Week 3: Tilapia, Turnips & Greens

The good news is that I had a nervous breakdown. Call me weak, but I finally lost my marbles over the madness of hump-day (see this post for a refresher) and declared myself unfit to do the mind-numbing OT run any longer. So the hubby and I agreed to move our daughter's therapy closer to home and share the responsibility. Thursday mornings are now daddy/daughter fun time with a trip to OT followed by every kid's dream: McDonald's (yes, McDonald's –– my sanity sells cheap). Everyone is having a ball. Including me, because I got Wednesdays back! So what better way to celebrate than with greens, greens and more greens? I decided to pick the kids up early so they could see what, exactly, our house feels like on Wednesday afternoons. They weren't totally impressed, so I popped in a movie for my daughter, unloaded a stack of matchbox cars on my son, and got to it.

In case it isn't clear yet, we seem to get most of our fish from Costco. This may sound sketchy, but don't judge me. They happen to have a large selection of wild-caught frozen fish fillets that are incredibly tasty and, even better, super easy to cook. No small advantage when you have a horde of greens to work into the menu and can't stomach touching raw animal protein. So while the tortilla-crusted tilapia was baking away in the oven, I blanched and sautéed the turnip greens and the last batch of kale, and roasted the turnips in olive oil with green onions. For the first time in a very long time, the hubby came home to a house full of happy people on Wednesday. Completely out of character, I would say, based on what happened next.

Out of a sense of duty, I always add a pinch of greens to the kid's plates, having zero expectations that they will a.) allow them to stay; b.) look at them; c.) pick them up; or especially, d.) lift them to their mouths. So you can imagine my shock when I watched my son follow all of these steps and then utter the most beautiful word in the English language, "more." Yes, the little tyrant actually ate five bites of kale and turnip greens. Not to be outdone, my daughter repeated the steps with a look of extreme reluctance on her face. She ate the bite of greens and immediately declared her distaste. Oh well, you can't win them all. But at the end of this particular Wednesday, I had a firm grip on my mental state and felt completely victorious.