Edamame - the Perfect Toddler Food?

Parents, is this the perfect food? For the last couple of months, we have been cooking frozen edamame (soybeans) for snacks, appetizers, and sometimes with meals. The kids have really taken to them. Tonight, the divine miss H pushed away her plate of chicken, baked potato, and veggies and pulled the entire bowlful of steamed edamame in front of her and exclaimed, "THIS my supper!" She had never really hulled them before but was popping those pods open in no time. Pretty impressive dexterity for two years old! Both the kids just love them.

They love the saltiness. They improve their fine motor skills by the fact that you have to manipulate them a bit. Plus, the name sounds like "ate-a-mommy" and is the source of many jokes. However, the very best part is the nutritional value! They are packed with proteins. They could only be better if they came with tiny dollar bills rolled up inside.

What we do is dissolve two tablespoons of kosher salt in 1/2 cup of water. Pour the salt water over one 16 oz. package of frozen whole edamame in a covered casserole and place in the wave for 6 minutes. Drain, serve (after they cool down, of course), and then go open another package since the first one is claimed by the kids!

My wife, Amy, and I are ordained elders in the United Methodist Church and clergy members of the Alabama-West Florida Conference. We married in 1999 after graduating from seminary in 1998. I moved from Middle Tennessee to Union Springs, Alabama to start our family. After serving for three years as pastor in Union Springs, I was appointed to the Capitol Heights UMC in Montgomery, Alabama. In 2003, our first child, W, was born. H, our daughter, was born in 2006. After 3 years on family leave, Amy is now the full-time pastor of the Mt. Zion UMC about 7 miles out from Andalusia, AL. I am the part-time pastor of the Florala (AL) charge, a three-point charge on the AL/FL state line.

But, most of the time I am a dad. W(4.5) and H(2) are a tremendous joy to both of us. Still, what I have come to understand in this transition from full-time preacher to most-time dad is that parenting is not for the weak of heart. From time to time, I read blogs in which certain SAHDs remark that keeping their children is so much easier than they ever expected it to be, that they can't understand why their spouses complained so darned much. I am not among them. This is tough as hell. Aside from the constant call to attend to family needs, I have the tremendous interior struggle of trying to reconcile myself to traditionally female work in the midst of a culture that doesn't understand what we are doing as a family. As well, trying to maintain some modicum of balance in my relationship with God and others is a complete trip! As for those of you dads who can prepare a cooked meal for the family from scratch in 20 minutes and clean the house in 45, more power to you! I can't approach your level of efficiency! Just what in the hell are you using for recipes anyway?