In short, I want him to be a foodie
- Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
- June 4, 2023
- 892
What does one do with a kid whose palate shrinks to admit very few acceptable foods? Children seem to start out, when very young and leaving milk mostly behind, to eagerly try just about anything offered for a while.
At first my young son would eat just about anything: hot dogs, string cheese, carrots, cereal, veggies, you name it. Then one day just about everything was met with an angry “dowannit!”
Without warning we were stuck in a rut of mac and cheese, instant-flavored rice, mayonnaise sandwiches and anything that resembled a potato chip. There has been the occasional surprise, like when he wanted a little bit of broccoli dipped in ranch dressing or prepackaged Caesar salad, but it’s mostly cookies and Twizzlers. It was probably an error to let him know such things existed, but I’m a softy.
Parents who love food surely hope their children will grow up with a varied palate and interest in trying new things, but it can be a long journey to get there. Growing brains need a great deal of calories, along with plenty of stimulation and rest, so young tastes skew toward sweet things that pack a lot of calories, even if they’re relatively empty.
Our little guy isn’t helping any be refusing most proteins. He’s finally going for chicken if it is shaped like a breaded French fry and will eat bits of bacon once he has carefully inspected each for signs of clinging fat.
It would be helpful if he liked even bologna or fish sticks, but so far it’s a no go. Even the hot dogs he previously gobbled up are now on the list of forget-about-its. Each day is a new challenge, each trip to the store a gamble in things to try. For a minute there, he was eating all the ramen I could bring him, but the fun noodles lost their appeal.
Peanut butter? Nope. How about apple slices? No. Celery sticks? They make nice ranch dressing dippers, but no celery is consumed. Cheerios? Look how far I can throw them, old man. American cheese slice? “Dowannit!”
Salt and vinegar potato chips? Absolutely. Triscuits? Gimme that box. Raw flour? By the handful. Some crackers that fell behind the couch a month ago? Try and stop him from eating them right up.
There are many things that are frustrating about toddlers that resolve themselves. I don’t know any healthy adults who are not potty trained, for example. Eventually, everyone can dress themselves and tie their own shoes, but this same rule doesn’t always apply to food.
I’ve known plenty of grownups who don’t venture very far from chicken strips and tater tots. There have been grown people in my life well past age 50 who won’t taste anything they don’t already consume a lot of.
I want my son to have a healthy sense of adventure, especially when it comes to food. If he’s ever lucky enough to find himself having dinner with a group of Japanese folk in Tokyo, I want him to immediately snatch up his chopsticks when the plate of young octopus arrives. When he is visiting his friend’s family, I want him to eagerly try everything offered, even if it’s all unfamiliar.
In short, I want him to be a foodie and to appreciate food and flavors as much as I do. I’m sure this phase will pass and he’ll eventually want to try more new things and find his favorites besides Pringles chips.
There’s a good chance of that because he will likely always be around such people, not just his parents. Children may disregard the opinions and admonishments of their mom and dad but will eagerly accept the encouragement of a cool-seeming person they’ve just met. Parents are automatically hopelessly out-of-touch rubes, but a new, sparkly person offering spinach dip? Gold.