So, this mama doesn’t play the picky eater game. I didn’t learn to cook until after I got pregnant with my first child. I started off trying to eat well while I was pregnant with him and I began to try recipes in my own kitchen. When my baby Fergus was ready for food, I started making his baby food.
Easy really, don’t introduce too many new food items at a time because you want to be able to recognize and identify any food allergies. Second, don’t add spices as babies’ tummies aren’t ready yet.
As he got older, I tried more and more recipes. I didn’t want my child eating a bunch of pre-packaged stuff over which I had no control over its quality. Every time I tried something new, I required him to try one bite. That became my rule, if it’s the first time you’ve been offered it, try a bite. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, politely explain you don’t like it and you won’t be required to take more.
When my son was around five years old, the next-door neighbor and her husband separated and began divorce proceedings, they had a little girl who ran the roost. Her mother was always feeding her canned raviolis, and macaroni and cheese. Her mother said the little girl wouldn’t eat anything else. I suggested to Stormy (the little girl’s mother) that perhaps she should start implementing rules now, so her child didn’t grow to be a teen who didn’t think any rules applied to her. Stormy disagreed.
She asked me to babysit her child so she could go out on a date. I told her I’d love to watch her little girl and I explained I would not be fixing something special for her. I told Stormy I would serve her a plate of the same food I was feeding my son and if she didn’t eat it, that was her choice. Skipping one meal would not injure her child. She apparently didn’t believe me because she brought raviolis when she brought her daughter over.
When it was dinnertime, I placed a plate in front of her with a few bites of fish, some mashed potatoes, and some peas. She said she didn’t want it. She wanted raviolis. I explained I wasn’t going to make raviolis but there was a plate of food in front of her. I asked her to try the food. She refused. She cried for a while. I stood my ground. Eventually, she got hungry enough to try the food. Surprise! She liked it and asked for more, which I gave to her.
This is the avenue I’m taking with my nephews. They haven’t encountered a person who won’t fix them whatever they want. (Grandmas are allowed to feed their grandbabies anything they want.)
Don’t get me wrong, if I know you don’t like cilantro, I’m not going to add it to the meal I invite you over to share with me. I love to feed the people I love. I love to cater to them in a loving way. It’s my belief that it’s a good thing to try different foods and cuisines. Variety is the spice of life. All things in moderation.
Having said that, I’m kind of a picky eater. I don’t like cooked salmon, but I love salmon sushi. I don’t like Spam or brisket, too salty. I don’t care for the taste of lamb. I don’t like dove. I don’t like the texture or taste of steak. I don’t want to eat anything that looks like it did when it was alive, so no fish with the scales on and the eyeballs in. Eeeew! I like fish if it’s not too fishy. I don’t like mussels. I don’t care for the taste, smell or feel of chitterlings. I don’t care for eggplant, but I wish I did because they’re beautiful. I can’t stand Brussel sprouts, but cabbage is good: bok choy is even better. Black eyed peas taste like dirt.
Things I like include chicken and pork. Javalina is delicious when cooked right and it’s not that hard! I like deer that’s not too gamey and if it is, I just blend it with beef. Elk meat is delicious! I like rabbit and goose. Lobster soaked in butter in Boston is yummy. I love rockfish. I love potatoes, peas, carrots, green beans, beets and asparagus. Spinach and kale are yummy, but I can’t have much because I get kidney stones.
I’m so proud of my nephews. They are very opinionated about what they do and don’t like. They have been great sports about trying new dishes Aunt Maria offers them. Sometimes they take a bite and politely decline. Other times, they try it and ask for more and more.
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