Welcome to the Mills Family Weekly new recipe night blog.

My name is Adam, I live in Salt Lake City, Utah with my wife Violet and my 5 children. About a year ago my wife bought one of those cookbooks you see next to the checkout at the grocery store. It was called "5 Ingredient Meals" published by Better Homes and Gardens . It gave me an idea.

I had become concerned that my kids were becoming increasingly picky eaters. So I instituted a new rule. Once a week we were to have "New Recipe Night". The idea was simple. We were to have a new recipe once a week. Something we have never had before. The rules were simple too. they were:

1. This is what we are having for dinner. NO SUBSTITUTIONS.
2. You had to take at least three bites.
3. If you choose not to eat then you choose to go hungry. 

 After a couple of weeks the kids learned we were serious and began to open up.

The first recipe was a sausage soup. My family loved it. The new few weeks did not go so well. Most of the meals were met with a chorus of "I don't like that" seconds after it was placed on the table. Some recipes were a disaster. Some were a huge hit and we added them into our weekly menu rotation. However with the support of my wife and some firmness on both our parts, our kids began to realize the main lesson I was trying to teach them. That trying new food can be an adventure and can even be fun.

As well as recipes I plan on sharing ideas about family meal time and ways to get your picky kids to open up. Just remember. When introducing new food to kids there are some basic rules.

• Do not force them to eat: Be firm, but if they chose not to eat, let them face the natural consequences of that choice. i.e. going hungry.
•  Do not try to introduce new foods to often: Ease your children into new foods. it will go a lot easier. I recommend one new food a week.
• Be firm: Do not give in and cook the child something else. It shows the child you are not serious and they will just keep refusing the new foods.
• Make it fun: Allow the children to help in food preparation. Allowing them to assist in age appropriate tasks will help them be open to trying the meal and will also give them a sense of pride in it.
• Be consistent: Consistency is key to making effective change.
• Be unified: as with anything parent related. If both parents are not unified it will not work.

I hope you can get some good food ideas and we can share ways to make our kids open to new food adventures and teach them good habits.