Chocolate Brownies (with Spinach)

I’ve spent the last week agitating a small portion of the residents in my community. It seems that for some people, the issue of food can cause their heat to rise high enough so as to boil an egg atop their head. Now I didn’t intend to create anarchy or incite an Internet riot on some of my e-list groups. I wished only to spread love, sunshine, and a little personal experience about how I’d gotten my children to eat more than just apples and bananas in their daily repertoire of produce.

A naturopathic friend had recently told me about Jessica Seinfeld’s new book, Deceptively Delicious. While I understand that the concept of hiding vegetables in one’s food isn’t new, the fact that I could sneak their daily requirement of Vitamin A by hiding sweet potatoes in their French toast was too enticing to pass-by. I purchased the book and spent the last three weeks sampling her creative recipes. At times I feared more of the food would end-up in the landfills than in their stomachs, but in the end, the book proved its worth.

And so began my e-mail, suggesting that for those parents with finicky eaters, this presented a novel solution to the eternal dilemma of getting children to eat their broccoli (try serving it mixed in the batter of homemade chicken nuggets, prepared with free-range and anti-biotic-free poultry).

While most mothers appreciated my experience and replied by saying they’d been thinking of trying this approach themselves, one woman voiced her objections. Loudly. Clearly. Publicly.

I do not like to feel disliked. I was on pins and needles every time I opened my In-box. I e-mailed her privately, trying to assure her I hadn’t meant any upset. I was only trying to promote more vegetable-eating in our children. She replied…publicly…again in opposition to hiding vegetables from children.

And then, someone posted in my defense. And another stranger posted for me, and another. And soon I had phone calls from prospective patients who had seen my post and wanted to come in for acupuncture treatments. And my schedule filled with others who had heard about me through their friends on my e-lists…and a little sharing of my experience cooking for children turned into a great marketing tool for acquiring new patients.

Even if one of the women in the community now hated me for being the vegetable pusher I am.

What’s the point of this? You can choose to recline supine in your comfy flannel pajamas, watching the snow fall outside your frosty window panes. Or you can throwdown the fleece blanket and turn-up the heat by sharing your experiences. You never know where your next patient will come from.

I’d love to hear about some of the more creative and/or unexpected means by which other practitioners have attracted new patients.

(size Small, Skippy)