THATS what you want to eat?! Animal heads on my dining room table.

Food has always been an issue for child #2.  We knew that changing his diet was not going to be easy. #2 has a lot of sensory aversions, especially smells.  Getting him to eat leafy greens or even try new things was going to be a challenge.  Last weekend when we went grocery shopping we discovered a  whole new way to shop.  One of the many changes we made was allowing the kids to pick out some of our food and he chose whole branzini fish.  Hubby and I were shocked and a little overwhelmed at the idea of cooking a whole fish.

 But we are willing to try anything to get this boy to eat.  The fish monger was super helpful in helping us to prepare said fish and home we went with four head on bronzini. Neither of us had ever prepared a whole fish before and I was completely grossed out, but if the kids are required to keep an open mind and try new foods then I am to. So Sunday night we had bronzini, zucchini and rice. And of course we had to put the whole fish on the table because, lets face it, my three little boys just thought eating a whole fish (including the head and tail!) was COOL!!! The kids even wanted to help prepare the food.  They went outside and watched Daddy at the grill, they were thrilled to watch me pick it apart and make their plates, and when the final test came and they had to eat it... THEY LOVED IT!

 So maybe the trick to getting my kids to eat is letting them really be a part of the whole process.  They got to help pick the food at the store and prepare it at home. Or maybe the trick is putting the heads of animals on our table because they are little boys and that is cool.  Who knows.  During the course of the meal child #3 decided that he liked the crunchy skin and tails best (yuck) and #2 picked an eyeball out of one of the fish (DOUBLE YUCK!!) but they ate their food, and it was one of the most pleasant meals our family has had in a long time.

 I have to say the grilled Bronzini was delicious! Now that we have cooked whole fish I would totally do it again.  It really wasn't as gross as I thought it would be (except for the eyeball incident, that was disgusting!) and it was pretty simple to do.  The fish monger gutted the fish at the store and all we had to do is put a few slits in each side at the thickest parts so that all of the meat cooks evenly.  Put salt pepper and lemon slices inside the fish and grill! We served it with marinated, grilled zucchini, provided by a very good friend of mine who was generous enough to share some of her garden with us since ours was a total flop this year, and brown rice with lemon pepper seasoning.  We will definitely be having this again!  Those family meals where we can all sit down and enjoy each other's company are so few and far between.  I really cherish these moments!

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