I had way too much mushroom, leek, ricotta stuffing left over from the raviolis so I was trying to think what to do with it.  My husband suggested stuffing chicken breasts, which would have been wonderful, but I’d already decided: I would incorporate it into a lasagna.  It became one layer that would normally have been mostly ricotta.  Most of the remaining ingredients were from Trader Joe’s. I used their Spinach, Fontina and Roasted Garlic chicken sausages, Quattro Formaggio shredded cheese, plain ricotta organic tomato basil Marinara.I also had some left over cooked spinach that I chopped and put in with ricotta.

Let me digress: so many advice columns, books, blogs, etc that pertain to child nutrition/feeding tell parents not to have “bad/good” words about food and tellparents not to threaten kids with not getting dessert if they don’t eat their good food.  Sorry, but, I don’t agree with this.  I want my kids to learn what “good” food is and what is junk.  And I don’t always give dessert.  I don’t think it’s a given every day/meal. And I do sometimes use dessert to get my kids to eat well; especially my youngest two who are such sweet-tooths and if it’s something that I know they should eat/will like and they’re just not touching it.  

I think sometimes we need to “use” whatever we can to overcome the natural desire in most kids for sweeter foods.  For instance, I never put chocolate in their milk just to get them to drink milk and now I don’t have to.  I want them to develop the taste for the more bitter, sour or less-sweet foods (especially many vegetables).  I remember in my university psychology classes the studies showing babies reactions to foods— sweet foods: happy faces, bitter foods: scrunched up and sticking out their tongues in disgust. Babies are born with a natural affinity for their mother’s sweet milk and distaste for bitter so that they won’t ingest poisonous plants.  As parents we need to teach our children what foods are safe and good for them.  So, I think part of teaching is using verbiage like good and bad— just like we would with sharp objects, hot stoves and drugs. 

Anyway, I  had all guns blazing the other night when I made the lasagna and my two youngest were initially refusing to eat every part of it (besides just the noodle).  My eldest ate it without taking a breath!  I had chocolate covered ice cream bars for dessert.  The night before they didn’t get them because they didn’t eat all their vegetables, so they knew I meant business. Well, it worked.  Not only did they eat it, they liked it. And they were so happy to have that ice cream.