Last night at dinner, Leina announced that she likes broccoli.  Just out of the blue.  Like she was saying her favorite color was pink.  We were sitting down to dinner and she looked over at my plate and said, “you know Mom, I like broccoli.”

Now, I have prepared 99.9% of this child’s meals and I can tell you, she does not like broccoli.  I have tried it dripping with butter, in melted cheese, or hidden between casserole noodles to no avail.  The offending green is plucked out, labeled disgusting, and tossed to the dog.  She has never knowingly eaten broccoli in her life.  Never.

So there I sat, a bit dumbfounded.  I was tired from this icky cold and I just wanted to eat my dinner.  I did not want to get up and make Leina a serving of broccoli just to have her take a nibble and then spit it all out.  So I decided to wuss out.

“Honey, you don’t like broccoli,” I told her.

“Um, yes I do Mom!  I eat it all the time!”  Leina retorted.

“No, honey, I’m not making you any broccoli.  Just eat your nuggets.”

“But I really want some Mom, please????   Just a little?”

Kevin intervened here and handed her a floret of broccoli and she popped it in her mouth and said, “Yummmm.  Can I have more?”

I was pretty sure she was pulling my strings.  She just wanted me to get up and cook her some and then by the time I sat down again she’d declare she didn’t really like it any more.  I’d seen this tactic before.  I wasn’t falling for it.

“No honey, just eat your dinner.”  

“But it’s so yummy!” Leina replied.  To this Kevin decided he was willing to part with his broccoli and passed it to Leina.  She ate it.  All.  And then started eyeing mine.  At this point I realized that maybe she really truly did like broccoli.   I mean, who really knows how the mind of a 5 yr old works, right?  So she ate Kevin’s broccoli, my broccoli, and all the extra still in the bowl.  It was amazing.

Kulia, who idolizes and follows everything her big sister does, also decided that she too loves broccoli.  So I made her a bow.  She took a big chomp and a look of revulsion pulsed over her face.  Luckily, Leina was more than willing to finish her sister’s share of that delicious green goodness.

Now the real question is, will she eat it again or was this some rare food fluke?  Only time will tell.  I will keep you posted.