I've Cracked The Food Code! Now Go Eat Your Peas....

I’ve cracked the food code - ok at least in my own home I have. See, I’ve always been a picky eater - beyond picky. I used to take more time at the dinner table devising plans on how to make the food on my plate disappear than I actually spent eating it. I coined the whole “apple sauce splatter on the floor for the dog" move. And in the 70’s I had this awesome move: I‘d drink all my milk, spit the hamburger into the cup and then I’d smuggle it to the bathroom and flush it! Needless to say, I’ve had many encounters with the dreaded “belt” threat and honestly in those moments I’d rather have the belt than try to stomach the food. I used to joke as I got older that it just was that my mom was a horrible cook.  She seemed to have had only one cooking speed: burn it!  If only she would have know that these days blackened anything would be a hit!  I am a bit perplexed though, now that I have kids they say that they love her cooking - maybe I've missed the mark?

I’m not as much of a picky eater anymore! I chalk that up to age, a more mature pallet, as well as boredom. You eat enough of the same food over and over you tend to get bored and venture out a bit more into the culinary world.  But these days I have a much bigger challenge….to get my children to eat!  I’ve begged them, threatened them, spoon fed them, reverse phycology-ied them - I’ve even paid them…cold hard cash! Only 2 of those choices ever really worked - the “brain” bending one and I think you can guess the other!

I have 3 boys, my first born was always a great eater and would try almost anything - especially for a dollar. But hey, at 13 he is now a fairly adventurous eater: from pâté to squiddy stuff - as well as some other gross things I’d never eat! Okay, maybe I’m still picky, but I’ve never let that keep me from cooking (or ordering) stuff for my kids to try (and for me to let the trash sample).

My 9 year old always responded well to reverse psychology. I would tell him NOT to eat a bite and he’d take a huge one. I’d say in a serious straight faced manner, “don’t bite that - I mean it. Don’t….don’t you….don’t you dare take a bite of that”. He always did, until his tummy was full…giggling all the way! He’s still a slow eater but he continues to fall for a few of my tricks.  But, he takes after me, he still won’t eat something if it looks uglier or smells worse then his tennis shoes, but who would. For many picky eaters it’s all about the presentation!  For others the smell plays an important roll.  Then there are those that they may take a chance and take bite, but if the texture is too bizarre it’s evicted immediately! Surprisingly I have all 3 of those eating types in my home - makes cooking very unexciting and almost a drag sometimes - if I let it!

Over the last four years I’ve had to sharpen my feeding tactics. I’ve tried to learn how to balance a plate - making it both healthy and fun. So don’t be surprised if one of my family members reveal to  you that they have had a nice piece of chicken coated and baked in Doritos! Yes I was desperate that night - and it was worth a try - it was pretty good actually. So now I try to get a little fun and a little serious on every plate.

For one of my boys it’s all about the presentation and if they just would try some things they would LOVE it and become an instant fan. One night I made mashed potatoes and scooped it into a cupcake wrapper. Then I proceeded to apply spray on frosting (makes it look all airbrushed and cool).  Then I topped it with a few sprinkles J it worked for the first 2 bites and then he was on to me.  But, a year later he discovered that he really did like mashed potatoes, did my mashed potato deception help move him to the spuddy side? I don’t know - but some days I’ll try pretty much anything.

I've always believed that you can move your kids to do almost anything if your expectations are in the right place and your children know what those are ahead of the game. This concept when applied to feeding kids, at least in my own house, has only been true up until the age of 3. Then I needed to get creative - obviously our little one’s tastes buds change with age, and it takes trying some foods several tries before you can develop a taste for them.  However, when you have a stubborn little prince, that day may never come.

My littlest carnivore has been the worst…that is until this week!  He hasn’t fallen for the disguised food trick (he can spot a carrot in a bowl of ice cream a mile a way) and the reverse psychology works for only two bites.

But finally this week I discovered that this is a boy of compromise. He’s a give and take sort of child and we needed to find the fun in eating again - as well as compromise. So out of the blue I said to him, “Cameron, take a bite of chicken and then you can choose anything on your plate for the next bite”. Wow, what a huge smile I saw emerge over his face. “Cameron, now you can pick, 1 chicken bite or 1 green bean bite”. Another smile and another bite. “Okay Cameron, now choose: green bean or potato”. And then we continued “now you pick!”. He loved it, I even got to the point where he was cool when I said “Okay, 1 chicken bite or 2, you choose”. He, to my surprise and delight picked 2. So his next bite was an extra fun treat: “Cameron, now you can pick what to eat on your next 2 bites”. He got so excited and started jumping in his seat - hey, he picked a potato and a green bean….yay for beans…yay for potatoes!  Yay for chicken bites - those are always the hardest! What a great little eater I have now - an eater of compromise!  Hugs and love friends, now go eat your peas….pleeeeaaaaazzzzzze!