Coconut baby food

It's been a while since I last posted here.  I've been a bit busy with a new baby.  He's one year old, so technically he's not a baby any more.

A new phase of our food adventures has begun.  I'm back to baby food.  Baby Q hasn't been interested in eating a lot.  To make life even more challenging, we suspect that he has a sensitivity to dairy.  So I've been looking for a way to get some calories and fat into his diet.  This past week we started adding coconut oil to his cereal.  He loves it!  And the food smells so good.  Today I gave him some mango/carrot/coconut puree with chopped up avocado.  Yummy.  I almost wanted to eat it myself.

Don't eat me!

I used this technique a few times in the past couple weeks.  This is usually my last resort.  Now, you may not want to do this in public, unless you don't get embarrassed easily. 

A couple weeks ago we had a picnic and made a black bean salad with sardines.  The kids weren't trying it, so I pretended to be the voice of the little fish.  I started talking to the kids in a little funny voice.  "Hi, I'm the sardine on your spoon.  I just wanted to ask that you not eat me.  I'm very very nice and want to be your friend.  So please don't eat me."  OK, that's about as far as I got since the kids took the bite with gusto.  It's a little bit of reverse psychology and a little bit of play, but it seems to never fail.  Try it the next time you are stuck with a food.

The name game

It's zucchini season and we've gotten quite a bit of it at the farmer's markets and in our CSA share this week.  So of course, I tried experimenting with the zucchini again tonight.  I asked the kids to make up a new name for the zucchini.  My son suggested "kiwi's friend."  He had a couple of kiwis yesterday and very much enjoyed them.  I'm assuming that he was trying to project the kiwi's delicious taste on the zucchini.  It must have worked since he ate his share without any other comments.  My youngest played along too and suggested "pear" and "apple" as her names.  She ate quite a bit of her zucchini, also.  My oldest daughter didn't give a name, but she still ate her share and asked for seconds.  Now these are the same three kids that refused to eat the zucchini (prepared the same way) a week ago.

Making up a name gives the child a little more control over the veggies they are eating.  Try it next time you are stumped when the kids refuse to eat the vegetable.

Toothpicks

The other night I was in a hurry to get dinner on the table, so rather than serve a warm vegetable I served some raw vegetables.  I cut up a zucchini into discs and served them with some cherry tomatoes and pea pods.  I knew the tomatoes and pea pods would be a hit, but I didn't think much would be eaten of the zucchini.  Well I was wrong.  One of the kids asked for a toothpick.  And once one kid wants something, they all want the same thing.  So they all got a toothpick.  The kids proceeded to eat the zucchini with the toothpicks.  There was some variation.  My daughters stabbed the zucchini and ate it like lollipops.  My son started to build towers of zucchini disks and then tried to get the whole tower in his month.

Since that evening, I've had varying success with zucchini.  I cut it in bite-size wedges and sauteed it.  No luck.  But tonight I cut it in 2 inch by 1/2 inch sticks and sauteed it (same method as before) and the kids loved it.  So it seems depending on how I cut up the zucchini the kids may or may not like it.  I'll keep experimenting and let you know how it goes.

Warning:  toothpicks should only be used by older kids and make sure you keep your eye on the kids while they are using them.

How to get started

Most of this blog is geared towards toddlers and pre-schoolers.  But I wanted to give some tips for those of you just starting the solid food journey.  I started feeding my kids based on the Super Baby Food book by Ruth Yaron.  This book is awesome!  I still reference it because it is a very comprehensive tome on fruits and vegetables.  It describes how to tell when the vegetable or fruit is fresh and how to cook and freeze it.  This book walks you through which foods to start your baby out on and which ones should be avoided until a certain age. 

If your child is a beginner (at eating), you can still follow a lot of my recommendations.  For instance, you may need to feed your child spinach 10 times before they eat it.  Or combine a favorite food with a not so favorite one.  I put kale in bananas to get my son to start trying it.

Please remember, the earlier you start feeding your child a variety of vegetables, the easier it will be getting them to eat vegetables later on in life.  But it is never too late to start.

Feed me

Tonight we had sauteed spinach for our vegetable.  This is not the kids' favorite vegetable, but I still try it every couple weeks.  So tonight, I was prepared that no one would eat it.  I asked that every one try a bite.   Well, my son ate his with no problem or coaxing needed.  My oldest daughter touched her tongue to it and said "ewee, I don't like it."  My youngest about the same.  But then, our neighbor, who was eating dinner with us, asked our youngest if she wanted her to feed her.  My youngest ate the rest of her food without any complaint.  My oldest daughter still struggled with her quinoa, but she ate all the spinach.

I'm not sure what the recommendation is here.  If I try to feed my kids their food, it never goes well.  Maybe it is a good cop/bad cop situation.  I'm usually the one that makes everyone try "one bite" of each food on their plate.  Who knows? 

I'll continue to observe the behavior and let you know if I figure it out.  But in the meantime, if you have a neighbor that can come over and feed your kids, that may be a good solution.  Just kidding...maybe.

Motivation

Alright, now that you have read this blog you may be saying: “This seems like a lot of work. I don’t eat that many vegetables and I’m healthy. It won’t kill my kids if they don’t eat their veggies.” You may be correct that it won’t kill your children, but it will likely shorten their lives. Here are some scary statistics.

Your child’s life expectancy is shorter than yours. Yes, read that again. Your child is not expected to live as many years as you will. The cause is childhood obesity.

"An American born in 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of developing diabetes in his lifetime…A diagnosis of diabetes subtracts roughly twelve years from one’s life…"  That’s a quote from In Defense of Food, an Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan.

So, are you motivated? I am.

Now you may say how does eating vegetables prevent obesity or diabetes. Well, if your child begins to eat more vegetables, then under normal circumstances, he will eat less of another food. If it is processed non-nutrient food he is replacing, then he is ahead of the game. Vegetables also provide many of the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that your child needs. This will make your child feel more satiated when he eats. Try it yourself. I recently have been taking on the “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan and have noticed that I feel much more satisfied by following his motto “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.” Your child will too.