Radical change in eating (and cooking) habits

Josh has always disliked cooking. He always said what he did was "follow the recipe." But more recently and particularly with how careful he's being with the food he eats, he has shown some true cooking flair. Experimenting with different combinations of food, looking at several different recipes and then crafting his own, showing interest in finding just the right spice to add to the dish.

For the dinner before the first day of school to send the summer out in style, I made calzones, one of the kids' favorite meals. The bad-for-you, white flour, pork sausage, lots of cheese kind of calzones. Josh opted for just a thin sliver of the calzone along with a bowl of fresh spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and brocco sprouts and a bit of fruit.

One night this week, Josh created a combination of whole grain brown rice, free-range organic chicken, kidney beans, salsa, sauteed garlic and other spices like rosemary, oregano and thyme that he served with warm wheat tortillas. The kids opted to partake only their obligatory bite before preparing some other food as alternative for dinner. We had the tortilla dish again tonight as a leftover and it was delicious even warmed up.

But his most rewarding cooking experience thus far was when he cooked chicken in a new way and Kate, upon trying it, gave it two thumbs up. It made Josh's night.

Here's the chicken cooking on the grill:


And the side dish of beans sauteed in olive oil with red peppers, garlic and red pepper flakes for some heat:



I'm enjoying this new side of Josh and love finding out about the other new experiences he's suddenly expressing interest in, like getting a motorcycle, playing on my co-ed indoor soccer team and traveling the world.