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.