I always considered myself lucky. My toddler (now preschooler) was a good eater. Before a year old, she was happily chomping on asparagus and asiago. The more flavor, the better. I was truly convinced it was a matter of good parenting and exposing her to flavors early in life.
And then one day, it all changed. My little chef was demanding haute cuisine featuring "milky cereal" (three or four requests a day), Goldfish crackers and anything carb-loaded.
So I figured I'd try one last attempt to break her out of her rut. We'd gotten some samples of a healthy kid food line and decided to try it. I broke out a box of the fish bites and green dip. She thinks it's chicken nuggets and green ketchup? Great. She dipped it, lightly pressed it against her lips and paused. Then dropped it and frantically wiped the "green ketchup" off on her plate.
She opted to eat three tiny bites of the green ketchup (which had a faint green bean or broccoli taste to it) and half of her "chicken nugget," before protesting she didn't like spices. (This is the girl who knows basil, oregano and rosemary by sight on her plants or on any cooking show.)
Sigh. I'm not sure what the issue is, nor how to stop this trainwreck. I realize declaring culinary independence is a stop on the road to adulthood, but somehow, I'm just tired of the battle already.
But at least baby brother will eat the "ketchup" - and all of it, happily.
1 comment:
I am having the same problem with DD. She was always such a GREAT eater and then, one day, it all changed! I stress about it a lot but I also try to add up the good food she eats. I know many kids her age that are totally addicted to fast food and have had soda since they were babies! But it is hard when she breaks down wanting those stupid goldfish or bread! At her 2 year checkup, her pediatrician told us to add more bread to her diet - now that is all she wants! Please share any tricks or insights that you come up with!
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