Diving Carrots, Marching Apples and Rolling Pasta

As a new mom I was adamant about preventing bad foods from ever passing my child’s lips. My spouse and I waited seven long years to adopt a beautiful, little girl and I was committed to protecting her from all of the evil things in the world, including unhealthy food.  I recall the knowing smiles at pre-school when I told them about my daughter’s dietary boundaries.  White sugar and high fat, fast food were among the forbidden foods.  Unfortunately, the rules were only in effect until I left the pre-school grounds.  When my darling returned home with a triumphant look on her face she would tell me about all the forbidden foods she had eaten at school.  I was a parent in training and, fortunately, learned very quickly. At home the rules were enforced a lot more.  I still wasn’t totally in charge but I had negotiating rights.  I learned that if I offered nutritious foods that were actually fun, I could teach her how to make better eating choices.   For example, I would serve a dipping sauce with carrot sticks and she would pretend they were high divers. Apple slices marched with sticky feet through caramel sauce. Celery with peanut butter and raisins became celery ants marching on a log. I would turn fresh fruit into a fruit pizza and create a flag with strawberries and blueberries. I cut sandwiches into the shapes of boats, cars or train cars. That was the extent of my artistic freehand ability, so I used large-sized cookie cutters to expand the choices. Soon, dinosaurs, camels, elephants and horses marched across her plate.  Pasta was more fun as alphabet letters, sandwich bow ties, or wagon wheels and she happily devoured her pancakes when I baked them in a bunny, bear, turtle or kangaroo shapes. Little things turned a meal into an experience.   Another important lesson I learned was to respect my daughter’s likes and dislikes until she changed her mind.  When I respected her wishes she eventually announced that she had changed her mind about the food in question.  For example, she had always refused to eat fish. Tuna was definitely out of the question.  I never challenged her, continued to eat fish and even took her fishing once.  She continued to refuse fish for some time but one day she sampled a tuna sandwich with her French tutor, then came home and actually requested that I make a tuna casserole.  She decided Tuna was yummy after all.  One day she announced to me that she hated eggs.  So, we continued to serve eggs and again, I did not challenge her.  After some time, she actually began to cook the eggs, although she adds red and green peppers and cheese.  Respecting her likes and dislikes gave her the freedom to change her mind. One of the biggest challenges for busy parents with kids is getting them to eat and try healthy foods.  If you’re like me you may just have to be patient.  Or, hire an army of marching apples to do the work for you!  For more information on healthy eating, visit http://eatricious.com.  Remember, eat nutritious, eat delicious!


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San Francisco based eatricious is a web portal focused on food and healthy living. Through education, tools and support eatricious provides you with the right food choices to help you live a healthier lifestyle. Visit www.eatricious.com!

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