Kids will eat the darnedest things!

We all know kids can be finicky eaters. I'm very blessed in that area, as my kids aren't as picky as some. One problem area, however, is in trying new foods. It's always a 50-50 chance whether my kids will try a new recipe without being too skeptical or deciding they definitely don't like that, whatever it is. It's always helpful if the new menu item has an interesting name. Like, Chimachangas. Those went over real well in my house. If it's fun to say, chances are it's also fun to eat! My kids can be easy to trick in that way. If I give a recipe a new fun name, they're more likely to try it, and maybe even like it. With this in mind, I decided to really go for it. A childhood favorite of mine was galumkis. Galumkis are a polish dish, stuffed cabbage rolls. Now I agree, that doesn't sound too appetizing, but believe me..yummy! As a child my family would drive to my grandparent's house, 2 hours away. When we arrived the first thing I would notice was the smell. Yes, Gramma had made Galumkis, as she always did when we visited. Although we aren't Polish, it was a family tradition for some reason. Galumkis have a very distinct smell as they bake. Unfortunately for me, my husband loathes the smell. So, needless to say, I haven't made them in years, and the kids have never had them. But lately I've been having a hankering for them. So I developed a plan. My hubby was going away on business for 2 days. The night before he left I went to the market to get the supplies. (A very cheap meal, btw) I decided to make them the first night, so I'd have time to air out the house. Now all I had to do was convince the kids that stuffed cabbage rolls were a good thing. In this case, it wasn't as hard as it sounds. They already had an interesting name: Galumkis. I psyched them up about the fun food from my childhood. They fell for it! They were a little concerned as they watched me prepare them, especially about the strong smell from the boiling cabbage. But they smelled better baking and galumkis is a cool name. I didn't mention to my kids that as a child I had refused to eat the cabbage, and only ate the stuffing. When they came out of the oven, the kids thought they looked a little weird, but were willing to give the galumkis a try. With a name like that, how could they not at least try them? Well, you would have thought I served hot, fudge sundaes for dinner. They devoured them, cabbage and all! They had seconds and thirds. In the words of Alex,"They didn't look good, and they didn't smell good, but they sure tasted good!" How weird is that? It just goes to show, kids will like some pretty surprising things if you can just get them to try it. I just wish there were more leftovers.