ibkiss
Assistant Cook
Does anyone have any tricks for dealing with picky kids? He is 10 years old and wants to live on hot dogs and Nutella. Anyone tried any successful techniques for curbing pickiness?
My youngest daughter hated everything. So for her birthday, I bought her a cookbook for kids. She was so excited. She wanted to cook every dish in it. There was one rule. Whatever she cooked, she had to eat. Or I would take the book away from her. I even ended up buying small utensils that fit in her hand. A lot of it didn't require cooking. Some of them called for just canned goods. Like mixing two different Campbell soups together. She never did learn to like peas. But she learned to love Split Pea Soup. (Thanks to Campbell Soup.) When she ran out of foods and dishes in that book, she wanted another one. Off to the bookstore we headed. By now she was old enough to handle a small knife that would fit in her hand safely.
By the time she had a home of her own, she was a fantastic cook. She was often the cook for family holiday meals. The whole family misses her cooking.
Just a thought on the hyper-sensitivity issue and it's relation to food:
Many foods that my mother made, I truly did not care for, but it wasn't the food item itself but how it was prepared.
Now as an adult making food for myself, I've re-tried most of those foods and find that I like them made this way or that.
HATED Brussel sprouts until I tried cooking them a different way, in fact at our Easter Feast with Mr & Mrs Dear Friend's, Missus made Brussel Sprouts another way and they were delicious!!
I'd also like to add that as kids we were made to take one bite of everything on our plate, but it didn't seem to affect any of us as adults.
Fruits and vegetables from grocery stores are bland and tasteless, nothing compared to what they taste like when they're fresh picked. I personally won't eat any strawberries, blueberries (except frozen), corn, or any other vegetable unless I get it at the Farmer's Market. It's like the difference between eating something delicious and eating cardboard. Maybe he could be encouraged to take care of a "grazer's" garden.
Just a thought on the hyper-sensitivity issue and it's relation to food:
Many foods that my mother made, I truly did not care for, but it wasn't the food item itself but how it was prepared.
This is a great point. DH thought he didn't like asparagus, till he had it sautéed instead of boiled. And he didn't like Brussels sprouts, till I roasted them. Dry cooking methods (sautéing, roasting) bring out the sweetness in vegetables; children often like that. So trying a different preparation might help.
We struggle with this with our 10 year-old grandson. He is unwilling to try new things and just states he doesn't like it before he even tries it. He's a "chicken nuggets and hot dogs" guy (and bacon, of course).
But have faith. Easter Sunday he had pork kebabs marinated in hoisin and five spice powder and announced he loved it and that it was the best meal he'd ever eaten!!! We all were floored.
That sums it up for me... My mom was my hero (my father had died when I was 3) but that sweet, wonderful lady could NOT cook.. I ate everything she put on the table but, it wasn't until I was on my own that I became enamored of food...
Ross
I grew up with a mother who was a good basic cook but quit cooking when she realized I could reach the stove and could do the cooking for our family.
However, some of what I DO remember from her cooking time was that she could turn a lovely piece of beef into a hockey puck. That she cooked the beejeepers out of Brussels sprouts (grey when served) and turned asparagus into a camouflage-colored goo. As a result, I despised both Brussels sprouts and asparagus. I liked steak but never realized one could have it cooked in a manner that it could be cut with a knife
It wasn't until many years into my adulthood that I discovered Brussels sprouts were green and asparagus was also green and bendy when served. As for beef (steak), I like mine with the "moo" slapped out.
I still have food preferences but I wouldn't call myself picky. Thankfully, my children ate (and still do) everything. I wouldn't know how to handle a choosy eater.