10.26.2007

Who me, picky?

I was the problem eater in my family. By the time I was eight, I was cooking separate meals for myself, and sometimes by younger brother and sister, quite often. If something seemed the least bit suspicious, I wouldn't eat it.

I'm hoping to avoid the same fate with Little Man.

I never had Thai or Indian food until I was probably 20. I just wasn't adventurous.

I called Indian food, "poo-poo food," because I thought that the spinach and curry dishes looked like, well...you know. I don't think I even realized Thai food existed. Don't even get me started on Japanese food -- I thought it began and ended with Terriyaki chicken.

I just read a story on how we Americans are starting our babies off all wrong with their solid foods. I've been wondering when I can add spices to Little Man's foods since he sometimes seems SO bored by what I have to offer him. When I have more recently offered him more "exciting" foods, he has gobbled them up.

We are on project fatten up around here (only for Little Man, but somehow I seem to be expanding as well!). Since the boy could use a little more chub, I have been adding olive oil to his foods and stirring coconut milk into his oatmeal. I have also been making egg yolk and coconut milk custards for him, which he just adores.

I would love to make him some baby Pa Nang curry with chicken -- I just have to work up the guts to do it! I think that when we become parents, we have to overcome our food issues if we hope to raise an open minded eater.

Already the Little Man HATES peas. I'm going to have to make some foods Deceptively Delicious for him to eat them. I've already started by sneaking pureed chicken into sweet potatoes (he much prefers cut up chicken burger). Now I just need to figure out how to get the green vegetables in. Maybe the fabulous ladies at the Parent Bloggers Network could give this first time mama a few tips. Or maybe I should just read their archives....

Were you a picky eater? Are there things you STILL won't eat? (Raw fish and beef for me.) Share in the comments. You know you wanna.

12 comments:

Toni said...

I was a picky eater and that was mostly due to my mother being one. Our meals were meat and potatoes. Only. My daughter is an extremely picky eater but, so far, the boy is not. Of course, I haven't started him on meat but he has had bits and pieces of italian and some mexican foods. That is a better start than I had. (I can still not eat raw fish or cooked spinach.) Ew. Good luck fattening up the baby. What about cheese; is he allowed that yet? You could add cheese to many things and he would love the flavor and it would add fat.

dawn224 said...

If my baby can get it in his mouth, he can try to eat it. This week he investigated the following:

broccoli stalk
zucchini -peeled
squash - peeled
squash puree
pumpkin puree
pimento cheese
dill pickle

I have a link to a study, somewhere on my site - I'll link to it in the next couple of days so you can find it -

Anonymous said...

Hey SSBFF! I've been using apple juice (no sugar added variety) and other fruits to sweeten up the peas. It's the only veggie that Davey really doesn't like, on it's own accord. Could you post how you make the custards?

I'm all about feeding Davey different things. He's had fresh salsa (just a bit to taste), guacamole, spanish rice, and pretty much anything on our plates that he can eat Once he gets his teeth he'll be force to be reckoned with.

You're a great mama, ya know!

Alex Elliot said...

My kids are pretty good eaters. Honestly I think a lot of times it's genetic because I know parents who have just done everything and their kids are still picky. It's great though that you're thinking about this.

Anyhow, one thing that I did that I do think helped was that I cooked a lot of things in the crockpot that way all the spices and juices blended together and the food was soft enough for the kids to it. About once a month we have International Cuisine night which involves either going to a restaurant or getting carry out. Although I did make garlic chicken and broccoli the other night.

Anonymous said...

I'm horribly picky, but I have expanded in my old age. But one thing I have some very basic, primal aversion to... seafood. I can't even smell it without my entire body shuttering. It's too bad, I know there is a lot of great fish to be eaten.

Anonymous said...

I am a very unpicky eater. My baby seems to get that from me. Gratefully/Sadly(?) he has dad's metabolism. We are having our own little project fatten up over here. I have been doing the olive oil and given him avocado with apple, which is actually pretty damn tasty...but then again like I said, unpicky.

InTheFastLane said...

I am not picky, but my kids...
#1 - used to be, but now is only about somethings (who doesn't like spaghetti? Come on!)
#2 - EXTREMELY picky! Drives me up the wall.
#3 - Not picky.

Hum...are these all mine?

Unknown said...

I think I'm pickier than the child, but spouse is way picker than I am. Child's doing better now that he's finally agreed vegetarianism is so last month. It took forever, but in our beef eating family, you just gotten dig the cow. I am with you. I hate beer.

Al_Pal said...

As I told you before [I'm pretty sure], my hippie friends used avocado as their first solid food.
Very interesting article!

Especially with the in utero food--we know mom was all about the crazy seafood cravings with me! :P
(and now I'm a sushi monster, lol)

I eat 'almost' anything... though if green beans are really watery, their texture weirds me out!

Anonymous said...

i am (and always have been) a picky eater. i also have an overly strong/sensitive gag reflex. i'm hoping that i haven't passed this on to Zander, and that's why his eating disorder is so serious.

i try to eat new things, but my gag reflex has a life of its own, so there's not much i can do. but i do my best not to let it show in front of the boys. if there is something that i just can't eat without throwing up, i get hubby to taste it so the boys can see one of us eating it.

Madam Crunchypants said...

I was wildly picky as a child. Not as much so now, but I'm still fussy about some foods. I have real bugaboo about textures. I don't like slimy/slippery foods at all.

My Mum blames it on not giving me chewable foods when I was a baby because I didn't have teeth until I was 14 months old. It makes sense to me.

Punkin is 10 months old. She's been on solids since she was 4 months (she kept creeping us out with the fish mouth during supper so we finally started her on rice cereal). Today we gave her a stick of pepperoni (turkey pepperoni) to see what would happen. My little toothless wonder sucked all the meat out of the middle!

I think it's great you're willing to try all kinds of foods with Little Man.

What I do when Punkin decides she doesn't like something is mix it up in something she does like at about a 1:1.5 ratio (less of the icky food). She usually gobbles it right down then, and we slowly work our way to less and less of the yummy food until she likes it.

The Egel Nest said...

I was, am, and always will be a picky eater...

My parents tell me stories about me refusing to eat dinner...them sending me to bed without dinner..and me obeying happily...I was a skinny kid needless to say :)

My son is not as picky so far...but I have high hopes :)

My mom calls it payback :)

Bradley
The Egel Nest

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