white, Turmeric Rice, Mexican and Mr8′s Fried Rice with visible egg and peas (which were cunningly avoided), and even strips of Mojo Marinated Beef Strips wrapped in a Tortilla.  The odd flavoured yoghurt has also made it’s way into the lunch box when I have run out of Vanilla, and he has come home to tell me in his Surprised Voice that he actually liked it.

It hasn’t been easy, but we have persevered, offering a little bit of everything on his dinner plate at night the same way we do with all of our kids.  There’s no “I don’t want any of that” or specially prepared meals in our house.  And, on our dietician’s advice, there is no pressure (apart from eating his carrots because I know he doesn’t totally hate those).  We don’t want him to jack-up and refuse to eat anything new.  And, when it comes to lunch boxes I have had to learn to be creative and a little bit sneaky.  Zucchini and puréed fruit in Muffins, grated carrot in his Vegemite Sandwiches and things like LSA mix in muesli bars like I have done here.  The way I look at it, a little is better than none.  And little by little our perseverance has paid off, so for now we’ll keep doing it this way.  And I am confident that one day our little man will sit down to dinner with the rest of the family and eat everything on his plate.  And maybe even ask for Seconds!

Sneaky Mum Muesli Bars

125 grams Butter

1/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar

2 Tbl Golden Syrup (you could use honey)

1 tsp Vanilla

1 1/2 Cups Oats

1 Cup Rice Bubbles

1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut (or desiccated)

1/2 Cup SR Flour

1/3 Cup LSA Mix

1/2 Cup Choc-Chips (or Chocolate Melts broken up)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 160C.

In a small saucepan combine the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and vanilla.  Place on a low heat, stirring continuously to avoid burning until the butter and sugar have melted and it reaches a rich caramel colour.

In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients.

Pour the butter/sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly ensuring that all of the dry ingredients are moist.  The chocolate will melt into the mix.

Scoop mixture into a slice tin lined with greaseproof paper and bake  for 25 minutes until the slice is slightly golden.

Cool before slicing into bars.

This recipe is loosely based on a recipe I found at http://recipes.coles.com.au/recipes/163/yummy-muesli-bars/