“I don’t like that!”

I’ve heard it too many times. My response is always, “take one bite, you have to try it.” Then I go on to explain that as you grow, your tastes change and you might like it this time, even if you didn’t last time. I’m not sure they listen to the part after ‘you have to try it,’ but I keep on restating it every time I hear an ‘I don’t like it.’

The thing is, now that Alex is nearly 13, I’m starting to see the results of my repetition. He’s actually starting to say things like, “Wow, this is good.” And then continue eating it and ask for more! Things like corn chowder and Swiss cheese, even sardines (which this mom loves)…Big smile for mom OK, I am still working on a some vegetables, but this is a great start.

I admit it though, I tend to be a pleaser. By that I mean if I’m making something, like say spaghetti, and I know one of the kids might not like part of the meal, say the marinara, I’ll make an extra veggie to make sure they get all their veggies for the day. I still make them taste the food that offends them, but I do make the extra food. I’m sure this probably isn’t what I should be doing, but I do it.

What about you, do you make your kids taste foods every time, even if you know they don’t like it? Do you cook extra food in case they don’t like something? Please share with comment…

Eating different things, or even the same thing, but prepared different ways. This is something that I, as an adult, enjoy. This is also something that my children, for some reason, do not enjoy. I know that I could just make the foods I want, the way I want and if the kids won’t eat them, too bad. But, I’m not that sort of mom. I want them to ‘want’ to at least ‘try’ the food; I worry that they’re not eating…I know they’ll just sneak junk food when I’m occupied doing other things. I realize that they will not starve to death and that I could just eliminate all junk food from the house to stop them from sneaking it. I also know that I can’t make them want to do anything. The thing is, I just don’t understand it. I’ve always liked food of all kinds, even as a child. My parents never had to provide extra encouragement or bribe me in any way to get me to taste anything (except oysters, eewww).

So, where does that leave me as a peace-loving parent longing for variety? Well, there are a few things I’ve tried–sometimes with success, sometimes not. These strategies have at least allowed me to address my desire for variety in my meals while still ensuring my kiddies get a healthy dinner.

They are:

1) Discuss potential new recipes or foods with the kids before making them.
Whenever I find a recipe I’d like to try, one that I’m pretty sure either Alex or Soph, or if I’m lucky, both of them will like, I show it to them. Sometimes they ignore me. Sometimes they make faces at me. Sometimes they say, ‘Hmmm, that might be good.’ Either way, once I’ve brought it up, I continue to mention it, even showing them pictures if they’re available. What this mainly does is prevent surprises. When the meal shows up on the table, they expect it and are usually pretty willing to taste it, even if they made faces at the original proposal.

2) Have them help prepare these new foods or recipes
This is a commonly mentioned strategy used to get kids to eat things they might not otherwise like. It does not always work–sometimes Alex and Soph help cook something and then proudly announce that they made it for me and would rather not try it. However, when combined with strategy #1, success rates for at least getting them to try the food are drastically improved.

3) Make trying new things a standard part of your monthly or weekly meals.
Like building exercise into your daily routine, trying new recipes and foods can become a standard part of the family meal experience. But, routines require consistency to become routines, so if you start having ‘New Food Friday’ at your house, it’s best to stick with it, or commit to a schedule so everyone knows when the new stuff will be making an appearance. The kiddies might actually start looking forward to it

4) When preparing a new food or recipe, make side dishes you know that they’ll eat…maybe even make an extra or two.
If you’re a worrier like me, you’ll want to ensure that there will be something the kids will eat, even if they refuse to eat the main dish or new food item. The best way to do this is to include some tried and true side dishes. Although Alex and Soph have a long way to go before they’ll starve to death, as their Mom I just feel irresponsible if I don’t get something nutritious in them at meal time and I always know that they’ll at least eat the corn and biscuits if they don’t like the new chicken recipe

5) Try new recipes when there are a few left-overs in the fridge–particularly recipes the minis like.
If the new recipe you’re trying is really sort of a one-pot thing, or, if you don’t have time to ensure that the side dishes are to the liking of the minis, just plan the new recipe night to coincide with a day you know there will be plenty of left-overs in the fridge. This is a big one for me because usually, even if one of my children likes the new dish, the other does not. And, the one that does not somehow, more than likely also does not prefer any additional side dishes I may have prepared. And, since my children both have basic cooking skills, when they complain about the food, they are pointed to the fridge and told what they can reheat and eat. I might be a push-over, peace-loving mother, but when I’m eating, I’m eating…if they don’t like the food that I make, they can reheat previously made food on their own (yeah, I’m super tough, I know).

So there you have it. Five strategies to help you meet your adult, variety loving food needs, while still providing for the nutrition of your taste-averse children. I think though, that by continually encouraging my kids while still providing alternatives that someday, their taste horizons will expand…

Happy family cooking everyone!

Alex, Sophia and Kelly

‘They’ refers to kids….my kids that is—actually, mostly just Alex. Sophie has her oddities too, including an obsession sugar and aversion to tomato sauce; but at least she intakes a good balance of fruits, veggies and protein along with the not-so-healthy. It’s not that Alex doesn’t eat healthy food, it’s just that he doesn’t have a good balance of foods, in this mom’s opinion, anyway.  He’d live on meat and berries if I let him—he’s like a bear I guess.

I know I’m not alone. There are others out there with family members of all ages who are what some would call ‘picky’, but the fact is I just don’t understand it. I am a lover of all food. When I fight with my kids about trying new foods, it’s only partially because of the obvious ‘Mom’ reasons; I honestly feel bad for them because of the deliciousness they would be missing if they didn’t try it.

Because of my love of all kinds of food, I, as a parent, do insist my kids try new foods. I don’t force them, but I strongly recommend to the point of occasional bribery. I do this because of the long term gains for them. As we grow from childhood to adulthood, our body chemistry changes, and so do our tastes. If a person doesn’t like broccoli at five, but tries it from time-to-time as they grow-up, they might find they like it when they’re a bit older.

Maybe I’m just trying to convince myself that my son will someday eat more than just four types of vegetables—broccoli, squash, beets and corn–without me insisting.  I know it’s great that he likes those four, and maybe I should just include more of them in our menus instead of worrying so much about variety. After all, he does eat other veggies, but quickly and without enjoyment. I remember though, when he was a baby, he loved peas and asparagus, as well as green beans and potatoes–I hope that someday, he grows back into them.

That’s all I’m thinking for now…Happy Family Cooking,

Kelly

P.S. To see how frequently I honestly think about getting my kids more variety in their eating habits, here are a few other posts on the topic: Getting Kids to Try New Foods: 5 Things that May Work, Kids, Eating and Life, Food Bribery–Would You Pay Your Kids to Try a Food?

There are children out there that will eat pretty much everything. I know this is true because I was one of those children. My own children, well, let’s just say they don’t take after their mother. Because of this, I continue striving to expand their food repertoire. There is no one way that works, and everything is hit or miss.

1) Get the kids involved in the recipe/menu selection process. This allows them to take some ownership in the food preparation process from the very beginning. And, when that inevitable, “I don’t like that,” spews forth, it allows you to ask them why they don’t like it. With my kids, many times those ‘I don’t like it’ items have never actually been tasted. I’m able to get buy-in sometimes, though, when I can list ingredients for this ‘Icky’ recipe that they like. Basically, if you like what’s IN it, you should like IT.

2) Have the kids help you cook. This goes back to the whole ownership thing. If the food is something they made, they’re more likely to be willing to try it. Now, you’ll notice I said ‘more likely’; Alex, Soph and I cook together a lot and they do not eat everything they make. I’ve heard, ‘Mom, we made it for you’ many times. BUT, it has worked on occasion, plus, cooking with the kiddies is fun!

3) Sell it. By sell it, I mean make the food sound so irresistible they WANT to try it. Since I basically like all food, I genuinely feel bad for Alex and Soph when they miss out on foods I know they’d like just because they assume they ‘don’t like it.’ So, I tell them what they’re missing and how delicious it is. And, really, ONE bite, just to see…well isn’t that worth it? This method is more successful when one of the kids is on-board with trying to get the other to try it too. I guess they trust each other’s taste over mine.

4) Bribe them. Yes, I said bribe them, and I’ve advocated for food bribery before, and I’m sure I will again. For as little as 25 cents I’ve not only persuaded Alex and Soph to try food, but also have gotten them to discover that they like it. I say that is excellent ROI.

5). Keep on trying. The important thing, in my experience anyway, is to keep trying. Just like the repetition of practice ‘makes perfect,’ continuing to encourage kids to taste all kinds of food will expand their palette.

Like I said, these are only things that may work. Kids are strange creatures, resisting things that they may actually love based purely on one characteristic that doesn’t fit into their ideal of the moment. Trying new things, food or experiences, help kids learn and figure out what they like, need and want in this world. And I, as a Mom, promise to do my best, be it bribery or marketing, to help them grow.

As I was checking my twitter feed today, I noticed that @CuriousChef had tweeted about a post by Kelly Davis from Oliciouslife.com. Kelly’s post, titled, “Teaching Kids to Clean Up Their Plate: Clean Eating for Kids,” shares some great ideas for getting kids to eat healthier, and also for getting them involved in the food decision making process.

Now, I’m not the best mother when it comes to limiting snacks at my house, but we do have some rules–my biggest rule is Balance. I always tell the kids that a person need to try to achieve some sort of balance to remain healthy. That goes for work and play, exercise and rest as well as healthy vs. snacky foods.

I also like to teach the kids to make healthy decisions by getting them involved in the whole nutrition process. We plan meals together, we grocery shop together and we cook together. We talk about the balance of the meal and why we need to eat certain foods to stay healthy. Because of this, Alex and Soph have the power of knowledge when it comes to eating.

They also enjoy the creativity that cooking their own food allows them. We have a great time coming up with new recipes and/or ways to serve our meals. It seems simple, but sometimes just presenting a food in a different way makes it taste oh-so-delicious

I do believe, however, that parental persistence is a necessity. Consistently encouraging kids to try foods they say they don’t like and insisting on a balance of healthy foods and snack foods helps reinforce your message. My kids, despite as involved as they are with our whole ‘food production’ process are still picky eaters. Alex likes this and not that and Sophie likes that and not this–sometimes I feel like a short order cook. Because of this, I continue my mantra, “how do you know you don’t like it if you don’t try it?” and will even bribe them if necessary.

I guess the point is, food and eating are a hugely important part of life. Teaching our kids about the importance of eating a balanced diet AND teaching them how to buy and cook food provides them with essential skills that will positively affect their lives. Plus, family meals allow kids and their parents time to chat and have fun together, and you can’t beat that.

I know, this probably doesn’t sound very ethical or motherly, but my answer to this question is a resounding, ‘yes!’ And, although I’ve never done a ‘food bribery’ survey of parents, I doubt I’m alone on this. I mean, kids can be highly visually ‘picky’ and it’s not like I pay them $10 to try something they think ‘looks gross’–most of my bribes only involve various numbers of quarters. Plus, these monetary encouragements have proven worthwhile on more than one occasion, expanding my kids eating repertoire one quarter at a time.

The thing is, my kids won’t eat many things I know they’d like just because they don’t like the way the food looks. I could just go with the whole parent, “You have to try one bite or you can’t have dessert,” routine, but that is far less effective. And I don’t always pay them to try food either, but If I really think they’ll like it, it’s worth it to me. With my kids, when I force them to try things, they pre-decide that they don’t like it, just because they’re mad at me. BUT, if I bribe them, it becomes a game that they win either way–if they don’t like, they still get a quarter and if they do, they get a quarter and a new food they’ll eat. And I, the mom, get the joy of knowing that at least they’re trying these foods.

I will have to say, though, that the best 50 cents I ever spent was when they tried chicken livers. Now I love liver of all kinds, so I thought maybe they might too…? (OK, I know that’s stretching it, but you never know, right?) Well, let’s just say they didn’t, but I can still picture the look on their faces and the urgent grasping for milk to get the flavor out of their mouths. Priceless

Please share your thoughts or creative ways for encouraging your kids to try new foods by posting a comment below…maybe there’s something better than monetary bribery???