Choosing battles is the definition of my day as a mom--every day, all day long.  Can I get an amen from all of the moms out there?

So, one of the battles that Jared and I have chosen to fight tooth and nail is the battle over food.  We're pretty ruthless about our kids and what they eat. The idea is that we want to raise kids who have healthy eating habits, varied pallets and enter into adulthood with a taste for a healthy lifestyle.

It hasn't been easy.  Dinner time can be a battle, and we often end a meal at 10 calories because...ahem...she has been staring at her vegetables for 90 minutes.  Said child then has to face those same veggies again at the next meal and so on.  Yeah, we're mean.  In an effort to respect our kid's preferences and to teach them that healthy food is also delicious I'm always on the hunt for fresh food that they truly enjoy.  For a while salads have been a difficult spot.  I've tried a parade for salad dressings looking for that magic flavor that really strikes each kid's tastes.  I've had very little success...until now.

A couple of months ago I stopped in a new little shop downtown.  Honestly, I was skeptical about how there could be an entire store selling nothing but oil and vinegar.  After one sample I was an instant convert.  And now the kids are too.  Since then I've been buying the oil and vinegar from this shop.  I threw away all of the salad dressing in my fridge.  And Winfield has been ASKING for salad at breakfast.  Yes, my 4-year-old is asking for salads!  This stuff is really yummy.  And to prove it I video taped them at lunch today.

Usually I have to prod, threaten, scold, bribe and intimidate Harriet to take 2 bites of a salad.

The shop is Fustinis. They have a beautiful selection of oils (mostly olive) and vinegar. The kids love going there and trying new flavor combinations. Yeah, they are a lot more expensive than $2 grocery store salad dressing, but it's kind of like apples and oranges. When my 3 and 4 year old kids want salads 3 meals a day, it's so worth it.