I’ll start by saying that I’m not a cook; it’s not that I don’t want to cook, it’s that my family likes to eat the same things all the time so there’s not much opportunity. Plans to deviate from our regular meals are met with wrinkled noses and requests for other options.

Our 13 year old is a particularly tough customer. His favorite meals consist of pizza, dry cereal, pizza, French fries, pizza, chicken nuggets, pizza, and grilled cheese. Attempts to get him to take even one taste of a new food resulted in gagging and choking. This spring I made it clear that, come summer, I would no longer be making him special meals. He had to at least try the dinner the other three of us were eating and then he could make himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Much to my surprise, this time my plan worked!

Before this summer I’d never watched a cooking show for more than 10 minutes. One day at the gym, I noticed that Rachael Ray was making a chicken dish that involved putting all the ingredients in a zipper bag, skewering them, and then grilling. I looked at the short list of ingredients and said “Even I can do that!” That night’s dinner was a hit even if no one ate the grilled peppers or the sweet potato slices wrapped in bacon (without the bacon) but me. 13 was still not interested.

After my initial success, I picked up the Everyday with Rachael Ray http://www.rachaelraymag.com/ June/July Grilling Issue and made the grilled Spanish chicken with grilled potatoes. That night, as I slid the grilled potatoes off of the skewers, 13 said, “Can I try one?” It was as if the heaven’s had parted! You, want to eat a potato that isn’t fried?!? And he came back for more! I was so excited I posted it on my Facebook page. When I asked him what caused this change in eating behavior, he said it was because he knew I wasn’t going to keep making him a separate dinner each night. After all of our arguments over food choices, I’m not really sure why he decided now was the time to experiment but I’m thrilled that he’s finally trying more real food.

Since then, I have to admit, I’ve made that same menu a lot in the past month but 13 has also tried things like crab cakes, steak, BBQ chicken in the crockpot, and corn on the cob. On a recent outing to Ruby Tuesday, http://www.rubytuesday.com/locations he tried the grilled chicken sandwich and loved it! Whenever the topic of eating at a restaurant comes up, 13’s first question is “Do they have grilled chicken?” He has even started chanting the word, “Chicken” as if it’s a seasonal delicacy.

So this has been the summer of experimentation on the grill—slowly but surely. I flip through that Rachael Ray magazine looking for things that might pass the test. Next up on the menu is grilled pork chops. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Gum Guru Guest Blogger: Frances Bowman, marketing specialist