To Spice or Not to Spice...

I grew up in a family where salt and pepper were the spices. Sometimes we'd get crazy and have garlic powder. We didn't put a lot of spice in our food and that's how I liked it (and still do from time to time). Now my husband on the other hand puts spices in everything. He has his fire salt, his hot sauce, his creole seasoning. Everything he eats has some type of spice on it. He also loves things that are spicy hot. Lots of jalapenos.

Well, pretty much every baby food recipe book I read said not to put spices in the baby's food. So I didn't. Most of the food was pretty bland and I wouldn't even eat it. Sometimes the kids wouldn't eat it. Then as the kids got older they liked eating what was on our plates (which had the spices since my husband does a lot of the cooking). They loved it.

Once we were at a Mexican restaurant and of course the kids were eating the chips. The girls were about 18 months old. They insisted that we let them dip their chips in the salsa (just like we were doing). I was hesitant because the salsa was pretty spicy for me. But after much begging, crying and causing a scene. I finally said, "Fine. Let them try it. We've got milk to cool them down afterwards." To my surprise the girls loved it and continued dipping their chips in the salsa. They have obviously inherited my husband's taste buds.

So now when I cook vegetables I make them the way I like them or the way my husband likes them. And the kids tend to like them much better than the plain bland ones I used to cook.

Your children most likely have the same tastes as you or your spouse. If you like garlic, it is very possible that your kids will too. So spice it up a bit. Get out the ginger, garlic, cumin, tamarind, sage, thyme, basil, etc. This is also easier in that you don't have to prepare a bland vegetable for your kids and a flavorful one for yourself.

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