cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
Transform food rejects into favorites - AlbuquerqueJournal
Like almost all young children, my 5-year-old son has certain, shall we say, strong preferences about what he eats. Zephyr loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but only if I cut the crusts from the whole-wheat bread. Apple slices are a preferred snack – as long as I remove the peels. Broccoli is his favorite vegetable, but he just eats the bushy florets, never the trunk-like stems.
For years, I dutifully subtracted these shunned parts from preparations. It was the act of a realist who just wanted to get his kid fed without having to navigate an argument to make it happen. That doesn’t mean I was happy about it. Though I usually composted the scraps, I still felt guilty about the waste.
I don’t always have the time or inclination to cater to my son’s whims at the dinner table. So I employ an arsenal of techniques to convince him to try new foods or eat those that give him pause.
Like almost all young children, my 5-year-old son has certain, shall we say, strong preferences about what he eats. Zephyr loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but only if I cut the crusts from the whole-wheat bread. Apple slices are a preferred snack – as long as I remove the peels. Broccoli is his favorite vegetable, but he just eats the bushy florets, never the trunk-like stems.
For years, I dutifully subtracted these shunned parts from preparations. It was the act of a realist who just wanted to get his kid fed without having to navigate an argument to make it happen. That doesn’t mean I was happy about it. Though I usually composted the scraps, I still felt guilty about the waste.
I don’t always have the time or inclination to cater to my son’s whims at the dinner table. So I employ an arsenal of techniques to convince him to try new foods or eat those that give him pause.