A couple of days ago I came across a book that was just published this month. French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon is the story of a North American family that moved to France and saw the vast difference in our approach to food compared to their approach to food. French children don’t snack BUT they do eat a variety of foods (or are at least willing to try them!). They eat happily even when served beets or mussels. No, I was not asked to review this book (but, Ms. Le Billon, if you are reading this, I would love to!) bUT, it definitely caught my attention. Raising our daughter and future children to eat a variety of foods – or to at least try them – is really important to me. I don’t want my child to be known as “picky”.
With Isa being our first child, there have been multiple times when I’ve had those “HELP” moments with other moms. Those “how do you get your child to eat that?” questions. I noticed myself giving in to serving her the same thing because I knew she liked it. And if she likes it, she’ll eat it…by herself (with out any coaxing)…she’ll satisfy herself which will allow her to play well by herself with no whining-while-clinging-to-my-leg moments and ultimately, she will sleep well. And when she sleeps well (whether it’s during the day or night) it’s a good thing for any mama.
And for those times when she didn’t eat well, she definitely snacked on foods that she liked. It made her happy. It made me happy. But come next meal, she wasn’t that hungry and wasn’t eating well again, which meant more snacking later on. Was I creating a picky eater already at such a young age? No, she didn’t eat the normal things. Her favorites are still green olives, dill pickles, sauerkraut, and spicy chili but she didn’t want to try a lot of new foods.
So with advice and suggestions from friends (aka Super Moms) and my own trial and error, I feel like we’re down a different path these days. There are still many things that Isa tries and then pushes away but she’s expanding her taste repertoire and she’s even SLOWLY beginning to enjoy some foods that she didn’t before. So why is she eating more foods & enjoying them?
She has 3 meals a day.
We “share” meals. She is intrigued by what I’m eating & wants it just because I’m eating it. (*This has really been the magical touch with her.*)
One “snack” between lunch & supper – a sippy cup of raw milk.
And the addition of 4 top teeth and 2 molars doesn’t hurt anything either. J
Meals for this coming week (all served with side salad):
Monday ~ Lebanese Bulgur & Ground Beef Skillet
Tuesday ~ Gingered Carrot Soup & Sourdough Bread
Wednesday ~ Olive Lover’s Lentil Salad
Thursday ~ Sloppy Joes over Baked Potatoes
Friday ~ Homemade Pizza
Saturday ~ Meatloaf and Roasted Asparagus
Sunday ~ Popcorn & Blueberry Smoothies
What are your tried & true tips for creating a child to enjoy a variety of foods?
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This post is linked to WLWW Link up at Women Living Well, Frugal Days, Sustainable Days at Frugally Sustainable, Real Food Wednesdays at Kelly The Kitchen Kop, Seasonal Celebrations at Natural Motherhood, Homestead Barn Hop at The Prairie Homestead, Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist, The Welcome Home Link-up at Raising Arrows, Fat Tuesdays at Real Food Forager, Traditional Tuesdays at Cooking TF
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