This is so me. <sigh> I didn’t want my kids to even know what sugar was, but my ex-husband was convinced that it was cruel to make kids eat brown bread and natural peanut butter. He put sugar on his pre-sweetened cereal!

And now, years later, I have a house full of teenagers and a four-year-old. We’ve got rid of most of the junk, but one of the teens really would, I think, starve to death if we didn’t provide macaroni and cheese and frozen pizza. And that means the little guy sees it and eats it too.

Critters choose their own food, and do just fine. I think people, given a variety of real food, could easily be trusted to choose well. The problem is that we are so smart that we’ve learned to separate out the stuff our bodies crave, like sugar, for example, and concentrate it.

I know that it’s harmful for my kids to eat fake food, industrial food. I guess I value their autonomy and decision-making skills more than the state of their bodies, though. So they choose.

And really, it’s a process for all of us. I make choices, constantly, about what to eat. So does Papa, so do the big boys, and so does the little one. I’m the only one in the house who refuses to eat white flour and sugar. Even Papa and the oldest—who love real food—will have a, you know, “normal” cookie if we’re out somewhere. Me? My weakness is industrial crutches like sugar-free chocolate bars or soda. Our choices are sometimes wiser and sometimes less-wise, but we’re learning all the time. I think that’s the best we can hope for.

But boy, is sugar ever scary.

The pancakes didn’t look the way “traditional” white flour and baking powder or baking soda pancakes look, with a beautiful golden finish. They looked more like this picture (which is from wikimedia, not actually a picture of ours, because I forgot to get one before they were all eaten.)

But they tasted awesome. I’ve been on a quest to make real food, and I wondered if you could make pancakes without baking powder (whatever the heck that is), and it turns out yes, you can, and they’re delicious. They even got the stamp of approval from my picky kid who thinks all this healthy food is really a bad idea. (I was shocked!)

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 3-4 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 tablespoons sweet stuff*
• 1 teaspoon salt

Beat the egg until fluffy, then add in other ingredients. Grease your iron skillet or griddle just a little. Cook the pancakes until you see the batter lose its shiny-ness around the edges. Then flip, and cook the other side.

* If you are able to process such things, you can use honey or agave, or even industrial food-like products called “sugar.” I use a different industrial product, called, in our house, double-xylitol, or xylitol mixed with an equal part stevia, so you only use half as much. 1.5 Tablespoons for the equivalent of 3 Tablespoons sugar. More on this industrial sweetner dilemma later.

But — and here’s the cool part — I have found the secret to getting my pickiest eater to snack on carrots and apples. It may not sound like much, but this is a kid who once ate nothing but combinations of white flour and milk. (That is, grilled cheese, cheese pizza, cold cereal, etc.)

How did I do it? You’re gonna smack me when I tell you how easy it is.

1. Slice up some carrots into sticks, and some apples into thin wedges.
2. Put them out, and snack on them.
3. Important: You must not, under any circumstances, suggest that the kid try some, or even offer any.

If your kid is very picky, you might need to peel them for now, but that’s ok. It’s not forever. It will get better.

How does it work?

Kids love to steal your food. Right? If you’re a mom, you know this; when’s the last time you had a drink all to yourself? If you put out a dish of food, and follow #3 to the letter, you have a really good shot at improving your picky eater’s diet overnight. And who knows where you can go from there? Cucumber slices may be right around the corner!

I know it’s not “enough.” But it’s a start. If you have a picky eater, it’s nice to know it’s possible to begin transitioning to real food.