Fig and coconut bars

Something my youngest will eat

When I try a new recipes, the most common response from my boys is: "It's OK," from the eldest. And, nope, not even going to try it from the youngest.

It's a great day when I find something he will eat. He's a picky eater. If he could, he'd get by on nothing but nuggets and cheese and crackers. But of course, that's not going to fly here.

We try to follow the one-bite rule in my house. It's a good rule that says they have to take a least one bite of everything on their plate. It can take up to 20 times trying a new food before a person starts to like it. For my kids, it feels like it takes 100 tries. And if I only give them what I know they already like, they start reducing what they like!

So I keep trying new dishes, stretching the boundaries incrementally. I try to only introduce one new thing at a time and surround it with things they already like. And I always offer a bread item.

But even then just getting my youngest to take one bite can be a monumental struggle and one I'm not interested in having at the dinner table. So he gets the new food on his plate and sometimes I can get him to take a bite. Sometimes all I get is the new food in his mouth before he spits it out. Sometimes he doesn't try it at all. And the least successful attempts are when he rejects the entire plate and walks away from the table. Those days usually occur when he's had a late and filling snack. I don't tend to stress about it, although it can mean an earlier morning when he wakes up hungry.

I was pleased and surprised when he declared he loved the fig and coconut bars I made one afternoon. My mom sent me a recipe from "Digestive Health with Real Food" and I made come changes based on what I had in the pantry.

6-9 dried figs
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut
Heaping spoonful of peanut or almond butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Dash of salt

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spread into a 8x8 greased pan and refrigerate until firm, two to three hours. Cut into bars and enjoy.

Feel free to add dried fruit like cherries or raisins for flavor or even chocolate chips to make the bars more dessert like.

Full disclosure: I think these bars are just OK. But the boys and my husband eat them up. And I happily make them since they are something my youngest will eat.