As many of you know, we have a picky eater on our hands. Now, Kale has always been an excellent sleeper and potty training him was a breeze, but he's sure got me on this eating thing.
I was "that mom" that made all of his baby food when he was starting out on foods. I'd heard that it was a sure fire way to a good eater. Bah ha, ha, ha. He ate everything I'd made: cauliflower, blueberries, beans, peas, squash, you name it. But somewhere, somehow, all that changed.
Lots of moms assure me that their once picky eaters are now great eaters, but I've also heard about the other side of the coin; Once a picky eater, always a picky eater.
So I've struggled with what to do about this. What is the right answer? If you ask friends or read the internet, you get the gammet of opinions:
1.Provide only what the family is eating. Period.
2. Provide what the family is eating and say they must try one bite. If they don't like it, they can be excused.
3. Provide what the family is eating and say they must try one bite. If they don't like it, they can say "No thank you" and be provided a peanut butter sandwich.
4. Provide a new food on the plate along with at least two other items you know they will eat.
5. Make them a different meal from the family that you know they will eat.
Etc. etc. etc.
Okay, folks, I know there is no one right answer and that each family will do what works best for them but this does not help my situation. I want Kale to enjoy a variety of foods that are good for him and I don't want it to be a battle.
While we're at it, does anyone find it ironic that our son, Kale, who shares the name with a green, leafy vegetable, does not like the aforementioned??!?!?
So in the meantime, until I get all of this figured out (as if...), I work my mama magician skills. I hide good foods in foods he likes. This makes me incredibly nervous because I wonder if by adding a new ingredient to a food he currently likes will then lead him to no longer like that food either. But, I charge on.
One of his current favorite staples is pancakes. I got bold and added pureed bananas to the batter. He was none the wiser. (That's right, he does not like bananas).
On to try number two. Chocolately Velvet BEET Cupcakes with frosting that also contains beet puree. I found the recipe in Parenting Magazine and comes from the website weelicious.com. The cupcakes turned out really good and tasted amazing. The frosting recipe left much to be desired, in my opinion but I decided to frost the cupcakes and give it a shot. I gave Kale his first cupcake today and sort of held my breath and watched him out of the corner of my eye.
What do you know, "Mikey likes it."
I might have to see what other mama magician tricks I've got up my sleeve.
Fellow magicians, er, mamas, what recipes have worked well for you with your picky eaters?
