Food... oh, food
One of my biggest worries when I think about raising Luke isn't discipline, or drugs, or disease. It's feeding him the right things.
I was a horribly picky child. We ate pretty much two vegetables for dinner because of me: corn or peas. I would leave those for last, until they were cold and slimy. Then I would force in a bite, and swallow it all whole by chugging whatever I had to drink. I shudder thinking about those peas. I would sit at the table for hoooouuuuurs trying to ignore the three bites of peas I had left. I still hate peas, and have refused to eat them since age 14.
I also have a horrible sweet/snack tooth. 10 oreos in a sitting? No problem! A bag of chips will be half gone after one sitcom. So I struggle with good eating habits myself, and the extra weight that goes with snacking like I do. I want to teach my children better eating habits than I have.
Which means what with a seven month old? Daycare told me that they think Luke needs more solids to be able to nap better, so I have to supply them with jars of baby food for a midday feeding. Already Luke doesn't like applesauce, or bananas. He's okay with green beans and peas, but he really loves his rice cereal. I've heard you have to introduce a food to a child ten times before they might like it, so...
I went out to Jewel last night (coupons in hand, because, am broke. Also, cheap.) and bought 40 jars of baby food. Apples and pears, plums, peaches, sweet potatos and apples, chicken, carrots, peas, sweet corn casserole, chicken noodle dinner - wow, the variety they have in baby food! I didn't not get something because I don't like it, though every time he eats peas, someone else has to feed him (GAG, GAG).
We get home and I pop open a jar of pears, and with every bite, Luke makes an unpleasant face, all one eye closed and tongue half out his mouth, but we got through the Stage 1 jar. Next, we try squash. That didn't fly AT ALL. Luke cried and pushed away the spoon. So I tried chicken - which seemed to be straight shredded chicken and the taste was overwhelming for Luke. I ended up mixing it with... just guess... yeah, rice cereal! He took it all very happily then!
But now, am I supposed to be feeding him fruit a certain number of times a day? Meat? How does this whole food pyramid thing work with infants? How do I deal with him at age 2 or 3 when he's got peas and mom doesn't have any? Are those fruit/veggie puffs actually any good for him?
And what did I have for dinner last night? Three pieces of leftover pizza and a granola bar. Obviously this whole thing needs work.
posted by Elisette @ 8:40 AM
3 Comments:
Don't sweat the variety thing. They're finding that most food aversions (not pickiness, per se) are psychological. Subconsciously, your brain associates peas with sitting at the table and gagging, which they may have done then, but maybe not now. The glitch is that your brain is hardwired to hate them (which even affects our perception of taste) and that is hard to reverse. If Luke likes stuff mixed with rice cereal, don't worry. Evie goes through periods where she'll, when given a vast choice of fruits, only eat apples or strawberries, etc. My Dr. told us that, as long as its healthy, let her eat apples.
Also, some "pickiness" is an innate part of our personality. My attitude on that is; If you can't change it, don't lose sleep over it...parents lose enough sleep as it is!
Amanda
PS Do you remember teaching me how to make eggnog? I was sleeping over and we made eggnog and watched the Sound of Music. I still make eggnog the way you taught me. :)
A good diet is a great way to lengthen your life and make the last few years healthier and more worth living. With a little kid, though, I think their taste buds are really sensative and that's why most people grow into things like strong cheese and lots of garlic in adulthood. My son is a real nightmare at supper time. but he eats okay at playschool. He didn't like most of the baby food available when he was little and we moved him straight to adult food as soon as he was off formula.
Maybe you should try using real fruit in a food processor, maybe it's just the bottled stuff he won't eat. If he doesn't eat squash, try ading a little bit of brown sugar (not a lot). You can probably find some veggies he'll eat. Sweet snow peas work sometimes. But think of it this way, in the old days babies ate nothing but breast milk until they were two.
Hiding stuff in oatmeal or cream of rice will work for a lot of things. You might be able to find baby vitamins if your worried about nutrition. Ask your pediatrition for some advice about that. A quick call to the doctor's office can often get you good advice from a trusted source.
Thanks for the encouragements! I don't subconsicously associate peas... it's VERY conscious! bleeeech. We're all working on our food issues - it was a good weekend for the whole family with food issues!
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