Wednesday
Jun242009
(Not quite) Wordless Wednesday: A Tale of Two Dinners
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Jack Spratt could eat no fat.
his wife could eat no lean.
So between the two of them,
they licked the platter clean.
Sounds close to the tale of my two little monkeys with diametrically opposed taste buds. Ironically, the only thing that appeared on both plates last night is also the only thing neither of them touched on their plate (the feta cheese).My husband and I had chicken souvlaki, greek salad, and pita bread with hummus. Here is what the kids had.
Son - 4 years: Chicken souvlaki, pita bread, feta cheese, and jar of mixed vegetable baby food (baby food is the only veggies he will touch...still).
Daughter - 2 years: Tomatoes, strawberries, feta cheese, foccacia croutons.
Reader Comments (10)
I really appreciate seeing apicture of what other 2 and 4 yr olds are eating. It can be really stressful when you are wondering if your kids are eating enough of the right stuff or not. Even though my 2 yo still breastfeeds and isn't looking like she lacks anything at 34 lbs and the height of a three yo, it can still be worrying. Thanks for these (and especially the honesty about the baby food veggies!!)
Love it!
My almost three year old rejected the homemade lasagna tonight and instead ate cereal. Sigh.
Looks yummy. I love how everything is cut into the perfect size for little fingers.
LOL, this cracked me up. One of the gifts of my growing years of parenting is I worry so much less about these details, just enjoy that everyone is eating good food and enjoying it. Although sometimes I dream of food that I can actually feed to everyone in the family!
@Barbara: That is just it. I don't worry about what they are eating or how much, but I do get sick of having to think at each meal about whether I have enough variety to satisfy all taste buds. I'd like to just be able to cook and have people eat it.
Sista, I'm with you on the whole CIO thing. And the breast VS formula, and C/S things, too. But here's where I depart - if the only veg your 4 y/o will touch is jarred baby food, that's b/c you're still willing to give it to him. Cut it out and start offering real veggies, cooked/presented however, and eventually, he'll start eating them. I just don't think it can be good to pander to his desire for baby food when he's...not a baby.
@Amy: That is what they all say. Just offer, keep offering, and eventually they will. Not true, unfortunately. Some kids won't. I grew up with one. Anyways, some nights I give him baby food (which really, how is that different than adults eating applesauce, soup, pudding, yoghurt or other puree type of foods), some nights I just offer him what we're having and hope he bites (he doesn't, he eats meat and carbs), and some nights I hide some veggies in other stuff. On the hiding, I have been able to evolve from completely hiding them to having small chunks of different vegetables in casseroles, sauces, on pizzas, etc. So we're working on it, but in the meantime I'm happy he'll at least eat the baby food...it is vegetables and it doesn't have all of the extra salt, fat, sugar, etc. that are found in a lot of other dishes.
Yeah, I know about food aversions. Dd1 was my one of my highly sensitive children - she had extreme oral aversions to certain foods. Any pungent, or simply flavorful foods or sauces she rejected, and meat like chicken or beef made her burst out in tears or gag when the food passed her lips (either the texture and/or the taste really bothered her). Knowing she wasn’t putting on an act (trust me, you can tell when it’s an act and when it’s more serious), I set out to help her. Slow, patient, introduction of offensive tastes had expanded her diet. Had I known about SPD therapies for oral aversions, I might have done things a bit differently, but instead, I simply took a slow desensitization route with the offensive material. In the meantime, to ensure a healthy protein intake, I made her pancakes with whey protein powder added, and fruit smoothies with yogurt and more protein powder. It took about
2 years, to expand her diet to include chicken and beef and about 5 years before she could actually enjoy a slice of cheese pizza. It made things really difficult when we ate a meal out of the home. For 2 years or so, we had to carry an emergency pb and j sandwich. Often we got funny looks for it in public, or downright criticism for it from family.
But, my gentle persistence paid off.
Keep trying. If you think it's a true oral aversion, read up on SPD techniques for oral hypersensitive kids.
good luck
I totally agree. my daughter is 20 months and still asks for "soup" (what we call baby food, thanks to earth's best labeling) but it's veggies, and with a father who is basically a carnivore, I take what I can get. What counts is what's going in, no matter what form it takes. how is it any different than hummus? it's a texture thing, not a nutrition thing.
Just to add to KC's post, if you feel like your son's aversions are sensory, an Occupational Therapist might be able to help (I know a fabulous one in Ottawa who is great with sensory stuff). Depends on how much of an issue it is for you and your family...