Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Feeding the Not Quite Knee High

It wasn't schaudenfraude that I felt this morning reading Melissa's piece about trying to make something her daughter would like. It was more a kind of rueful recognition mixed with relief that my fantastic friend whose kitchen always has something interesting in it has a daughter who likes what she likes and not much else. It makes me feel like even if I weren't the queen of food ruts, I'd still have kids who eat about ten foods and that's that. In the end, I'm just excited to make that carrot/tahini soup and not take a picture of it.

2 comments:

marjorie said...

thanks for this post!

maxie loves carrots. josie loves hummus. there is no way in hell i could get them to eat this delicious-sounding soup. i'm so making it, tho. *i* want it.

do you do the "just one bite" rule? i feel as if they've decided before they even pick up their flatware whether they'll like something new (answer: no) but i force them to try things anyway. it's SO frustrating.

bonus: maxie likes black beans. josie likes red beans. maxie likes cucumbers. josie likes broccoli. MY CHILDREN SUCK.

Robin Aronson said...

I've tried the one bite rule with new food and have decided to stop b/c it's just about power. Sometimes I think they could be trying chocolate ice cream smothered in the best chocolate fudge ever and STILL say they don't like it, just to prove their stinky little point. If, however, we're still eating dinner and they have on their plates something I know they like (cauliflower, let's say) I'll insist they take three bits or finish a whole floret before they can have dessert. Last night, David had to get on the floor and hand Elliot the fancy yummy chicken nuggets and remind him that he actually likes them even if eating them takes him away from his playmobil graveyard (don't ask). That said, every once in a blue moon I'll make something and Elliot will say, "That smells good! What's that?" And if the stars are aligned, he'll actually try what he thinks smells so good. So far this has happened with salmon and chicken but while he loved the smell of lamb, he wouldn't try it.

Helen will eat cucumbers if they're dipped in salt, carrots, if they're very baby carrots, she'll tell you she used to like humus when she was a baby (for like a week) and she loves loves loves Labne and strawberries. Sometimes together. Elliot likes hot dogs and chocolate and bananas. He used to like salami, but that's all over now.

As for the soup: Me, too!!!!